Dr. Gary Stephens has a special interest in helping patients in the West Indies where cardiac problems are common and mortality rates are high. With the help of the government and the support of Maimonides Medical Center and other donors, Dr. Stephens has been able to go to Guyana to help patients who cannot afford open heart surgery. With a team of RNs, anesthesiologists and perfusionists from Maimonides, Dr. Stephens trains their medical counterparts in Guyana. About every two months, Dr. Stephens and his team travel to Guyana to perform coronary artery bypass surgery and valve replacement surgery.