Cardiac surgery

Our experienced cardiac surgeons are dedicated to ensuring they have the latest technology and techniques to achieve the best results possible for our surgical heart patients.

Mitral valve repair

Mitral valve surgery is an open-heart operation that repairs a malfunctioning heart valve (small flaps of tissue that help keep blood flowing in the proper direction), thus avoiding an artificial valve. This surgery is performed to stop backward leakage (regurgitation) of the mitral valve.

Bypass surgery

Bypass surgery is performed in patients who have significant narrowing or blockages in their coronary arteries. This surgery creates a different path around the blocked artery, so that blood can get to your heart. Usually, a healthy blood vessel from another part of your body is used to create this new pathway. More than one pathway can be created if you have more than one blocked vessel.

Beating heart surgery

The Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center was one of the first in the country to embrace “beating heart” surgery. The Octopus® allows cardiac surgeons to perform accurate bypass operations while the heart beats. This is unlike conventional bypass surgery that temporarily stops the heart and requires a heart lung machine. This approach reduces risks and shortens patient recovery time.

Aortic valve replacement

Aortic valve replacement is performed primarily to correct restriction of blood flow through the aortic valve. This is commonly related to excessive calcium deposits. For younger patients, mechanical heart valves generally are used, but it does require life-long use of anticoagulants or blood thinners. Older patients may be considered for replacement with different styles of tissue values that may not require anticoagulants.

Thoracic aorta aneurysm repair

Excessive enlargement of the early portion of the aorta (the vessel that carries blood as it leaves the heart) can be associated with leakage (regurgitation) from the aortic valve. An aneurysm may be at risk for tearing and rupturing once it reaches a critical size. Surgeons can replace the ascending aorta with a new heart valve and re-implant coronary arteries to repair the problem.