Geary L. Yeisley - Philadelphia, PA

Geary L. Yeisley is a board certified physician and surgeon who held various prestigious positions -- including chief of cardio-thoracic surgery - at a number of Pennsylvania hospitals before turning to a career in law.

His goal as a lawyer is the same as when he practiced medicine.

“For twenty years, I was an advocate for the right of heart surgery patients to receive a high level of care from hospitals,” says Dr. Yeisley. “By going into law at this stage of my career, I hope to continue to be an advocate for patients for the next twenty years.”

In a recent case, Dr. Yeisley was co-counsel in medical malpractice litigation involving a patient who died because of mistakes made by a doctor while performing a cardiac catheterization. A Scranton jury awarded $700,000 in a March 2008 verdict. (See story)

Dr. Yeisley began building impressive academic credentials at Lehigh University where, studying biology as an undergraduate, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.

He earned his medical degree at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, and did his general surgical residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital, in Allentown, where he went on to become chief surgical resident. He later moved to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he received his cardiothoracic surgery training.

From 1991 to 1997, Dr. Yeisley was director of the Open Heart Unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital and was chief of the Division of Cardio-thoracic Surgery. While at LVH, he served on a number of important hospital committees, including the Medical Executive Committee, Surgical Executive Committee, Quality Assurance Committee and the Circulatory/Regional Heart Center Committee. He was chairman of the hospital’s Pacemaker Committee.

Dr. Yeisley was affiliated with a number of private practices, including Central Pennsylvania Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgeons, based in Harrisburg; Panebianco-Yip Heart Surgeons, in Allentown; and Easton Cardiothoracic Surgery, Easton. For a number of years he also had his own practice, Yeisley Cardiothoracic Surgery, LLC, based in Allentown and specializing in adult cardiac surgery.

Although the majority of his cardithoracic surgery career was spent at Lehigh Valley Hospital, his hospital affiliations have also included Harrisburg Hospital; Harrisburg Polyclinic Hospital; Holy Sprit Hospital, in Camp Hill, Pa.; Community General Osteopathic Hospital, Harrisburg; St. Luke’s Hospital, in Bethlehem; and Easton Hospital.

Dr. Yeisley has also taken special studies in cardiothoracic surgery (including cardiac surgery training under Dr. Denton Cooley in 1980 in Houston), micro-vascular surgery and advanced trauma life support. Over the years while working at various hospitals, he served as clinical adjunct faculty at Kings College in Scranton and later was clinical associate professor at DeSales University in Allentown. He held both academic posts until 2004, when he enrolled in Villanova University Law School.