Patient Care

The faculty physicians in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine provide a complete range of cardiac surgery services for adult patients. These surgeries involve the heart and associated vessels and are performed to correct acquired or congenital defects. Examples of adult cardiac surgery including the repair or replacement of diseased heart valves, opening or bypassing blocked blood vessels, grafting prostheses (such as endografts), inserting bio-support devices such as ventricular assist devices, and heart transplantation.

Types of Surgery

• Aortic Aneurysm Repair
• Aortic Dissection Repair
• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) for Coronary Artery Disease
• Heart Failure Surgeries (Transplant, Mechanical Circulatory Support, ECMO)
• Heart Valve Repair/Replacement
• Maze Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation
• TAVR: See Heart Valve Repair/Replacement

Thoracic surgery is a sub-specialty area that involves the surgical treatment of diseases affecting the organs located inside the chest, or "thorax." More specifically, it involves the surgical treatment of conditions affecting the lungs, chest wall, diaphragm, trachea, and esophagus. The faculty physicians in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery provide a complete range of thoracic surgery services for adult patients. These types of surgery range from minimally invasive video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to lung transplant in extreme cases of lung disease. Additionally, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgeons are actively involved in specialty surgeries that include heavy involvement in the Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic as well as the Esophageal & Gastric Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic.

Types of Surgery

• Chest Wall Resection and Reconstruction
• Chest Wall Disease Management Clinic
• Esophageal Surgery
• Esophageal Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic
• Lung Cancer Staging
• Surgery for Lung Disease (Lobectomy, Pneumonectomy, VATS, Wedge Resection)
• Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic
• Lung Infections
• Lung Transplant and Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP)
• Lung Volume Reduction
• Pectus Excavatum and Pectus Carinatum
• Surgery of the Airway

The section of Pediatric (or “Congenital”) Cardio-Vascular Surgery is dedicated to providing comprehensive surgical services to infants with cardio-vascular defects and congenital heart conditions. The faculty physicians in the section of pediatric cardio-vascular surgery are experts in a wide range of conditions including: Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return, Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD), Heart Transplant, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Tetrology of Fallot, and Transposition of the Great Arteries.

Types of Surgery

• Adult Congenital Heart Disease
• Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return
• Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Complex Single Ventricle
• Ebstein's Anomaly
• Heart Transplant
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
• Mitral Valve Prolapse
• Patent Ductus Arteriosus
• Pulmonary Atresia
• Pulmonary Stenosis
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Transposition of the Great Arteries
• Tricuspid Atresia
• Truncus Arteriosus
• Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

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