Cardiothoracic Surgical Treatments

When you choose Overlake, you can be confident that you’ll be receiving the best possible cardiothoracic surgical care. Our team of board-certified surgeons treats the broad spectrum of cardiothoracic diseases, including complex conditions. Overlake’s care provides exceptional surgical outcomes as measured against national and regional standards.

We employ innovative technologies and offer advanced surgeries to treat a range of cardiothoracic conditions that affect the chest (thorax), heart and lung. We’re one of the few hospitals in the U.S. performing aortic valve repair surgery and the only hospital in the Western U.S. performing a specialized aortic valve reconstruction called the Ozaki procedure in adults.

We know you may have concerns about undergoing surgery. Our cardiothoracic surgeons will get to know you and your family, answer all your questions, provide personalized care and stay in close touch with you throughout your recovery.

We offer many innovative techniques to help you get the best results. For example, our cardiothoracic anesthesiologists use non-narcotic pain relief methods to keep you comfortable after surgery. You recover with less pain and a reduced risk of medication side effects. 

Cardiac Surgery

Surgeons at Overlake’s Cardiothoracic Surgical Program perform hundreds of open-heart procedures every year, with excellent patient outcomes, and we are the only open-heart surgery program serving the east side of the Seattle area.

Our heart specialists work as a team to select the best treatment for your unique condition. Whenever possible, we perform minimally invasive heart surgeries, using smaller incisions and less invasive techniques. These procedures enable some patients to have faster recoveries, but they aren’t right for everyone. Many heart conditions require opening the chest. Our procedures include: 

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)

Healthgrades rates our patient outcomes for CABG among the region’s best. CABG is a surgical procedure used to treat coronary artery disease, which is the narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply blood flow to your heart muscle. During this procedure, our surgeons reroute blood flow around a blocked or narrowed artery through the placement of a healthy blood vessel from elsewhere in your body. They may use an artery from your chest, a vein from your leg or an artery in your arm. Blood bypasses the blockage by going through the new graft to reach the heart muscle.

Valve repair and replacement

We repair or replace heart valves that don’t open or close properly. A valve may be too stiff (stenosis) or allow blood to move into sections of the heart where it doesn’t belong (regurgitation). Traditional valve replacement typically requires the use of an artificial valve or animal tissue valve.

Overlake offers the full spectrum of valve care. Overlake performs Transcatheter (percutaneous) aortic valve replacement (TAVR), as well as traditional open heart valve replacement. We also offer several advanced surgical valve procedures including complex mitral valve repairs, minimally invasive valve surgery, and advanced aortic valve repairs. 

Overlake is the only medical center in the western United States to perform the Ozaki procedure in adults. One of our renowned cardiothoracic surgeons, Robert Binford, MD, uses tissue from your own heart to reconstruct a new aortic valve.

In addition, our surgeons have the option to use a sutureless aortic heart valve for high-risk patients undergoing CABG or other heart procedures. They quickly place the valve without needing to suture it into place. This reduces the length of time that you’re under anesthesia and in surgery.

Aortic aneurysm repair

We remove a weakened section of the aorta (the body’s largest blood vessel) and replace it with a synthetic tube called a graft. Other procedures like CABG or valve replacement may also take place, if needed. 

Maze procedure for atrial fibrillation

Our surgeons use the maze procedure to treat atrial fibrillation in people who are already undergoing open-chest surgery for other conditions like a blocked artery or valve disease. This complex procedure requires a combination of small incisions and specially designed tools to create scars that redirect the abnormal electrical signals that are causing the heart to beat out of rhythm.

Ventricular aneurysm repair

Our surgeons remove the weakened portion of the heart’s wall caused by a heart attack. The resulting hole is closed by suturing the walls back together or sewing a patch over the defect. This can decrease the risk of blood clots forming, as well as improve the function of the heart.

Cardiac tumor resection

Cardiac tumors are extremely rare and surgery to remove them requires a high level of surgical expertise. You want a surgeon with experience operating on the heart to remove these tumors. You’ll find these skilled surgeons at Overlake where we successfully treat cancerous and noncancerous cardiac tumors.

Septal defect repairs

Our surgeons place a patch over a hole in a heart chamber wall to close an opening that shouldn’t be there. Septal defects (holes in the heart) allow blood to move through the heart in the wrong direction. They include atrial septal defects (a hole in the top chamber wall) or ventricular septal defects (a hole in the lower chamber wall).

Thoracic Surgery 

Our team offers comprehensive treatment of benign and malignant disorders of the chest. Through partnership with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, we offer a broad range of treatment options for lung cancer, including surgical removal, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Your case will be discussed with a multidisciplinary team to help decide which treatment is right for you. Our surgeons offer both open and minimally invasive techniques for the removal of lung cancer.

In addition to lung cancer, we treat tumors of the chest outside the lung (mediastinal tumors), chest infections, pneumothorax, and fluid buildup. We offer minimally invasive surgery whenever possible.