About Us At Yale Medicine, our cardiac surgery team consists of internationally recognized heart surgeons who provide personalized, compassionate care for adult and pediatric patients. We understand the challenges of living with a heart condition and are committed to partnering with patients and their families to find the best treatment plan and offer ongoing support after surgery. Our team includes highly experienced, board-certified cardiac surgeons along with an expert group of cardiologists, cardiac-focused nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Our cardiac surgeons collaborate with Yale's cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and internists to manage heart-related issues such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, heart valve conditions, and heart rhythm disorders. Our surgeons perform the latest, most advanced techniques in minimally invasive and traditional surgeries to treat a full range of cardiac diseases and conditions, including: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) Valve repair and replacement (aortic and mitral) Aneurysm repair (aortic, thoracic aortic, left ventricular) Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), including hybrid ablation heart failure and artificial heart or ventricular assist devices Heart failure, including artificial heart or ventricular assist devices Heart transplantation Congenital heart diseases in children and adults

Our program offers innovative care for patients with advanced and complex structural heart disease. From diagnosis to treatment, our team is dedicated to treating all forms of structural heart disease, some of which are congenital, or present at birth, and others that develop with age. We take the utmost care in treating these defects, which can affect the interior walls of the heart, the valves inside the heart, and the arteries and veins that carry blood to the rest of the body. As the first program in the state of Connecticut dedicated to the care of adult patients with complex congenital heart disease, we offer the full spectrum of care, providing regular inpatient and outpatient services to adult congenital heart patients. We offer an array of imaging, exercise testing, and surgical options, as well as less invasive catheterization therapies. Our multidisciplinary team includes interventional experts in congenital cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology who have decades of combined experience in the field. Our cardiothoracic surgical team has expertise in congenital heart disease and adult cardiac surgery with experience that spans three decades. Other members of the team include experts from the Yale General & Advanced Heart Failure Program, as well as a wide array of subspecialists in related areas, including liver and kidney disease. Adolescents and adult patients can expect to receive detailed education about their underlying congenital heart defect, its management, and the implications for future functioning. We ensure that our patients with pediatric congenital heart disease will be managed in the context of adult medicine with a multidisciplinary team that includes pediatric and adult cardiologists, adult pulmonologists, genetic counselors, and social workers. Our center provides state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, including echocardiography and MRI. We work closely with Yale Medicine High-Risk Obstetric and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Programs to provide obstetrics and perinatology services to women with congenital heart disease, and we provide referrals for fetal echocardiography in cases where it is appropriate.

The Robotic Mitral Valve Repair Program started in fall of 2018 and has now performed over 100 operations with 100% repair rates and excellent overall results. Our dedicated robotic cardiac surgery team includes a cardiac surgeon, cardiac surgery physician assistants, cardiac anesthesiologists, perfusionists, and dedicated operative nurses, as well as surgical technicians. The use of a specialized team ensures consistency in approach and outcomes for our patients. Mitral valve prolapse is the most common disease of the mitral valve, affecting 1 to 2% of the population. The leaflets of the valve essentially become floppy, eventually resulting in a “leaky” mitral valve that can cause symptoms of heart failure such as difficulty breathing on exertion, fatigue, and arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation. Robotic mitral valve repair is a treatment generally offered to patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation and mitral valve prolapse. The operation consists of five small incisions on the right side of the chest. The arms of the DaVinci Xi™ robot pass through these small incisions, allowing for a high level of dexterity and precision. Highly specialized tools are used to allow for the least invasive method of performing the surgery. Robotic mitral valve repair is associated with a short hospital stay—patients typically stay in the hospital 2 to 4 days following the surgery, and the majority of patients are back to work within 3 to 4 weeks. It’s also associated with the use of fewer blood products, less pain, fast recovery, superior cosmetic results, and high patient satisfaction. A majority of valves affected by mitral valve prolapse can be repaired by an experienced mitral valve surgeon. Yale is a high-volume mitral valve center that performs over 250 mitral valve procedures each year. Arnar Geirsson, MD, the chief of Cardiac Surgery for Yale Medicine, is a high-volume mitral valve surgeon who performs over 100 mitral valve operations per year, a majority of which are mitral valve repair. Because the repair can be complex, depending on each case, we encourage patients to seek out experienced mitral valve centers and surgeons to ensure that they receive the best results possible. Other conditions requiring repair, such as tricuspid regurgitation, and those requiring ablation (MAZE procedure) such as atrial fibrillation, can be done separately or in conjunction with robotic mitral valve repair. Conditions requiring mitral valve replacement can also often be done with the robotic approach.