Dr. Brianna L. Rice

Dr. Gorav Ailawadi joined the University of Michigan as the Chair of Cardiac Surgery in September of 2020. Previously, he served as the Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Co-Director of the Cardiac Valve Center, and Director of the Medical Device Innovation Center at the University of Virginia.Dr. Ailawadi was raised in Maryland and New Jersey. He attended an accelerated honors program in medical education at Northwestern University where he received the awards for best overall student and top surgical student. Additionally, he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. While completing a surgery residency at the University of Michigan, Dr. Ailawadi spent two research years investigating and understanding the development of aortic aneurysms. His work was recognized by the NIH/Lifeline Association and was chosen as the top research project in 2003. While at Michigan, he received the Top Resident and Young Investigator Awards. He then completed his training and joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.Dr. Ailawadi has internationally-recognized expertise in mitral and aortic valve disease with vast experience in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and percutaneous/transcatheter valve therapies having performed over 600 minimally invasive procedures and roughly 3000 heart operations. He has been invited to national and international conferences to share his expertise with novel minimally invasive approaches, valve disease, reoperative and AF surgery.At Virginia, Dr. Ailawadi was the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform hybrid AF ablation, the first U.S. Surgeon to perform the MitraClip procedure, and the world’s first transcaval TEVAR procedure. He has been the principal investigator for a novel left atrial appendage clip to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Ailawadi served one of five core principal investigators leading the CTSN linked research consortium (NIH) developing new trials in cardiac surgery. Currently, Dr. Ailawadi is on the executive steering committee for numerous transcatheter and surgical trials in valvular disease. Dr. Ailawadi is the surgical national principal investigator for the Summit Trial investigating TENDYNE, a transcatheter mitral valve replacement without stopping the heart. In 2019, Dr. Ailawadi completed his MBA from the Darden School of Business.Dr. Ailawadi has been funded by the NIH, AHA, among other grants. His research lab studies novel mechanisms and new treatments for aortic aneurysms. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and JACC. Dr. Ailawadi is member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the Cardiac Surgery Biology Club. In his leisure time, Dr. Ailawadi enjoys exercise, sports, and spending time with his wife, Aarti, and their three children. Dr. Ailawadi is highly rated in 28 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Tricuspid Regurgitation, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), and Heart Bypass Surgery. Dr. Ailawadi is board certified in Surgery and Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Ailawadi is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Fukuhara earned his medical degree from Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan (2006), where he also received training in surgery (2009) and cardiovascular surgery (2010) with intense endovascular experience. After moving to the United States, he completed his general surgery residency at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY (2014), cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (2016), aortic surgery fellowship at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (2017), and aortic and endovascular fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH (2018). He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the Japan Surgical Society. Dr. Fukuhara is highly rated in 19 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Aortic Dissection, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Aortic Regurgitation, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), and Aortic Valve Replacement. Dr. Fukuhara is board certified in Surgery and Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Fukuhara is currently accepting new patients.

George Deeb is a Thoracic Surgeon and a General Surgeon practicing medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Deeb is highly rated in 13 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Aortic Valve Stenosis, Aortic Dissection, Aortic Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Replacement, and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). Dr. Deeb is board certified in Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Deeb is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Steven F. Bolling's expertise in mitral valve repair continues to result in a large volume of referrals for mitral valve reconstruction. His innovative approach to mitral valve repair in patients with end-stage left ventricular failure and outstanding ability to repair even the most challenging mitral valve abnormalities have received wide spread international acclaim.Bibliography 283. Bolling SF. First TMVR Enters U.S. Market as a Therapy and a Gateway. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017 Nov 7;70(19):2328-2329. Doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2017.09.1081. No abstract available. PMID:29096802.284. Rogers JH, Boyd WD, Smith TWR, Ebner AA, Bolling SF. Combined MitraClip Edge to Edge Repair with Millipede IRIS Mitral Annuloplasty. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2018 Feb 12;11(3):323-324. Doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2017.11.007. No abstract available. PMID: 29413250.292. LaPar DJ, Likosky DS, Zhang M, Theurer P, Fonner CE, Kern JA, Bolling SF, Drake DH, Speir AM, Rich JB, Kron IL, Prager RL, Ailawadi G; Investigators for the Virginia Cardiac Surgery Quality Initiative (VCSQI) and the Michigan Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons (MSTCVS). Development of a Risk Prediction Model and Clinical Risk Score for Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 Feb 1. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29410187.293. Mack MJ; Abraham WT; Lindenfeld J; Bolling SF; et al. Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip in Patients with Heart Failure and Secondary Mitral Regurgitation: Design and Rationale of the COAPT Trial. Am Heart J. 2018 Nov;205: 1-11. PMID: 30134187295. Rankin JS, Grau-Sepulveda M, Shahian DM, Gillinov AM, Suri R, Gammie JS, Bolling SF, McCarthy PM, Thourani VH, Ad N, O'Brien SM, Jacobs JP, Badhwar V. The Impact of Mitral Disease Etiology on Operative Mortality Following Mitral Valve Operations. Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 May 16. pii: S0003-4975(18)30683-0. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2018.04.053. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29777670.296. Gammie JS, Chikwe J, Badhwar V, Thibault DP, et al. Isolated Mitral Valve Surgery: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Analysis. Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 Sept: 106(3):716-727. PMID: 30032907.299. Taramasso M, Gavazzoni M, Pozzoli A, Dreyfus GD, Bolling SF, et al. Tricuspid Regurgitation: Predicting the Need for Intervention, Procedural Success, and Recurrence of Disease. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2019 Apr;12(4):605-621. PMID: 30947904.300. Hobbs RD, Assi A, Bolling SF, Patel HJ, Deeb GM, Romano MA, Haft JW, et al. Long-Term Survival and Echocardiographic Findings After Surgical Ventricular Restoration. Ann Thorac Surg. 2019 Jun;107(6):1754-1760. PMID: 30586580. Dr. Bolling is highly rated in 11 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Mitral Stenosis, Tricuspid Regurgitation, Pacemaker Implantation, and Patent Foramen Ovale Repair. Dr. Bolling is board certified in Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Bolling is currently accepting new patients.

Francis D. Pagani, M.D., Ph.D., is the Otto Gago MD Endowed Professor in Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Pagani’s clinical focus includes surgical therapies for advanced heart failure including heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support, complex re-operative surgery for valvular heart disease, and surgery for coronary artery disease. Dr. Pagani also serves as the surgical lead for the multidisciplinary Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy program and has an active practice in surgical treatments (myectomies) for this disorder. Dr. Pagani also serves as the surgical lead for The Center for Circulatory Support (VAD Program). Dr. Pagani’s has an active research program supported, in part, by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). His research focuses on the bioengineering development and clinical testing of mechanical circulatory support devices in the treatment of end-stage heart disease, clinical health outcomes research, and use of stem cell transplantation for myocardial regeneration. Dr. Pagani is highly rated in 18 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM), Heart Transplant, and Heart Bypass Surgery. Dr. Pagani is board certified in Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Pagani is currently accepting new patients.

Matthew A. Romano, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery and the Director of the multidisciplinary Mitral Valve Clinic. He joined the faculty in 2009 following the completion of thoracic surgery and surgical critical care residencies at the University of Michigan. He received additional advanced training in the surgical treatment of complex valvular heart disease and heart transplantation. His clinical interests and expertise include mitral and tricuspid valve repair, minimally invasive valve surgery, percutaneous and catheter based mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement, and treatment of atrial fibrillation. He was recently awarded the American Heart Association/Mitral Foundation Mitral Valve Reference Surgeon distinction for his high rate of mitral valve repair and excellent outcomes. He has established a minimally invasive surgical program for isolated treatment of atrial fibrillation. His research is focused on mitral valve disease as well as atrial fibrillation and heart failure. Dr. Romano is highly rated in 19 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Mitral Stenosis, Endocarditis, Heart Valve Repair, and Patent Foramen Ovale Repair. Dr. Romano is board certified in Surgical Critical Care and Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Romano is currently accepting new patients.