The Cardiovascular Surgery team at Mayo Clinic provides high-quality care for complex or serious conditions that affect people of all ages. Our heart (cardiac) and chest (thoracic) surgeons diagnose and surgically treat conditions of the heart, lungs and chest. They perform thousands of surgeries each year at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
Mayo Clinic surgeons are on the leading edge of treating cardiovascular and cardiothoracic conditions, using the latest innovations, such as minimally invasive heart surgery with robot-assisted techniques. Minimally invasive robotic surgery is used to repair or replace heart valves, remove growths in the heart and for other procedures. This approach has helped many people recover more quickly than is possible with traditional surgery. Our team is widely recognized for its performance of complex procedures with safe and excellent outcomes.
A team focused on you
Cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeons at Mayo Clinic are part of a multidisciplinary team that provides expert care tailored to your needs. Your team might include specialists in cardiovascular medicine, critical care medicine, anesthesiology, gastroenterology and hepatology, general surgery, hematology, oncology, otolaryngology, pulmonary medicine, vascular medicine, endovascular surgery, pathology, radiology, pediatrics, or physical therapy. Your team also might include registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dietitians and geneticists.
Our team approach means test results are available as quickly as possible, appointments are scheduled in coordination, and experts discuss the best approach for each person. What might take months elsewhere often can be done in days at Mayo Clinic.
Experience in advanced treatments and innovations
Our surgeons perform more than 4,500 heart surgeries each year. They are experts in treating serious conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and disease of the pericardium and in performing complex procedures. These include heart failure surgery, heart transplantation, heart valve surgery, aortic valve repair and aortic valve replacement, coronary artery bypass surgery, surgery to treat congenital heart defects in children and congenital heart disease in adults, surgery to treat pulmonary hypertension, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and placement of ventricular assist devices.
Our surgeons also are experts in helping people who need a second heart operation. This is called a cardiac reoperation. It's sometimes needed when a replacement valve begins to wear out or you develop new heart disease. Cardiac reoperations are even more complex than first surgeries, due to scar tissue and underlying conditions. People who come back for a second or even a third heart surgery need surgeons with highly advanced surgical skills and techniques.
Pediatric cardiac surgery is provided to children at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Cardiovascular surgeons trained in treating children work closely with doctors trained in treating child and adolescent cardiovascular conditions (pediatric cardiologists) as well as other pediatric specialists to provide comprehensive care.
Mayo Clinic Health System clinics, hospitals and health care facilities serve more than 60 communities in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Cardiovascular surgeons also perform surgery at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Research to improve surgical care
Our cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeons are leaders in researching and adopting new approaches and techniques. Projects have included:
- Researching new techniques to determine the timing and outcomes of mitral and tricuspid valve surgery.
- Researching a new strategy for treating hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) called ex utero intrapartum treatment. This sometimes allows them to treat HLHS without open-heart surgery.
- Using artificial intelligence to predict outcome after surgery and to detect adverse outcomes early.
- Using virtual reality to ease anxiety of the patient during surgery.
Our surgeons also participate in innovative studies to improve donor hearts and lungs before they are transplanted. The technique is called ex vivo perfusion, in which machines supply donor organs with blood and oxygen outside of the body. This allows more people to benefit from heart and lung transplantation. Our surgeons also combine heart and lung transplantations with surgeries for other organs, such as the liver and kidneys.
Our physician-scientists collaborate with researchers worldwide, contributing to advances in cardiovascular surgery that improve heart care for people everywhere.