Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery

What Services Do We Provide?

ADULT CARDIAC SURGERY

• Aortic Aneurysm Repair
• Aortic Dissection Repair
• Aortic Valve Repair and Replacement
• Arrhythmia Surgery
• Advanced mechanical support
• (ECMO/Impella)
• Coronary Artery Bypass
• Grafting (CABG)
• Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR)
• Heart Valve Surgery
• MAZE Surgery
• Mitral Valve Repair and Replacement
• Open Heart Surgery
• Pericardial Window
• Septal Defect Repair
• Robotic Cardiac Surgery
• Transcatheter Aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR)

GENERAL THORACIC

Common diagnoses often treated with General Thoracic Surgery include cancers of lung and esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, dysphagia, Hiatal hernias, achalasia, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, and many others.
Common Procedures:

• Lung: Tracheostomy, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), Robotic lung and mediastinal surgery, wedge resection, lobectomy, pneumonectomy, pleurodesis, PleurX catheter placement, endobronchial valves, stent placement, decortications, mediastinoscopy, EBUS
• Foregut: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), esophageal dilation, feeding tube placement, conventional myotomy (achalasia surgery), fundoplication (anti-reflux surgery), lower esophageal sphincter enhancement (LINX), hernia repairs (Hiatal, paraesophageal), esophageal stent, esophagectomy

Other: Mediastinal tumor

• resections, thymectomy, chest wall resection, pericardial window

Heart Valve Surgery

Close to 1 million heart valve operations are performed in the United States each year, and nearly all of these operations are done to repair or replace heart valves. The success rate of heart valve replacement/repair is very high, and advances in surgical treatment of diseased heart valves can pinpoint with great accuracy the location, type and extent of valve disease.

What is heart valve replacement/repair?

Valve repair can be done by using a ring to support a person’s diseased valve, using tissue patches to cover holes or tears in the valve or removing calcium buildup from the valve. An artificial valve may be mechanical or biological. Sometimes a patient’s own tissue can be used for heart valve replacement.

Procedure

The average time required for heart valve surgery is four hours. Your heart valve surgery will be performed by a specialized team. In traditional heart valve replacement/repair surgery, the patient’s vital functions will be fully supported by a cardiopulmonary bypass pump (or a “heart-lung machine”), which takes over the function of the heart and lungs, blood circulation and oxygen content of the body.

Postsurgery/recovery

You can expect to stay in the hospital for about a week, including at least one to three days in the intensive care unit (lCU) to monitor your heart, blood pressure, respiration, and other bodily functions. Necessary medication will be prescribed by your physician and postoperative care, including incision care, nutrition, exercise, and diet, will be discussed at length. It is important that patients take an active role in educating themselves about the limitations, if any, that heart valve replacement/repair will place on their unique lives.

To learn more about our cardiac and thoracic services, please call 641.494.5300 today or use our online form to schedule an appointment. Our cardiac and thoracic surgery patients come to us from Albert Lea, Algona, Belmond, Britt, Buffalo Center, Charles City, Clarion, Cresco, Emmetsburg, Forest City, Garner, Greene, Hampton, Iowa Falls, Lake Mills, Mason City, New Hampton, Northwood, Osage, Waverly and nearby areas.