Cardiac Surgery
Appointments
Expert Surgical Treatment Options for Cardiac Conditions
Our cardiac surgeons offer the entire spectrum of treatment of cardiac disease which include:
- Surgery for coronary artery disease
- Surgery for valvular heart disease
- Surgery for aortic aneurysms
- Surgery for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Surgery for genetically acquired aortic disease
- Marfan syndrome
- Loeys-Dietz syndrome
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Surgery for atrial fibrillation
- Complex and re-operative cardiac surgery
Our surgeons are experts in both traditional cardiac surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery and endovascular surgery. While traditional cardiac surgery is done through a central incision using a traditional and time-honored approach with excellent results, minimally invasive surgery is done through smaller incisions.
In endovascular procedures (such as TAVR – Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and TEVAR – Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair), catheters are inserted through peripheral arteries and veins. and valves and grafts mounted on these catheters are remotely deployed inside the heart using radiographic and ultrasound guidance.
Minimally invasive and endovascular surgery are new developments in the world of cardiac surgery. Patients benefit from faster recovery times and less pain. However, not all patients are eligible for and not all procedures can be done through minimally invasive or endovascular approach. Your surgeon will guide you through the process.
In most cases, a multidisciplinary approach is used with consultations involving cardiologists, anesthesiologists, critical care medicine and other experts in the field. This provides the best comprehensive care to our patients.
Coronary intervention involves procedures to open narrow or blocked coronary (heart) arteries, or to repair certain defects. At Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, our skilled cardiovascular surgeons are at the forefront of minimally invasive options to meet these needs.
When blood cannot flow property through the coronary arteries, it can cause symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath – and can pose a serious health hazard.
At our Interventional Cardiology Lab, Lahey physicians have the special expertise and experience necessary to perform state-of-the-art interventional procedures. Coronary intervention also requires sophisticated medical imaging as well as cooperation among experts from various departments, to provide the best outcomes possible for patients.
Some of the coronary intervention procedures available at Lahey include:
- Angioplasty, in which a tiny balloon is threaded through the catheter to open blockages in the coronary arteries and restore blood flow to the heart.
- Stent placement, in which a mesh device is implanted into an artery to hold it open; newer devices include drug-coated stents and absorbable stents that have shown even better results in keeping vessels open.
The cardiovascular specialists at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center utilize tried-and-true techniques as well as the latest discoveries to repair or replace the mitral valve of the heart.
The mitral valve is the valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart:
- The left atrium (one of the heart’s four chambers) acts as a holding chamber for blood returning from the lungs and as a pump to send blood to other areas of the heart.
- The left ventricle (another of the heart’s four chambers) is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to tissues throughout the body.
You may need surgery or catheter based repair (non-surgical) of your mitral valve if:
- Your mitral valve is hardened (calcified), which prevents blood from moving forward through the valve (known as mitral stenosis).
- Your mitral valve is too loose, so blood tends to flow backward (known as mitral regurgitation).
Mitral valve treatments include:
- Anticoagulant medication, to help keep clots from forming in the blood.
- Surgical Heart valve repair or Replacement (with a mechanical valve or a tissue valve made from animal tissues).
- Catheter based (non-surgical) mitral valve intervention using the MitraClip technology to treat severe mitral regurgitation in selected patients.
- Catheter based (non-surgical) mitral valvuloplasty used for Rheumatic Mitral Valve Stenosis.
- Transcatheter valve replacement using TAVR devices to treat Mitral Valve disease.
Specializing in You: The Convergent Approach to Treating Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)
For years, Linda Mueller couldn’t enjoy life to the fullest because she suffered from AFib, the most common form of irregular heartbeat. After many frightening trips to the ER and several surgeries, Linda underwent an innovative minimally invasive procedure, The Convergent Approach, that changed her life forever.
