Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program
Baptist Cardiac Surgery is proud of the newly developed “Center for Thoracic Aortic Surgery”. It is the first comprehensive program of its kind in the area. Its mission is to provide comprehensive surgical care for patients with diseases of the thoracic and thoracoabdominal aorta. It includes a multi-disciplinary team of physicians (thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons, radiologists and cardiologists) with expertise and interest in the management of the full array of thoracic aortic problems. Under the direction of Dr. Sebastian Pagni, our surgical team (Cardiac surgeons and ARNPs) runs a weekly dedicated Aortic Surgery Clinic as well as the daily hospital consultation, emergency transfers and operative procedures and after surgery care.
Our surgeons have a large practice of patients with aortic aneurysms, connective tissue disorders and familial forms of aortic aneurysmal disease. Lifelong follow up, radiologic surveillance and genetic testing is performed or directed by our team.
The team has a regional referral base for aneurysms, congenital aortic problems, reoperations and acute aortic syndromes such as Aortic Dissections and ruptured aneurysms.
We perform all procedures on the thoracic aorta, both open and closed (stent grafts), hybrid procedures and aortic valve repair concomitant with proximal aortic replacements. Our comprehensive approach includes neuro-monitoring and spinal cord protection. Our operative mortality and stroke rates are very low compared to national benchmarks.
Procedures performed by our team include:
- Repair of ascending and descending aortic dissections
- Ascending, descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repairs
- Mycotic and inflammatory aneurysms
- Endografting of the descending and TAA aorta
- Surgery for aortic coarctation
- Repair of aorto-bronchial fistulas and false aneurysms
- Biologic replacement of the ascending aorta
- David procedure and valve sparing aortic operations
- Surgery for repairs of bicuspid aortic valves (BAV)
- Greater vessel aneurysms
- All forms of hypothermic circulatory arrest and left heart heart bypass