The Wake Forest Baptist Heart Center Delivers Innovative Heart Valve Replacement and Other Cardiovascular Procedures
Why should you choose Wake Forest University Baptist’s Heart Center when you or a loved one needs heart valve replacement, angioplasty, or another treatment? The answer is simple. Here, you’ll have access to leading edge procedures – and to the physicians who developed them.
More than 50 years ago, Heart Center cardiothoracic surgeons were among the first to perform open-heart surgery in North Carolina. Since then, our surgeons have continued to pioneer new and innovative options for patients in need of heart valve replacement and other cardiovascular procedures.
For example:
• Cardiothoracic surgeon Neal D. Kon, M.D. is a nationally recognized expert in heart valve research, and he has pioneered the use of the groundbreaking Freestyle® stentless valve. In addition, Kon developed a better technique for exposing the valve during heart valve replacement surgery. Our Heart Center surgeons have used this technique for mitral valve repair with great success.
• Heart Center cardiologist Michael A. Kutcher, M.D. introduced angioplasty—the gold standard for chest pain treatment—to the region a quarter century ago.
• Cardiothoracic surgeon John W. Hammon, Jr., M.D. was the first in the state to perform the cut and sew Cox-Maze procedure to cure atrial fibrillation.
• Heart Center cardiologist David M. Herrington, M.D., M.P.H., is considered a national leader in women’s cardiovascular disease research.
• Cardiologist Robert J. Applegate, M.D. was the lead investigator for a nationwide clinical trial to evaluate drug-eluting stents.
Learn more about the Wake Forest Baptist approach to heart valve replacement and about our other interventional cardiology services.