Boulder Valley's Most Experienced Heart Surgery Team
Cardiothoracic Surgery chair Dr. Daniel O'Hair and highly skilled surgeon
Dr. Bryan Mahan lead the only full-service Cardiothoracic Surgery program
-- and the only full-time Open Heart Surgery program -- performing procedures
in the Boulder Valley.
With more than 50 years of combined experience, our cardiovascular surgical
team offers considerable expertise that leads to better outcomes and healthier
lives. At Foothills Hospital in Boulder, our expert team performs a complete
range of advanced thoracic and cardiovascular surgeries and minimally
invasive procedures, including mitral valve repair using the latest da
Vinci Xi™ technology.
We specialize in treating adult heart disease, including the following
conditions and treatments:
Aortic aneurysms
Aortic root replacement and repair
Aortic dissection
Aortic valve replacement and repair
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
Complex re-operative surgeries
Robotic-assisted mitral valve repair using the da Vinci Xi™ surgical system
Heart infections
Lung cancer and other chest diseases requiring surgery
Mitral valve replacement and repair
Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (Cox-Maze IV procedure)
Tricuspid valve replacement and repair
BCH cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons
Dr. Daniel O'Hair and
Dr. Bryan Mahan have extensive experience with traditional and minimally-invasive procedures.
Please call
303-442-2395 to schedule an appointment today.
Minimally-Invasive Heart Procedures
Cox-Maze IV: Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is
the most common cardiac arrhythmia, is a major cause of stroke, and is
increasing in prevalence. Treatment options include anticoagulant medications
and catheter-based or surgical procedures. Surgical treatments for AFib
have improved greatly over the past two decades. Boulder Heart's heart
surgeons offer extensive experience in the current the gold standard for
surgical AFib treatment: the Cox-Maze IV procedure. Involving only small
incisions and punctures, Cox-Maze IV combines bipolar radiofrequency with
cryoablation.
BCH's heart surgeons are one of only handful of surgeons in the state to
perform hybrid ablation, an advanced, minimally invasive procedure to
treat atrial fibrillation. Hybrid ablation is a collaborative procedure
performed by both a heart surgeon and an electrophysiologist in which
the heart surgeon creates scar tissue on the outside of the heart while
the electrophysiologist does the same on the inside by using a catheter-led
device to freeze malfunctioning tissue. The resulting “helpful”
scar tissue blocks damaged electrical pathways that cause AFib's characteristic
irregular heartbeat. Patients experience only three small incisions in
the chest and small punctures in the groin, and can return home after
just one or two nights in the hospital.
Robotic-assisted mitral valve repair: Noninvasive treatment to repair failing mitral valves. Robotically assisted
mitral valve surgery is a type of minimally invasive heart surgery on
the mitral valve with an endoscopic, closed chest approach. At Boulder
Heart, it is performed by Dr. Daniel O'Hair, Colorado's most experienced
surgeon with this innovative procedure. Your heart has four valves: mitral,
tricuspid, aortic and pulmonic. The mitral valve lies between the upper
heart chamber and the lower heart chamber. In patients with sever mitral
valve disease, the valve must be repaired or replaced, with a preference
for the former. If you require mitral valve surgery, either repair or
replacement, you may be a candidate for robotically assisted mitral valve surgery.
TEVAR repairs the aorta using a stent-graft, a flexible metal coil that
seals off the weak part of the aorta and protects it from growing any
larger. Since TEVAR only requires small groin incisions, it typically
leads to shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times compared to
traditional surgical approaches.
Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR): This traditional open-heart surgery procedure is the standard of care for
patients with stenosis or regurgitation who are healthy enough to have
major surgery. A cardiothoracic surgeon and team remove the narrowed valve
and replace it with a mechanical valve (made of
metal) or a biological valve (made of animal or human tissue).
Minimally Invasive Open-Heart Surgery: Like traditional open-heart surgery, this procedure is done through a smaller
incision at the breastbone. A medical assessment is needed to determine
if this is an option for you.
Benefits of Minimally-Invasive Heart Procedures
Advantages of a minimally invasive approach include:
Reduced pain and recovery time
Lower risk of infection
Less blood loss
Smaller, less noticeable scarring
Shorter hospital stay (generally 1-2 nights in the hospital)
Make an Appointment Today Make an appointment today to meet with our surgical care team and learn
about the best treatment options for you.
To schedule, call
303-442-2395.
Cardiothoracic Surgery chair Dr. Daniel O'Hair and highly skilled surgeon
Dr. Bryan Mahan lead the only full-service Cardiothoracic Surgery program
-- and the only full-time Open Heart Surgery program -- performing procedures
in the Boulder Valley.
