The Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology provides care to some of the most complex surgical and medical patients at the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, University Hospital and Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, all part of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Our mission

Mission: To improve perioperative care at a local, regional and national level through innovations in patient care, education, research and advocacy.

Vision: Through advocating a team- and evidence-based approach to the care of cardiac, thoracic and vascular patients, we strive to provide extraordinary perioperative care with improved patient safety and outcomes.

Values: We value patient safety achieved through teamwork, ownership, determination and sincerity. We provide perioperative care using a team-based model, the Anesthesia Care Team, as this has proven to be the safest staffing model, placing an emphasis on patient safety by tailoring every anesthetic to the individual patient. Our division esteems diversity, equity, inclusiveness and justice when caring for patients, interacting as colleagues or when teaching trainees.

Ambition: To be a regionally and nationally renowned Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology within the Department of Anesthesiology through our team- and evidenced-based approach to perioperative care for cardiac, thoracic and vascular patients.

Research

The clinical expertise of our division is complimented by a strong research mission and our faculty are actively training and educating the next generation of leaders in anesthesiology through our nationally recognized fellowship and residency programs.

Our team’s expertise

Our highly skilled anesthesiologists are all fellowship-trained in the specialty of cardiothoracic anesthesiology and board certified in transesophageal echocardiography. Our specialists have gained extra experience in patient care with special emphasis in coagulation, adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), aortic disease, enhanced recovery after cardiac/thoracic/vascular surgery, and pregnant patients with complex cardiac disease.

Procedures for which our experts provide anesthesia services include:

• Heart, lung and liver transplantation
• Major aorta procedures
• Procedures to treat ACHD, or those with ACHD needing other surgical/interventional procedures including delivery in pregnancy
• Coronary and limb revascularization
• Valve repair and replacement
• Transcatheter valve replacement (ex., TAVR)
• Ventricular assist device placement and subsequent surgical care of this patient population
• Temporary mechanical support (ex., extracorporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO))
• Those patients needing vascular surgery for limb preservation
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Pulmonary endarterectomy
• Those patients needing lung surgery, including lobectomy, pneumonectomy and esophageal surgery
• Patients on IV therapy for pulmonary hypertension

Our division also provides anesthesia for electrophysiology studies and procedures, including atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia ablation, along with placement of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) and pacemakers, and lead extractions. We provide anesthetic support in the cardiac catheterization suite for structural heart disease, including transcatheter aortic valve replacements, complex coronary stenting and management of mitral regurgitation with the MitraClip device. Support for transesophageal echocardiography is also provided, including in left atrial appendage occlusion devices and in all operating rooms as needed.

View our division faculty

Giving

Donating to the Department of Anesthesiology helps further advance our mission to improve perioperative care and drive innovations in patient care and research. Learn more about and donate to our featured fund, the Ischemic Spinal Cord Injury and Cardiovascular Research Fund in Anesthesiology.

Research

Our division is closely involved in many clinical and basic science research studies with the Department of Anesthesiology. The research covers several key areas of focus, including brain activation caused by pain, the gastrointestinal nervous system, ischemic spinal cord injury and more. To learn about specific anesthesiology research being conducted, visit our Department of Anesthesiology research page.