University of Florida Health is a Leader in Cardiovascular Care

The University of Florida Health Divisions of Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery are working together as leaders in the care of our patients in Florida and across the country. This team-based approach, in which cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons work closely together to provide outstanding patient care, is facilitated by the outstanding new UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, a state-of-the-art facility designed around the needs of the patient. The new hospital has co-located clinics with cardiologists and surgeons, along with adjacent testing centers to facilitate “one-stop shopping.”

The UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital is built with an “eye to the future” as five of the 15 new operating rooms are ‘hybrid’ and allow surgery and advanced imaging for minimally invasive and catheter-based therapy.

An example of this new approach to surgical care is described by Dr. George Arnaoutakis, a cardiac surgeon, and Dr. Martin Back, a vascular surgeon, in their case report [JD2] titled “Transcarotid endovascular repair of an ascending aorta pseudoaneurysm”. This successful percutaneous catheter-based aneurysm treatment avoided a major open heart procedure, allowing the patient a quicker recovery.

For several years our team has been a leader in hybrid endovascular surgery for complex aortic arch procedures. Our team of cardiac surgeons, including Drs. Tomas Martin, Thomas Beaver and George Arnaoutakis, work closely with our vascular surgery colleagues, Drs. Huber, Upchurch, Back and Fatima. This month we published an updated series of single-stage hybrid total aortic arch replacement in Annals of Thoracic Surgery article. We have found a single-stage approach compares favorably with the historic two-stage open repair in suitable patients. For a further update and to learn more about thoracic stent grafts or TEVAR (Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair), please see our recently updated Medscape overview.

This type of surgical innovation has been a hallmark at UF Health. One example that continues to stand out is “The Florida Sleeve,” a surgical procedure to repair functional type I aortic insufficiency from aortic root aneurysms developed 15 years ago here at UF Health by a team by Tomas Martin, M.D., who is now Professor and Director of the UF Health Aortic Disease Center. The Florida Sleeve has broadened the availability of aortic valve repair for patients with aortic root aneurysms so more patients can avoid a replacement. For an update on The Florida Sleeve Repair see our most recent article on our extensive experience in Marfan syndrome patients study in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Stay tuned for more updates from UF Health on our innovative clinical care and ongoing research. We welcome visitors to our new Heart and Vascular Hospital in Gainesville – and we look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Jamie Conti, M.D., FACC Professor and Chair UF Department of Medicine

Gilbert Upchurch Jr., M.D. Edward R. Woodward Professor and Chair UF Department of Surgery

Juan Aranda Jr., M.D., FACC Professor and Interim Chief UF Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Thomas Beaver, M.D., MPH Professor and Chief UF Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Thomas Huber, M.D., Ph.D. Professor and Chief UF Division of Vascular Surgery