Cleveland Clinic has one of the largest, most experienced cardiac surgery teams in the world. Over the last 12 years, more than 30,000 patients have had their heart surgery performed at Cleveland Clinic - ranging from mitral valve surgery to cardiac bypasses to transplants. Cleveland Clinic Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery offers cardiac surgery patients: Our cardiac surgeons are skilled, compassionate, and internationally renowned as leaders of their field. Experience and outcomes matter when choosing a hospital for your heart surgery. Cleveland Clinic heart surgeons have vast experience and expertise in all areas of heart surgery including: Cleveland Clinic has the largest heart valve surgery practice in the United States and our heart transplant program is one of the three largest transplant programs in the country. Even complex operations, such as second and third bypass operations and aortic and great vessel surgery, are routinely performed at Cleveland Clinic with excellent results. We strive to provide each patient and family member with education, support and world-class medical care extending from your first visit to Cleveland Clinic to your discharge home. We are also proud to provide personal services (including a free "concierge" service for out-of-state patients) that put the comfort … Continue reading →

Cardiothoracic surgery (also known as thoracic surgery) is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax (the chest)generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease) and lungs (lung disease). In most countries, cardiac surgery (involving the heart and the great vessels) and general thoracic surgery (involving the lungs, esophagus, thymus, etc.) are separate surgical specialties; the exceptions are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and some EU countries, such as the United Kingdom and Portugal.[1] A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from 4 to 16 years (or longer) of training to become a fully qualified surgeon. Cardiac surgery training may be combined with thoracic surgery and / or vascular surgery and called cardiovascular (CV) / cardiothoracic (CT) / cardiovascular thoracic (CVT) surgery. Cardiac surgeons may enter a cardiac surgery residency directly from medical school, or first complete a general surgery residency followed by a fellowship. Cardiac surgeons may further sub-specialize cardiac surgery by doing a fellowship in a variety of topics including: pediatric cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, adult acquired heart disease, weak heart issues, and many more problems in the heart. The highly competitive Surgical Education and Training (SET) program in Cardiothoracic Surgery … Continue reading →

During heart surgery, the beating of the heart is temporarily stopped and life is maintained through a cardiopulmonary bypass (also called CPB or the heart-lung machine). The heart is stopped either through decreasing its temperature and through the injection of a preservative. The heart-lung machine then keeps the blood pumping through the body, adding the necessary oxygen and nutrients. There are risks associated with the use of the heart-lung machine, such as organ damage and blood clots, so every effort is made to keep each patient's time on this machine to a minimum. The most common types of heart surgery we perform are: Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG): Treatment for coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. Here, we take a portion of a healthy blood vessel from somewhere else in the body and use it to create a new route around the blocked part of a blood vessel and into the heart. This process is also called revascularization, because it brings blood back to the heart. Heart valve procedures: Correct defective heart valves from stenosis (narrowing/blockage) or regurgitation (leaking). This type of surgery repairs defective heart valves. If we cant repair the valve, we replace it with a donor, either a … Continue reading →