Programs & Units

The Heart Institute is a national leader in cardiac surgery. We have among the lowest mortality rates and largest patient volumes throughout North America, particularly for high-risk patients. Our Cardiac Surgery program provides a model of surgical performance and expertise in which patient diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and follow-up involve a concerted team approach.

Clinical Specialties

Valve Repair
We specialize in heart valve surgical techniques--for reconstruction of valves instead of replacement--including mitral valve repair. Surgeons also perform complex aortic valve procedures using minimally invasive surgical techniques. The comprehensive Valve Surgery Clinic follows patients after surgery to ensure thorough follow-up care.

Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement
This is a new program for patients suffering aortic stenosis, or the narrowing of the aortic valve. As a result, blood flow is reduced from the left ventricle of the heart to the rest of the body. Until recently, the only treatment was open-heart surgery to remove and replace the diseased valve. Our medical team combines the exceptional skills of a surgeon and a cardiologist in a minimally invasive catheterization procedure. A stent containing a new valve is implanted, which restores normal function to the heart. This technique currently best suits the higher-risk surgical population.

Multi-Vessel Small Thoracotomy
In this procedure, through a tiny incision between the ribs, multiple healthy blood vessels are grafted onto arteries to bypass coronary blockages. The operation is conducted while the heart is beating. The standard method involves stopping the heart, using a heart-lung machine, and breaking the breastbone to open the chest. Only a few sites in North America perform multi-vessel small thoracotomy (MVST), which relies on a suction device at the apex of the heart and requires specialized expertise so that surgeons can move the beating heart into various positions without the need for large incisions.

Transplantation
The Heart Institute’s first transplant was performed in 1984, and up to 20 transplants are conducted here each year, giving each patient a chance at a new life. Transplant patients are seen in the Heart Function Clinic when their hearts are no longer strong enough to pump adequate volumes of blood. The Heart Institute helps set the standard for transplant procedures and protocols across the country as a leading member of the Canadian Cardiac Transplant Group.

Mechanical Assist Devices
Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) temporarily replace the heart’s pumping action and are surgically implanted for patients with end-stage heart failure who are waiting for heart transplantation (known as "bridge to transplantation"). The device takes blood from the left side of the heart and pumps it back to the aorta, the major vessel in the body. An LVAD is connected to an external battery, which the patient typically wears around the waist. An LVAD is used until a donor heart is available for transplantation or in patients who are expected to improve (known as "bridge to recovery").

Thoracoscopic Surgical Ablation
In this procedure, surgeons manoeuvre miniature tools through a keyhole-sized incision to destroy, or ablate, a targeted area of the heart. The ablation effectively short-circuits troublesome nerve endings responsible for atrial fibrillation, the most common form of arrhythmia. This advanced technique is part of Canada’s first comprehensive atrial fibrillation ablation program, which uses several surgical procedures to treat the problem.

Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy
In some patients, blood clots that travel to their lungs do not dissolve as they should and obstruct the flow of blood. This means blood pressure remains high, causing a persistent strain on the right side of the heart. The result is a condition known as chronic pulmonary embolism or chronic pulmonary hypertension. The Heart Institute is the designated Canadian centre for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), a complex surgical procedure in which blood clots that block pulmonary arteries are removed.