The 20 Best Heart Bypass Surgery Doctors in Maryland, US

Jennifer S. Lawton, M.D., is the Richard Bennett Darnall Professor of Surgery and chief of the Johns Hopkins Division of Cardiac Surgery, as well as director of the Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory. Dr. Lawton’s clinical area of focus is adult cardiac surgery. She also leads the division’s residency education program, and conduct research in myocyte volume regulation and ATP-sensitive K channels. She has held important leadership roles in several organizations, including chair of the surgery study section of the American Heart Association, vice-chair of the ACGME residency review committee, and president of the Women in Thoracic Surgery. Lawton’s achievements also include 81 peer-review publications, 7 book chapters, and 18 abstracts. She has delivered over 50 invited lectures. Dr. Lawton is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. Her top areas of expertise are Heart Tumor, Aortic Dissection, Atrial Myxoma, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

Niv Ad is a Thoracic Surgeon in Takoma Park, Maryland. Dr. Ad is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Heart Bypass Surgery, and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

Glenn Whitman, M.D., joined the Johns Hopkins Division of Cardiac Surgery in 2009 as associate professor of surgery. His training began at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a resident in surgery from 1979 to 1984. He then finished his general surgery training and then completed his training as a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Colorado. Thereafter, Dr. Whitman became an assistant professor at the University of Colorado and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the Denver Veteran’s Administration Hospital, where he remained for two years. In 1990, he returned to his home city of Philadelphia, where he became chief of cardiac surgery at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, formerly Women’s Medical College, the first medical school in the United States to accept women. Dr. Whitman remained there for eight years before moving to the University of Maryland as chief of cardiac surgery. He has served as the director of transplantation and United Network for Organ Sharing representative at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, as well as its director of perioperative services, managing preadmission testing, the operating room, and the post-anesthesia care unit. In 2007, he left Temple for Thomas Jefferson Hospital, taking over the responsibilities of running the cardiac surgery intensive care unit. In summer 2009, he was returned to Baltimore to run the cardiac surgery intensive care unit and oversee the performance improvement/quality assurance program for cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Whitman’s initial research interests were in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury and P31 nuclear magnetic resonance of cardiac bioenergetics, for which he received both National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs funding. He has since become involved with quality outcome, and has presented at the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons on the difficulties associated with performance improvement and quality assurance in the field of health care, particularly in the ICU. This past year, Dr. Whitman has stepped down from his role as the Chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgery Workforce on Critical Care, a role he had held since 2014. He continues to participate in the content of the Annual Meetings for the Society of Thoracic Surgery, The American Association of Thoracic Surgery, and The STS Fall Critical Care meetings as the Programmatic Co-Chair for Perioperative Care. This past year he has participated in two major consensus statements on postcardiotomy shock (see below) and low ejection fraction CABG patients (awaiting review). 2020 EACTS/ELSO/STS/AATS ExpertConsensus on Post-CardiotomyExtracorporeal Life Support in Adult Patients Ann Thorac Surg 2012;111:327-69. Dr. Whitman is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Cardiogenic Shock, Compartment Syndrome, Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM), Heart Bypass Surgery, and Heart Transplant.

James Gammie is the surgical lead and co-director for the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute and cardiac surgeon-in-chief for the Johns Hopkins Health System. With over 23 years of experience in cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Gammie joined Johns Hopkins after serving as chief of the division of cardiac surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center from 2012 to 2021. Dr. Gammie graduated from Brown University with a degree in biochemistry, and received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Gammie trained in both general and cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His clinical and research efforts are focused on decreasing the mortality and morbidity of valve disease and improving the surgical treatment of mitral valve and other structural heart diseases. He performs over 225 mitral valve operations and interventions per year, and leads a cardiac surgery team that performs more than 1,200 cardiac operations annually. He is recognized by the Mitral Foundation and the American Heart Association as one of less than 25 reference surgeons in the U.S. for his experience in mitral valve repair and excellent patient outcomes. Dr. Gammie has a strong interest in all aspects of heart valve disease, and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed contributions in leading specialty journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Circulation. He has served as a deputy editor for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and as chair of the Access and Publications Committee of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. He serves on the steering committee of the NHLBI-sponsored Cardiothoracic Surgery Trials Network, and led the protocol development committee of a worldwide randomized tricuspid valve surgery trial. He is a member of the Halsted Society and the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgical Society. In 2011, Dr. Gammie was awarded the Johns Hopkins/University of Maryland Alliance for Science and Technology Development BioMaryland LIFE Prize, and he was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the University of Maryland Baltimore in 2014. He is the inventor of a novel transseptal catheter designed to simplify transcatheter cardiac procedures, and founded a commercial company to commercialize the device. With 20 issued or submitted patents, he continues to innovate in the mitral valve space, and recently published the world’s first clinical experience with a novel surgical repair for secondary mitral valve regurgitation, which was developed in his laboratory: mitral valve translocation. From 2016–2021, Dr. Gammie was consistently named a Top Doctor by Baltimore magazine, and in 2018 he received the Golden Apple Teacher of the Year award. Dr. Gammie is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Tricuspid Regurgitation, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Embolectomy, and Heart Bypass Surgery.

Dr. Ghoreishi is an internationally recognized expert. He brings exceptional skill in open and endovascular aortic repair, including aortic valve repair, Ross operation, valve sparing aortic root repair, innovation in minimally invasive techniques for aortic aneurysm repair, endovascular repair of high risk patients with acute type A or type B aortic dissection, and first-in-human procedures such as the Endo-Bentall repair for aortic dissection. His clinical leadership and innovation have drawn national and international referrals and advanced standards of care in this challenging field. Dr. Ghoreishi has served as Principal Investigator on several federally funded studies through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and is a frequent contributor to national guidelines and surgical education symposia. Dr. Ghoreishi is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Aortic Dissection, Cystic Medial Necrosis of Aorta, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Embolectomy, and Heart Bypass Surgery.

Ahmet Kilic is a cardiac surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an associate professor of surgery at the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also serves as director of heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. Dr. Kilic's areas of clinical expertise include adult cardiac surgery with a special interest in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Kilic served as associate professor of surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and was the director of the heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support programs. He was co-director of the advanced heart failure program as well as the vice director of clinical and academic affairs in the division of cardiac surgery. Although a recognized leader in the field of heart failure, Dr. Kilic’s expertise runs the spectrum of cardiac surgery. Dr. Kilic is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Heart Tumor, Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM), Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis, Heart Transplant, and Heart Bypass Surgery.

Thomas Matthew is a Cardiologist in Bethesda,, Maryland. Dr. Matthew is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Heart Bypass Surgery, and Heart Valve Repair.

Mark Nelson, MD, specializes in cardiothoracic surgery and is board certified in thoracic and cardiac surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He practices at UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and is affiliated with UPMC Shadyside and UPMC Presbyterian. Dr. Nelson completed his fellowship and residency at West Virginia University School of Medicine and medical education at University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Nelson is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Carotid Artery Disease, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Carotid Artery Surgery, and Heart Bypass Surgery.

Hamza Aziz’s clinical expertise includes general cardiac surgery, heart bypass operations, aneurysmal dilation, catheter-based technology to treat stenotic or narrowed aortic valves and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). His research interests include genetic causes of abnormal valve development and aneurysm, Dr. Aziz is published in the fields of cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, pediatric cardiac surgery and breast cancer surgery. Dr. Aziz is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Aortic Valve Stenosis, Bicuspid Aortic Valve, Collapsed Lung, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Aortic Valve Replacement.

Rawn Salenger is a Thoracic Surgeon in Towson, Maryland. Dr. Salenger is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

David Zimrin is an Interventional Cardiologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Zimrin is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Gaucher Disease Type 2, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

Michael Domanski is an Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist and a Radiologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Domanski is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

Bartley Griffith is a Thoracic Surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Griffith is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Hemolysis, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Aortic Regurgitation, Embolectomy, and Aortic Valve Replacement.

Michael Fiocco, MD, specializes in cardiothoracic surgery and is board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Fiocco received his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, followed by a fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Fiocco is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Bicuspid Aortic Valve, Aortic Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Heart Valve Repair.

Paul Gurbel is a Cardiologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gurbel is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Acute Coronary Syndrome, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), and Angioplasty.

Aloke Finn is a Cardiologist in Rockville,, Maryland. Dr. Finn is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Atherosclerosis, Coronary Heart Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension, Angioplasty, and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI).

Chetan Pasrija, M.D. is a cardiothoracic surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an assistant professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Pasrija specializes in heart and lung transplantation, aortic surgery, and the surgical treatment of ischemic heart disease. He also has a particular interest in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. He has published extensively on the topics of heart and lung transplant, massive pulmonary embolism, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, and minimally invasive left ventricular assist device implantation. As a trainee, Dr. Pasrija was heavily involved with the surgical implantation and postoperative management of the first cardiac xenotransplant performed in the world at the University of Maryland. During his time as faculty at Vanderbilt University, he was a part of one of the largest heart and lung transplant programs in the United States. This included significant involvement with cutting-edge technologies to expand the donor pool, including normothermic regional perfusion and the Transmedics Organ Care System. Dr. Pasrija was co-surgeon in a combined heart-lung transplant with a groundbreaking 9.5 hour period of time without any blood flow using a novel 10⁰C cooler. He has also performed heart transplants with travel as far as Puerto Rico. Outside of transplantation, Dr. Pasrija is a high-volume cardiac surgeon, with an interest in complex open and endovascular aortic surgery. He performed the first ascending stent in the state of Tennessee, as well as the first total arch replacement without cooling the patient’s body in Tennessee using the Thoraflex device. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Bioengineering at the University of Maryland and his Medical Degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed an Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery residency at the University of Maryland. During his training, he spent time at Vanderbilt University to learn advanced heart failure techniques as well as time at the University of Toronto to learn advanced lung transplant and pulmonary thromboendartectomy techniques. Additionally, he has a Masters in Clinical Research from the University of Maryland. Outside of his clinical interests, Dr. Pasrija is an accomplished investigator. During his post-doctoral research fellowship, he received a competitive American Heart Association post-doctoral fellowship award in addition to institutional awards for excellence in research. His research efforts focus on improving donor preservation with novel perfusion and temperature techniques, improving donor evaluation methods, and establishing novel immunologic therapies for transplant tolerance. Dr. Pasrija is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Aortic Dissection, Embolectomy, and Heart Transplant.

Duke Cameron, M.D. is a cardiothoracic surgeon in Baltimore, MD. He is a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Cameron is world-renowned for his expertise in the surgical repair of the aorta. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to cardiac surgery, particularly aortic surgery for Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome and other connective tissue disorders. He also specializes in mitral valve repair and adult congenital heart disease. His multiple academic contributions span the breadth of pediatric and adult cardiac surgery. Dr. Cameron is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Medical School. He completed his general surgery training at Yale-New Haven Hospital and his cardiothoracic fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. After his training, he remained on the faculty at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Cameron most recently served on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Johns Hopkins. Dr. Cameron is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Cystic Medial Necrosis of Aorta, Aortic Dissection, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Patent Foramen Ovale Repair, and Heart Valve Repair.

Dr. Allen Everett is a professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include general pediatric cardiology. Dr. Everett earned his M.D. from East Tennessee State University. He completed his residency in pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Everett joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2003. He has become the program leader at Johns Hopkins in pediatric biomarker discovery, with a particular focus on brain injury, pulmonary hypertension and effects of medical plastics exposure on congenital heart disease outcomes. He is the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on multiple NIH- funded R01 studies. Dr. Everett also serves as the director of the Pediatric Proteome Center. Dr. Everett is an author of over 140 peer review papers, three book chapters, editor/author of the Illustrated Field Guide to Congenital Heart Disease and Repair, now in its fourth edition, and senior associate editor for the journal, Cardiology in the Young. He is a co-developer of PedCathTM cardiac catheterization software with Scientific Software Solutions which has been translated into five languages, has five US biomarker patents filed and brain injury biomarkers licensed to ImmunArray, Ltd. Dr. Everett is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are Hypertension, Pulmonary Hypertension, Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), Heart Bypass Surgery, and Heart Transplant.

Seth Martin is a Cardiologist in Lutherville, Maryland. Dr. Martin is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in Heart Bypass Surgery. His top areas of expertise are High Cholesterol, Atherosclerosis, Heart Attack, Heart Bypass Surgery, and Pacemaker Implantation.