Cardiothoracic Surgery Center of Excellence

RENOWNED CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
The Cardiothoracic Surgery Center of Excellence at Tampa General Hospital’s (TGH) Heart & Vascular Institute (HVI) is nationally known for performing groundbreaking, minimally invasive, and robotic valve and bypass techniques such as sternal-sparing mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement procedures, hybrid robotic coronary revascularization, coronary artery bypass grafting, endocarditis, reoperative surgeries, and procedures to treat thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Cardiothoracic surgeons at TGH are pioneers in their fields and fellowship-trained by some of the most respected medical institutions in the U.S. Dr. Lucian Lozonschi, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Center, was among the first physicians in the U.S. to perform hybrid coronary revascularization. In addition, the institute features a hybrid program with the Electrophysiology Center, which offers more options for patients with complex arrhythmias.

HIGH VOLUME OF COMPLEX SURGERIES
Only a select number of academic medical centers offer the type of complex surgeries performed regularly by cardiothoracic surgeons at TGH. As a result, patients turned away by other hospitals often turn to Tampa General Hospital to receive life-saving procedures and surgeries. This translates to a level of expertise unmatched by most medical centers in the U.S.

UNIQUE EXPERTISE IN MITRAL VALVE REPAIR
TGH’s Heart & Vascular Institute is the only medical center in Florida and among a handful in the nation to offer true keyhole robotic cardiac surgery. Patients with mitral valve prolapse, including Barlow’s mitral valve disease, benefit greatly from this level of expertise. Using a minimally invasive, video-assisted robotic technique, cardiothoracic surgeons can repair or replace the valve flaps, giving patients better outcomes than with an open-heart or any other minimally invasive approach.

SPECIALIZING IN COMBINED MINIMALLY INVASIVE PROCEDURES: TAVR AND HYBRID ROBOTIC CORONARY REVASCULARIZATION
Interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons at Tampa General Hospital are leaders in the field of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures combined with robotic minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures using LIMA to LAD instead of open-heart surgeries. This approach results in excellent outcomes with shorter recovery times.

AMONG THE MOST ACTIVE CARDIOGENIC SHOCK PROGRAMS
TGH is second in Florida and among the top five hospitals in the Southeast region of the U.S. in volume for surgically implanted Impella devices. The Impella ventricular assist device provides a stable platform for patients suffering from acute cardiogenic shock or post-surgical heart failure. These temporary support devices allow patients adequate support for several weeks to months as a bridge to recovery or to other therapies, such as heart transplant and durable left ventricular assist devices.

EXPANDING INNOVATIVE PROCEDURES

Aortic Valve Repair
Tampa General Hospital has become a leading center for aortic valve repair — one of the most difficult cardiac surgeries to perform — using a new device available at only a select number of hospitals in the country. TGH performed its first procedure using the HAART Aortic Annuloplasty Device in 2024, and surgeons at the Heart & Vascular Institute have since performed 18 aortic 
repair surgeries. This advancement gives new hope to patients in their 40s and 50s, who traditionally would undergo aortic replacement. By offering aortic repair with the HAART device, surgeons at TGH can offer younger patients with aortic stenosis better outcomes.

Beating Heart Transplant
Tampa General Hospital was first in Florida to adopt and use the Organ Care System (OCS), which allows donated hearts to continue beating during transport. And in August 2024, surgeons at TGH were first in the nation to use that technology to perform a beating heart transplant on a patient with congestive heart failure. The OCS machine made it possible for the donor heart to pump and receive blood during transplant, allowing the heart muscles to remain intact. Since the procedure, the patient has been recoveringwell with a positive prognosis.

Grant to Research Innovative Device that Expands Heart Transplant Access
Dr. Lucian Lozonschi, professor and director of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplantation at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and Dr. Ruisheng Liu, professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, received a $500,000 grant to continue research on a new device that could make more donor hearts eligible for transplantation. 

The Synchronization Modulation Electric Field (SMEF) device protects donor hearts in a way that lengthens the time available for transit from five hours to more than eight. This novel approach would directly address the shortage of available hearts for donation by extending the time donor hearts are available. The device also improves the organ’s function by protecting its cellular activity during transport.

The project was one of six USF Interdisciplinary Research Award grants in 2024 and the largest amount from the program that promotes innovative research.

Cardiac Tumor Removal
Cardiothoracic surgeons at TGH are experts at removing large tumors in the heart using robotic techniques that employ very small incisions in the chest and avoid spreading the ribs. While over 75% of cardiac tumors are benign, this level of expertise benefits patients with shorter recovery times and improved outcomes.

MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION THERAPY
Tampa General Hospital’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy Program is unique to the region and the state. Before patients undergo surgery, they are encouraged to practice mental stress reduction techniques that are continued after surgery and combined with cardiac rehabilitation. This results in less pain medication use after surgery and also offers a long-term, holistic approach to mental and physical recalibration after recovery.

CLINICAL TRIALS

Dr. Lucian Lozonschi – Abbott Biowearables – Exploratory Study of Lactate Sensors Perioperative Measurement During Cardiac Surgery 
The purpose of this study is to monitor continuous dermal ISF lactate concentration in perioperative subjects undergoing cardiothoracic surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and determine the relationship of these measures to blood lactate measured by the i-STAT point-of-care testing system using the CG4+ cartridge. ISF glucose will also be measured continuously with the FreeStyle Libre Pro CGM. 

Dr. Lucian Lozonschi – Evaheart COMPETENCE – Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) 
The EVAHEART®2 Implantable Left Ventricular Assist System (EVA2 LVAS) was designed to assist the cardiac function of a diseased native heart by delivering partial or complete blood flow from 
the left ventricle to the ascending aorta via an implantable centrifugal pump. The purpose of this randomized study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of EVA2 by demonstrating noninferiority to HeartMate3 (Abbott Laboratories) when used for the treatment of advanced, refractory, New York Heart Association Class IIIb/IV heart failure. 

Dr. Lucian Lozonschi – OCS HEART OHP II Registry – TransMedics Organ Care System (OCS)
The TransMedics® Organ Care System (OCSTM) Heart System is an FDA-approved portable extracorporeal heart perfusion and monitoring system. The objective of this sponsor-initiated OHP-II Registry is to collect data on the post-transplant clinical outcomes of all donor hearts preserved and assessed on the OCS Heart System and to document the performance of the OCS device in real-world setting. 

Dr. Gundars Katlaps - OCS TOP LUNG Registry – TransMedics Organ Care System (OCS) 
The TransMedics Organ Care System (OCS) Lung is a portable normothermic organ perfusion, ventilation and monitoring medical device indicated for preservation of standard criteria donor lung pairs and for preservation of donor lung pairs initially deemed unacceptable for procurement and transplantation based on limitations of cold static preservation. The device allows for ex vivo assessment of donor lungs prior to transplantation. 

Dr. Gundars Katlaps - SURPASS Registry – ABIOMED 
A multi-center, prospective, observational, noninterventional, single-arm study of the intermediateterm clinical outcomes collected from EMR of patients who received hemodynamic support with Impella 5.5 as standard of care. This study will investigate the hypothesis that patients who receive Impella 5.5 for hemodynamic support will have favorable clinical outcomes as compared to historical outcomes of other mechanical support therapies, such as IABP or VA ECMO. 

Dr. Lucian Lozonschi – STAR-D – CytoSorbents – Safe and Timely Antithrombotic Removal – Direct Oral Anticoagulants Apixaban & Rivaroxaban 
This study is a prospective, multi-center, doubleblind, randomized pivotal trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of DrugSorb-ATR to reduce surgical and early post-surgical bleeding in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery requiring CPB <36hrs after last dose of apixaban or rivaroxaban. 

Dr. Gundars Katlaps – HeartWare – DT-PAS 
This post-market on-label study is intended to collect data from Destination Therapy (DT) subjects who meet the standard criteria for implantation of a Medtronic HeartWare™ HVAD™ System.

View the Heart & Vascular Institute Annual Highlights Booklet