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Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
Physicians in the Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, part of NYU Langone Health’s Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, employ their advanced training in cardiac and thoracic anesthesia to make the perioperative period both safe and comfortable for patients.
Overseen by Michael Schlame, MD, division director, and Jennie Y. Ngai, MD, associate division director, our clinical services are built on a strong foundation of education and research.
We provide anesthesia for major adult cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiac surgery, and thoracic procedures at NYU Langone’s Kimmel Pavilion and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone. Our faculty and staff also cover adult cardiac surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
Our Role in Education
An integral part of our division is educating medical students, residents, and fellows in the care of patients who need cardiac and thoracic procedures.
Medical students can receive a week of specialty training in the Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology during an elective anesthesiology rotation. Physicians in the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine Residency also rotate with us, and we offer a comprehensive, one-year Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship.
Our trainees experience a wide variety of cases, including adult cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass, robotic-assisted lung resection, transcatheter valve repair, and pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass, among many others. Physicians in training also learn innovative technologies such as two- and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography, cerebral oximetry, and advanced hemodynamic monitoring and the selected use of epidural and paravertebral anesthesia.
Our Role in Patient Care
Our division faculty deliver anesthesia for robotic-assisted mitral valve repair, robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and transcatheter mitral valve replacement. We also provide anesthesia for complex aortic surgery, heart failure requiring implantation of a ventricular assist device, heart and lung transplants, and lung resection.
Our faculty provide their expertise for the full spectrum of pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery, including single ventricle palliation, switch operations, repair of septal defects, and valve procedures.
We also care for patients in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and the electrophysiology suites. Patients may include children with congenital disease requiring diagnostic and interventional catheterization procedures, correction of cardiac conduction abnormalities, percutaneous valvuloplasty, and device closures.
Our Role in Research
Our faculty and fellows regularly publish their research on anesthesiology care for cardiothoracic patients in peer-reviewed journals.
Con: Perioperative Echocardiography Accreditation Is Costly, Time Consuming, and Unnecessary
Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia. 2024 Sep ; 38:2115-2117
Mitral Leaflet Shortening as an Ancillary Procedure in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Annals of thoracic surgery. 2024 Aug ; 118:440-448
Upregulation of the AMPK-FOXO1-PDK4 pathway is a primary mechanism of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity reduction in tafazzin-deficient cells
Scientific reports. 2024 May 20; 14:11497
Development and Publication of Clinical Practice Parameters, Reviews, and Meta-analyses: A Report From the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Presidential Task Force
Anesthesia & analgesia. 2024 Apr 01; 138:878-892
Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in a Patient with Very Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Journal of cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia. 2023 Nov ; 37:2335-2349
Intraoperative Considerations and Management of Simultaneous Heart Kidney Transplantation
Journal of cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia. 2023 Oct ; 37:1862-1869
Cardiolipin prolongs the lifetimes of respiratory proteins in Drosophila flight muscle
Journal of biological chemistry. 2023 Oct ; 299:105241
Phospholipids can regulate complex I assembly independent of their role in maintaining mitochondrial membrane integrity
Cell reports. 2023 Aug 29; 42:112846