Milwaukee, WI 

“I am a strong advocate for less invasive cardiac surgery.  I have trained numerous surgeons and have highlighted multiple minimally-invasive cardiac surgery techniques at medical meetings across the country."  -- Dr. Balkhy

Photo by Jim Karageorge

Expertise

Minimally-invasive cardiac surgery; robotic heart surgery including coronary revascularization and valve repair; off pump coronary artery bypass grafting; arrhythmia surgery

Practice Experience

Dr. Balkhy specializes in less-invasive and sternal sparing approaches for a wide spectrum of cardiac surgical procedures. This includes robotic totally endoscopic coronary bypass and endoscopic mitral valve repair, as well as port access aortic valve replacement, and surgery for atrial fibrillation using both robotic and thoracoscopic approaches.

Cardica Experience

Since the introduction of Cardica’s automated anastomosis systems in the United States, Dr. Balkhy has deployed more than 800 devices in over 400 patients, and has emerged as a world leader in the field of coronary connector surgery.

In early 2010, Dr. Balkhy achieved a milestone, completing over 100 connector totally endoscopic robotic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) procedures in less than two years using Intuitive Surgical's daVinci(R) Surgical System together with the Cardica Flex-A systems.  Dr. Balkhy is one of the few surgeons in the United States performing multi-vessel TECAB surgeries using Cardica’s Flex-A system to attach blood vessels during closed-chest, completely robotic bypass procedures.

Dr. Balkhy was a principle investigator in the PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System clinical trial, and has published and presented multiple patient studies on the efficacy and patency rates of Cardica’s C-Port® Anastomosis Systems.

Background Information

Dr. Husam Balkhy is the director of the Center for Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at The Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He received his cardiothoracic and vascular surgery training at Tufts New England Medical Center and the Lahey Clinic in Boston, MA. Board certified in general and cardiothoracic surgery, he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Chest Physicians. In addition, he is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, and the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgical Society.

How to find Dr. Balkhy

Dr. Balkhy is a member of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Group S.C.  His office is located at 10150 West National Avenue, Suite 190, West Allis, Wisconsin. He may be reached by calling 414-271-5119.Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. For more information on Dr. Balkhy, please visit www.husambalkhy.com.

Patient Stories

Holly Work