WellSpan: A Cardiac Care Team You Can Trust
WellSpan Health is a leader in the field of cardiac surgery, with more than 500 heart surgeries performed each year. Our cardiac surgeons combine their deep experience and knowledge with the very latest medical technologies to provide patients with their best possible outcomes.
We perform a wide range of cardiac surgeries, including valve replacements, surgeries to correct arrhythmias and bypass surgeries. Regardless of the procedure, our focus is improving your health and quality of life.
It’s completely normal to be intimidated by the prospect of heart surgery. As a cardiac patient at WellSpan, you’ll have a care team that listens to your concerns and answers all of your questions, so you can approach your surgery with greater confidence and peace of mind.
When it comes to your treatment, what’s important to you is important to us. We align your care with the goals you set for yourself. Then, we help put those goals within reach by drawing on all the resources WellSpan and non-WellSpan providers can offer, as well as support from community organizations, friends, family and co-workers.
Conditions Treated
Our cardiac surgery team treats many kinds of heart conditions, including:
How We Can Help
WellSpan offers advanced cardiac surgery using the latest techniques and technologies. Our surgeons perform these and other procedures:
The aortic valve controls the flow of blood from the left ventricle into the aorta, the major artery that carries blood to the rest of the body. If this valve doesn’t work properly it can affect blood circulation, causing fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms. (Though often, there are no symptoms.) Depending on your particular situation, your WellSpan cardiac surgeon can replace the valve with a prosthetic (artificial) valve.
With extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a machine routes blood from the body, oxygenates it and returns it to the body for circulation. This gives the heart and lungs time to rest, helping patients recover from heart or lung failure or surgery.
The mitral valve is the gateway between the left atrium and the left ventricle. If this valve is defective or damaged, blood can leak back into the lung instead of circulating forward to the body. For many people this is harmless, but if the condition of your mitral valve calls for treatment, your WellSpan cardiac surgeon may recommend either a valve repair or replacement.
Tricuspid Valve Repair
The tricuspid valve helps keep blood flowing properly of out the heart and into the body. It separates the right atrium and right ventricle of the heart. When it is not working properly, blood leaks backward into the right atrium, which can cause serious health issues.
Cardiac surgeons at WellSpan will work closely with you to create an effective treatment plan to make sure your heart is pumping blood properly. Learn more about tricuspid valve repair.
Like any other muscle, your heart requires a steady blood supply. When blood flow is blocked, coronary bypass surgery may be necessary. Traditionally, this surgery has required the heart to be stopped and the patient to be on a heart-lung machine. However, WellSpan physicians also perform a newer technique called “off pump” coronary artery bypass, in which the heart remains beating throughout surgery.
If you’re experiencing stenosis (narrowing) of the aortic valve, you may be a candidate for a minimally invasive surgical technique called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). In this procedure, your WellSpan surgeon will implant a replacement valve using a catheter rather than performing open heart surgery. This can result in a much faster recovery time.
Sometimes, the aorta just outside the heart can dilate and thin. When that happens, it is at risk for tearing (dissection) or rupturing. If that occurs, the aorta can be replaced.
Our cardiac surgeons are skilled at helping care for and treat patients experiencing aortic aneurysms and dissections.
Physicians
Locations
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Wait times are the length of time between when a patient checks in and when the patient is taken to the treatment room.
The values shown are the median, or the middle number in the set of all the wait times collected for the previous 15 minutes.
Wait times can be influenced by many factors and should be considered estimates only.
