Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, specializes in the surgical management of heart failure, and is an expert in high-risk cardiac surgery. He has performed more than 1,000 heart transplants — including the total artificial heart — and countless cardiac surgery procedures, including transmyocardial laser revascularization, complex valve reconstruction, and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Dr. Jeevanandam has a special interest in treating patients traditionally considered inoperable. He has repaired damaged hearts in several patients awaiting transplant, enabling those patients to forgo transplantation. He also has successfully performed transplants involving patients who do not fit the standard criteria for transplant. Additionally, Dr. Jeevanandam has received national attention for his skill in performing bloodless cardiac surgery, which requires the use of precise surgical techniques to minimize blood loss during the procedure — sparing the need for a blood transfusion.
Dr. Jeevanandam is a pioneer in the field of mechanical circulatory assist devices. In October 2000, he was the first surgeon in the world to successfully implant the CardioVad, a revolutionary, permanent circulatory assist device that boosts heart function in patients with severe heart failure who are not candidates for transplant. He continues to be a recognized leader in the field of advanced heart failure and currently serves on the FDA Device Panel.
He is a world-renowned surgeon, having started high risk and cardiac assist programs in countries including China, India, the Middle East and South America.
Dr. Jeevanandam was one of the physicians leaders of the transplant care team that made history in December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours, replacing the failing hearts, livers and kidneys of 29-year-olds Sarah McPharlin and Daru Smith.