Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons

As Lung Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, we encourage you to talk to your doctor about early lung cancer screening options to find out if you qualify.

Our thoracic surgeons, Dr. Rachel Medbery and Dr. Matthew Gaudet, believe early detection is the key to improving survival rates for lung cancer patients.

Be sure to tune into KXAN News tomorrow morning to watch vascular surgeon Dr. Nicolas Zea discuss the innovative procedure he performed on his patient, Alfred, after a traumatic motorcycle crash caused life-threatening damage to his aorta. Check back here tomorrow for the entire story!

Wishing you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving from all of us at CTVS! Our offices will be closed Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th.

We have many things to be thankful for this time of year, including the volunteer work our physicians and team members do all over the world. CTVS cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey McNeil, and scrub tech, Angel, recently returned from a medical mission trip in Nigeria with the VOOM Foundation. This was Dr. McNeil’s fifth trip to Nigeria and he was extremely proud to work alongside his daughter, anesthesiologist Dr. Ashley McNeil, to perform multiple life-saving cardiac surgery cases.

Thank you to all the incredible medical team members for supporting patients in need!

Way to go Dr. Medbery! She has performed 500 robotic thoracic surgery cases. 🎉🤩 This robot cake is pretty awesome too!!

Today we say thank you to the brave men and women who have served our country. We are especially grateful for our very own veterans, Dr. Jeffrey Apple, Dr. Jeffrey McNeil and Dr. W. Chance Conner, for their selfless sacrifice. Happy Veterans Day!

We had the honor and privilege of celebrating Alan Wong’s retirement after 57 years at CTVS. It was a special night filled with laughter, love and admiration. The OR will never be the same! Congratulations Alan!

📷: Image Eclectic Photography

Dr. Turley and CTVS research intern and Texas A&M medical student Brittany Landavaso attended the Texas Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgeons meeting this past weekend. Brittany presented on the research she's conducted with our group and placed 3rd overall! Congratulations Brittany!! 👏

Happy Halloween from our 'Boo Boo Crew' to you! 🎃 Be safe out there!

In honor of World Stroke Day, we're sharing the common risk factors -- that you can prevent -- that often contribute to stroke. https://tinyurl.com/4fpzddh4

World Stroke Day is upon us, and we’re sharing some of the common risk factors that you can control that contribute to this potentially life-threatening occurrence. Learn how you can effectively lower your stroke risk: https://tinyurl.com/4fpzddh4

CTVS was proud to support the American Heart Association Austin Heart & Stroke Walk this past weekend. Our team had a great time walking to boost their heart health, connecting with heart disease and stroke survivors, and raising life saving funds!

Hey... we know those smiley faces! 😁 We hope you had a good weekend... here's to a brand new week! 💜

Our own Dr. Rachel Medbery was asked to weigh in on new research published in JAMA Surgery that examines the positive impact of female surgeons on patient outcomes. Read the entire article to learn more about the study and Dr. Medbery’s response: https://tinyurl.com/yzwee9yu

Our phones are currently down. We appreciate your patience as we work to restore service. Please utilize the patient portal to contact our office.

Patient Portal We use athenahealth to help you access your health information for different doctors' offices with just one email and password.

We are thrilled to announce Dr. Stephen Dewan has been named Travis County Medical Society Physician of the Year! 🎉 Dr. Dewan has practiced with CTVS since 1988 and is the past President of the group. Join us in congratulating Dr. Dewan on this prestigious honor!

We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our advanced practice providers each and every day! Our physician assistants and nurse practitioners are highly trained in all aspects of the cardiothoracic and vascular specialty fields. We are immensely proud of our team! 💜

Tech This Out! CBS Austin recently spoke with our own Dr. Rachel Medbery about a Texas-born company, Lazarus 3D, that developed revolutionary technology to create 3D printed organ replicas for pre-op rehearsals. Dr. Medbery has not used Pre-Sure yet but says it could be a game-changer. “In my case, if I’m dealing with a large tumor either in the lung or near the heart or the chest wall, the ability to practice ahead of time to know what I can and can’t get away with safely in the operating room would be huge,” Dr. Medbery said.

Texas-born company revolutionizes surgical rehearsals with 3D printed organ replicas It may be hard to believe but sometimes surgeons will rehearse a surgery on things like a bell pepper, mainly because it does an OK job of mimicking skin. But T

As AFib Awareness Month comes to a close, we're sharing Trisha's story about how the convergent procedure performed by Dr. Faraz Kerendi helped her get back to her healthy and active lifestyle. Trisha says it's important to advocate for yourself because "it's your life, you deserve to really live it." 💜 Read her story here: https://tinyurl.com/vnctd6z5

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a serious cardiovascular condition that is projected to affect more than 23 million people over the next several years. CTVS can help treat the disease’s most serious complications, and even prevent amputation in extreme cases: https://tinyurl.com/53s9mvm8

The aorta is the largest artery in the body, and if it becomes damaged or diseased, you could be in trouble. Learn more about some of the common aortic conditions that we treat at CTVS, and what you can do to help prevent them: https://tinyurl.com/bdhaaxuw

At CTVS, we are immensely proud of our highly skilled and experienced staff of surgical techs supporting our team of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons. Please join us in recognizing them this National Surgical Technologists Week!

Happy Women in Medicine Month to the very first female thoracic surgeon in Central Texas, Dr. Rachel Medbery! Dr. Medbery reminds all women that the road less traveled can be your friend... "You are not under the limitations of those before you. So you can be creative in constructing your road to success. You get to make your own path and personalize your journey toward whatever goals you set your sights on."

Join us in honoring women in medicine this September!

Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery in Central Texas Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) is a team of doctors and providers serving Austin, Texas and committed to providing the finest medical care.

Aortic dissections are one of the many serious heart conditions our cardiothoracic surgeons treat. Learn more about the risk factors and prevention tips (hint: stay on top of your annual wellness exams, especially if you have hypertension): https://tinyurl.com/34bpjjpp

Dr. Apple and Dr. Church were honored to gather with these respected physicians at the Travis County Medical Society past presidents luncheon. Four CTVS physicians have served as TCMS presidents – Dr. Jeffrey Apple, Dr. Phillip Church, Dr. Hap Arnold, and Dr. Thomas Kirksey.

A look behind the scenes... stay tuned for some new videos coming soon! 🎥🌟

We will never forget. 🇺🇸

We were honored to celebrate Mari's retirement after 17 dedicated years as CTVS' receptionist! Thank you for always welcoming patients with a smile! You will be missed. 💜

All CTVS offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day. Have a safe holiday weekend!

Our group of 23 surgeons have more than 500 years of surgical experience combined. We remain an independent surgical practice that has a deep history in our area, including many ‘firsts’. In 1986, our team performed the first heart transplant in Central Texas. Since that time we have performed over 300 heart transplants!

Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is a common heart condition characterized by an irregular heartbeat. If left untreated, it could lead to serious complications like stroke and heart failure. Find out how the innovative Convergent Procedure can be an effective option for those who don’t respond well to medication therapies in our latest blog. https://tinyurl.com/4kcdz92s

CTVS is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Kofi Quaye to our talented team of vascular surgeons. Learn more about his experience and special interests in PAD, amputation prevention, and treating carotid disease as he begins seeing patients next month: https://tinyurl.com/yckekmxz

Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery in Central Texas Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) is a team of doctors and providers serving Austin, Texas and committed to providing the finest medical care.

We are thrilled to offer patients minimally invasive heart procedures at St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center’s new Heart Valve Clinic. Dr. Conner and Dr. Neely were super excited to use the big scissors at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 😆

Thoracic sympathectomy is a procedure we routinely perform to help control excessive sweating. Now it is proving effective for patients with ventricular arrhythmia. Learn more about this life-saving surgery being done right here in Austin: https://tinyurl.com/2s38ew5b