If you need heart surgery, you want a skilled and caring surgical team that guides you each step of the way — from preparation through recovery.
At UPMC, our heart surgeons will work with you to provide the best, personalized care. Our goal is to improve your heart health and quality of life.
UPMC offers the largest and most complete heart surgery program in Pennsylvania. Our renowned heart surgeons are national and global experts in open and minimally invasive surgical techniques, including robot-assisted cardiac surgery.
What Is Open and Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery?
Open and minimally invasive heart surgery are treatment approaches that our cardiac surgeons use to care for people with heart conditions. As a national center of excellence for heart surgery, you can access world-class heart care close to home at UPMC.
UPMC’s heart surgery programs include:
- Artificial Heart Program — We are one of the first programs in the U.S. to offer people with advanced heart failure access to life-saving ventricular assist devices (VADs).
- Heart Valve Disease Services — When your heart's valves don't work, blood doesn't flow through your heart and body as it should. Our experts repair many heart valve problems using minimally invasive surgeries.
- Aortic Disease Services — People with diseases like aortic aneurysms or dissections have immediate access to advanced life-saving treatments. UPMC's surgeons are world-renowned experts in aortic surgery for people with Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
- Heart Transplant Program — Heart transplant surgeons treat the most complex, high-risk heart conditions.
What conditions do you treat?
Whether you have a damaged heart valve or need a heart transplant, UPMC's heart surgeons provide life-changing care. We use the most advanced equipment and techniques and provide the safest, highest-quality care.
Surgery may be an option to treat:
- A-Fib and abnormal heart rhythms — UPMC heart surgeons are experts in minimally invasive techniques to treat irregular heartbeats.
- Aortic diseases — We treat aortic aneurysms (a balloon-like bulge in your aortic lining), aortic dissections (tears in the aortic inner lining), and bicuspid aortic valves.
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) and blocked heart arteries — We're experts in open and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery. We also use minimally invasive techniques to open blocked arteries in your heart.
- Congenital heart defects — Our cardiac surgeons provide expert care for heart conditions you are born with.
- Heart failure — We offer heart transplants and implant artificial hearts and ventricular assist devices (VADs).
- Heart valve and heart muscle problems — UPMC surgeons are experts in minimally invasive techniques to repair heart valves. These include TAVR and TMVR (transcatheter aortic and mitral valve repair or replacement) using the MitraClip® device.
If you've had prior surgery for CAD, valve diseases, or other heart problems, UPMC heart surgeons also offer redo surgeries.
What Open and Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Services Does UPMC Offer?
If you need cardiac surgery, your surgeon will decide what type of surgery is best for you based on your:
- Heart condition.
- Treatment plan.
- Overall health.
UPMC's heart surgeons:
- Have done thousands of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures to date and the highest volume of MitraClip implants in Pennsylvania.
- Were the first in the nation to implant a HeartMate 2® left ventricular assist device (LVAD) device.
- Did the first minimally invasive coronary bypass graft in the tri-state (Pa., W.Va., and Ohio) region.
- Have done more than 20,000 open-heart surgeries in the past 10 years.
- Are among only a few in the U.S. who have done more than 1,700 adult heart transplants.
- Have helped pioneer minimally invasive heart surgery techniques, including robotic surgeries.
- Continue to advance new techniques for TAVR surgeries.
Surgical treatment options include:
Minimally invasive heart surgery
Our heart surgeons may use minimally invasive surgery to fix your heart based on your needs. With this technique, the surgeon doesn't need to open your chest. Instead, they make tiny incisions — between your ribs, in your groin, or in your wrist — to get to your heart.
The benefits of minimally invasive heart surgery include:
- Smaller incisions and little scarring.
- Less pain and blood loss.
- Fewer complications.
- Shorter hospitals stays — often five days or less.
- Faster recovery times. Many people fully heal within six weeks.
Open-Heart Surgery
Sometimes, your surgeon will decide that open-heart surgery is a better choice for you.
During open-heart surgery, your surgeon makes a six- to eight-inch incision through your sternum (breastbone) to access your heart.
Open-heart surgery is often a more effective option for:
- Complex heart operations.
- Multiple heart valve or aneurysm repair or replacement.
- Tumor, mass, or tissue removal.
- Heart bypasses.
What Can I Expect From Open and Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery?
Our team of cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, and other experts will create a comprehensive plan to treat your condition and reduce your risk of complications.
Before your visit
To prepare for your visit, you will be asked to provide:
- Name, address, and contact phone number.
- Insurance information.
- Relevant medical records and test results.
- A referral, if required by your health insurance company.
If you get a referral from your primary care doctor or another physician, they may be able to provide your test results and medical records to our team.
During your visit
When you arrive for your first appointment, you'll meet with a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. He or she will ask about your medical history and perform an exam.
We'll give you a:
- Complete explanation regarding your condition and treatment plan.
- A tailored patient education packet for you to take home.
Your health care provider will explain your treatment options based on how long you've had symptoms, your condition, and your health history.
Together, you will design and agree on a care plan.
Your care team may also:
- Order tests to learn more about your condition.
- Schedule a procedure in the hospital.
After your procedure
Our team will schedule follow-up appointments as needed to check on your recovery and how your treatment is working. You should contact our office if:
- You have questions about your treatment plan or medications.
- Your symptoms get worse or do not improve as expected.
- You have any other concerns about your condition.
How Do I Get Open and Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Care at UPMC?
To make an appointment, call 855-876-2484.
