Anesthesiology

The Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt is led by Dr. Robert Deegan, MD, PhD, and includes ten faculty members and ten nurse anesthetists. Three residents rotate through the service monthly. The fellowship program, lead by Dr. Annemarie Thompson, trains three fellows annually. The division works in tandem with the surgeons and cardiologists of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute to perform approximately 1,200 adult cardiac procedures a year. These include cardiac bypass and valvular surgery, off-pump CABG procedures, cardiac transplantation, adult congenital procedures, hybrid bypass procedures, aortic aneurysm and dissection repair, and ventricular assist devices.

In addition, the division manages about 700 thoracic cases annually, including thoracotomy, mediastinoscopy, and esophageal procedures. A subset of the division’s faculty is also board-certified in intensive care medicine. These individuals, led by Dr. Chad Wagner, rotate through the cardiovascular intensive care unit.

The CT Division also provides services for invasive cardiology procedures such as placement of internal cardiac defibrillators, valvuloplasty, electrophysiology procedures, and septal ablations. This accounts for approximately 1,000 cases per year. The faculty demonstrates expertise with invasive physiologic monitoring, transesophageal echocardiography, and bypass management. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is an integral part of the clinical practice. The program was established in 1996 and has since become the standard in adult cardiac patients. TEE is now performed on nearly 100 percent of all adult cardiac patients. State-of-the-art 3-D imaging systems are readily available. All studies are performed and interpreted by the cardiothoracic anesthesiologist, and cases are digitally archived.

The cardiothoracic anesthesiology faculty conduct research in vascular system function, cardiopulmonary conditioning, renal failure, and perioperative inflammatory response. Faculty members have grant support from the AHA and NIH. In Sept 2009 and May 2010, the division hosted workshops in perioperative transesophageal echocardiography and in pacemaker management, which drew anesthesiology residents, fellows, faculty and private practitioners from throughout the region. It is hoped that these will become annual events.

Click here for information on the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship.