Heart and vascular surgery at The Medical Center of Aurora

Heart and vascular surgery in Aurora, Colorado

At The Medical Center of Aurora, our board-certified cardiac specialists provide a personalized, multi-disciplinary approach to surgically treating heart and vascular conditions. This includes a number of minimally invasive procedures that use the latest technology to reduce surgical risks and improve patient outcomes. As a result, our surgical teams perform more than 450 cardiovascular surgeries every year with some of the lowest complication rates in Colorado.

For a physician referral to a heart and vascular surgeon at The Medical Center of Aurora, call us at (303) 226-4650.

Heart care

Our patients receive high-quality care from our team of heart surgeons and cardiac specialists. They use a research-focused approach to the care and treatment of common and complex heart conditions. By implementing innovative technology and advancements in surgical techniques, our heart doctors strive to improve the health of each patient.

Conditions that may require heart surgery

There a number of heart conditions that may need to be treated with heart surgery, including:

• Aneurysms
• Aortic disease
• Atrial fibrillation (AFib)
• Atrial septal defect
• Cardiomyopathy
• Congenital (present at birth) heart disease
• Coronary heart disease
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Valve disease

Heart surgeries we perform

Surgical procedures we perform to treat heart diseases and disorders include:

• Aneurysm repair
• Atrial septal defect
• Cardioversion (for AFib)
• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Endovascular repair
• Maze surgery (for AFib)
• Peripheral stenting
• Valve repair/replacement
• Vascular surgery, including stenting

To learn more about heart surgeries we offer, call our Center for Lung and Heart Health at (303) 695-2971.

Medically advanced therapies for heart disease

In addition to performing routine heart surgeries, our patients have access to new and innovative therapies to treat heart disease, including:

• Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for heart disease: The ECMO machine is used when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body. If a patient is suffering from heart failure, the ECMO pump can be lifesaving.
• Mechanical cardiovascular support: We use one of the world’s smallest mechanical cardiovascular support systems, a type of assistive device, that sustains a weak heart by pumping oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.
• Minimally invasive mitral valve repair: Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) is used to treat mitral regurgitation. This is particularly for patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation who are too high-risk for open-heart surgery.
• Patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure: A PFO closure is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to insert a special device to close the hole in the heart and stop abnormal blood flow. As an added benefit, compared to open-heart surgery, a PFO closure procedure does not require extensive cardiac rehabilitation.

Vascular care

At The Medical Center of Aurora, treatment for vascular conditions starts with prevention. This means we treat all of the problems related to your condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol. To do this, we provide high-quality, individualized treatment options for all patients with vascular disease.

Vascular disorders and diseases

Vascular disease can impact the veins and arteries that carry oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in your body. However, not all blood vessel conditions require surgical treatments. Many are managed through medications and lifestyle modification.

Types of vascular conditions we treat include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Aortic dissection
• Aortoiliac occlusive disease
• Arm artery disease
• Atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque inside the arteries)
• Carotid artery disease
• Chronic venous insufficiency
• Connective tissue disorder (CTD)
• Diabetic foot
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Endoleaks (Type I-V)
• Fibromuscular disease
• Lymphedema
• Mesenteric ischemia
• Peripheral aneurysm
• Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (conditions that affect the arteries)
• Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (conditions that affect blood vessels and veins)
• Renovascular conditions, including dialysis access
• Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)
• Temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis)
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Varicose veins
• Vascular infections
• Vascular trauma
• Vasculitis (angiitis)
• Visceral artery aneurysm

Diagnosing vascular disease

Vascular diseases are dangerous and may not have apparent symptoms the way other diseases do. In fact, many people might not know they need to see a vascular specialist or be aware of the preventive steps they can take to reduce their risk of vascular disease.

This makes an accurate diagnosis critical, which is why we use advanced imaging to determine the source of the problem. Some of these noninvasive exams include:

• Computed tomography angiography (CTA)
• Magnetic resonance imaging/angiography (MRI/A)
• Vascular ultrasound

Vascular and endovascular surgical procedures we offer

In many cases, vascular conditions can be treated without large surgical incisions. We offer a number of minimally invasive surgical procedures that allow this and can reduce your recovery times.

Minimally invasive and traditional open-surgeries we use to treat vascular conditions include:

• Bypass surgery and endovascular therapy for peripheral artery disease and gangrene of the limbs
• Carotid endarterectomy, carotid artery stenting and transcervical carotid stenting
• Endovascular and open surgical reconstruction for deep vein occlusions
• Endovascular and open surgical treatment for peripheral artery aneurysms
• Endovascular or open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, thoracic aortic aneurysms and thoracoabdominal aneurysms, including fenestrated stent grafts
• Endovascular repair of thoracic aortic dissections
• Endovenous laser therapy treatment or perforator surgery for varicose veins and venous ulcers
• Hemodialysis access, including femoral vein fistulas
• Open surgical reconstructions and endovascular surgical interventions, such as balloon angioplasty and stenting in all vascular areas
• Treatment of carotid body tumors and other vascular tumors
• Treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome

Transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR)

TCAR is a new, innovative procedure designed to reduce the risk of stroke or treat patients who have had strokes. During a TCAR procedure, a small incision (much smaller than a typical carotid endarterectomy incision) is used to place a stent in the artery.

The Medical Center of Aurora is one of the first hospitals in Colorado to offer the TCAR procedure and other minimally invasive treatment options for vascular disease.

Wound care and limb preservation program

At our Wound Care Center, we provide immediate and emergency care for patients with extremity wounds and serious traumatic injuries. This supports one of the major goals of our vascular program, which is to reduce the need for amputation by providing early intervention for patients with vascular disease.