Heart Surgery

Cardiothoracic surgeons perform more heart surgeries at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo than any other hospital in Mississippi.

Procedures

Coronary Bypass

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) treats blocked heart arteries by creating new passages for blood to flow to your heart muscle. In this procedure, the surgeon takes arteries or veins from other parts of your body — called grafts — and uses them to reroute the blood around the clogged artery to supply blood flow to your heart muscle. You may undergo one, two, three or more bypass grafts, depending on how many coronary arteries are narrowed.

Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (MIDCAB)

MIDCAB is an alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The surgeon operates while your heart is still beating and you are not connected to a heart-lung machine. The surgeon accesses your heart through a small incision in your chest and delicately grafts the bypass.

Minimally Invasive Aortic and Mitral Valve Replacement

These procedures leave you with a much smaller incision, less blood loss and faster recovery.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR): NMMC-Tupelo has performed more than 700 TAVR procedures since becoming the first Mississippi hospital to offer the technology in 2013. In the transfemoral method, the valve is delivered through an incision in your leg. NMMC was also the first to perform transapical TAVR for patients who don’t have suitable access through their leg artery. In the transapical method the valve is inserted through an incision between your ribs and through the bottom end of the heart called the apex.
NMMC cardiothoracic surgeons are the first in Mississippi and Alabama to implant the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA transcatheter aortic heart valve. This valve uses anti-calcification technology that will potentially allow the valve to last longer than anything available in the past.
Transcatheter mitral valve replacement treats severe mitral stenosis without open surgery for individuals who have had previous mitral surgery.
Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement: NMMC cardiothoracic surgeons performed Mississippi’s first case on a patient for whom open heart surgery was too risky. The surgeon performs the procedure by going through your femoral vein, requiring only a small incision in your leg. A balloon catheter is placed across the faulty valve and stretched open so the surgeon can place the new tricuspid valve. Once the balloon is inflated, it pushes the new valve into position inside the old one. The balloon catheter is then removed, and the new valve starts working immediately.

AngioVac

NMMC is the first hospital in Mississippi to use this vacuum-assisted device to treat tricuspid endocarditis. Our surgeons use AngioVac to remove infection from your heart without having to open your chest. The procedure can also be used to treat pulmonary embolism.

Endoscopic Vein Harvest

This minimally-invasive procedure harvests the greater saphenous vein in your leg for coronary artery bypass surgery. Because this procedure uses only a two-centimeter incision, you have less pain, fewer complications and recover faster.

Aortic Root Surgery

NMMC cardiothoracic surgeons perform aortic root surgery for patients with aortic valve and ascending aortic issues, such as dissection or aneurysm. Procedures include:

Aortic valve and root replacement involves removing part of the aorta and the aortic valve, then replacing it with a conduit graft. The aortic valve is replaced with a mechanical or biological valve.
Valve-sparing aortic root repair, where the surgeon replaces the enlarged section of the aorta with a graft and the aortic valve stays in place. In one technique, the surgeon sews the valve inside the graft.

Hybrid AF Convergent Therapy

NMMC is the only facility where both our cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiac electrophysiologists are trained in Hybrid AF Convergent Therapy and collaborate to treat and manage persistent atrial fibrillation using several different approaches (going through the patient’s leg vessels, minimally invasive procedures or open surgery).

Septal Defect Repair

These procedures can fix an opening or hole in the atrial septum, the wall that separates the right and left upper chambers in your heart, or ventricular septum, the wall separating the two lower chambers of the heart.

Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR)

In this procedure, the surgeon uses a laser to drill a series of holes from the outside of your heart into the heart’s pumping chamber. These new channels improve the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle.

Maze Procedure

The Maze procedure treats atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm). Using a pen-like device, the surgeon "draws" over the targeted tissue using radiofrequency energy to ablate (vaporize) the cells causing troublesome electrical activity. This creates a pattern (maze) of scar tissue. The scars interfere with the transmission of electrical impulses that can cause atrial fibrillation. Normal heartbeat is then restored.

Removal of Myxomas

Myxomas are the most common form of benign tumors in the heart. Although benign, myxomas can cause serious complications if left untreated. Surgery is the only treatment for myxomas.

Thoracic Aneurysm Repair

An aneurysm (weak, bulging area) can develop in your aorta, the body’s main blood vessel. If the aneurysm bursts, it can be deadly. Surgery may be recommended if the risk of rupture is greater than the risk of the procedure.

Impella 5.5

This temporary heart pump allows your heart to rest and recover while supplying much needed blood and oxygen to other vital organs.

Hybrid OR

North Mississippi’s first hybrid operating room opened at NMMC in 2011 and was renovated in 2023. A cross between a cardiac catheterization laboratory and a surgical suite, the hybrid OR enables physicians to make a diagnosis and then quickly proceed with treatment, without moving the patient or scheduling separate times for procedures. Because it combines the capabilities of surgery with the most advanced imaging available, the hybrid OR paves the way for more minimally-invasive procedures.