Cardiac Surgery Lab

Cardiac surgery research contributes to the care of patients worldwide through the publication of research results in major, peer-reviewed scientific journals and the dissemination of information through teaching activities.

Milestones

Over the years, our cardiac surgery research team has made many significant advances in the practice of cardiac surgery. These include:

• The first removal of a tumor within the heart in the U.S. under total body hypothermia (1955)
• The first use of extra-corporeal circulation to repair a heart defect in an infant (1956)
• The development of the intra-aortic balloon assist device in conjunction with AVCO
• The development of a test to help assess heart attacks and the appropriateness of surgery (1986)
• The first heart-liver transplant operation in New England (1993)

Areas of Research

• Beating heart surgery
• Outcomes
• Robotics
• Thoracic aortic diseases
• Tissue engineering
• Transplantation biology
• Valve research