The University of Pennsylvania Health System on Wednesday announced it has notified federal authorities, state regulators, and patients that a cardiologist may have performed unnecessary stent procedures at a system hospital. The doctor, Vidya Banka, 71, had medical privileges at Pennsylvania Hospital, but was not employed by the health system. He has given up those privileges, said Penn spokeswoman Susan Phillips. She said outside cardiovascular experts reviewed a sample of Banka's stent cases from the past five years and concluded that medical tests did not appear to show significant blockages in the heart blood vessels of about 20 patients.
