User:Mgerdisch1

Marc W. Gerdisch, M.D., is an innovator in cardiovascular surgery and the chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center, a partner of Cardiac Surgery Associates and the surgical director of the Heart Valve Center and Atrial Fibrillation Center at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

Dr. Gerdisch, who specializes in complex heart valve surgery, also is clinical assistant professor of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. During the last 18 years, Dr. Gerdisch has contributed to advancements in cardiac surgery, being one of the first to perform many less invasive and innovative procedures. He presents nationally and internationally on novel heart valve repair techniques and cardiac tissue regrowth. Preserving and reconstructing cardiac architecture and function are the focus of Dr. Gerdisch's practice. He is participating in ongoing research in next-generation heart valves and cardiac tissue regeneration.

• In 2011, Dr. Gerdisch was the first cardiovascular surgeon in the United States to use CARDIOROOT to replace the aorta in a critically ill patient. He also performed the first surgery in the country using a new device, the Contour 3DTM Annuloplasty Ring, which restores the shape of a tricuspid heart valve.

• Dr. Gerdisch is a leading surgeon in the PROACT trial, which may soon offer patients an option of lower anticoagulation with the On-X mechanical heart valve.

• In December 2010, Dr. Gerdisch was named national principal investigator to lead an FDA study at the Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center and 15 other cardiac surgery sites throughout the United States. The clinical trial, which has enrolled more than 400 patients, assesses new onset, postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting. During the bypass grafting procedure the pericardial sac is reconstructed (the membrane surrounding the heart) using Extracellular Matrix (ECM). The ECM bio-scaffold uses a unique, innovative technology through which the patch becomes re-cellularized, allowing the patient to re-grow his/her own tissue. St. Francis enrolled the first patient in thie study. Also in 2010, Dr. Gerdisch was honored for his work and named a “Health Care Hero” by the Indianapolis Business Journal and received the Excellence in Health Science Research Award at the annual Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Awards.

▪ In 2007, Dr. Gerdisch was first in the world to apply the ECM bio-scaffold patch inside the heart, repairing a congenital defect. In 2008, he was first in the world to use the ECM technology in patients to restore function to damaged heart valves.

▪ Atrial fibrillation commonly occurs in patients with heart valve disease and Dr. Gerdisch serves on the national educational steering committee to train surgeons in the use of the device and technique approved by the FDA.

▪ More recently, Dr. Gerdisch was named President of the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgical Society and America’s Top Doctor by U.S. News & World Report and Castle Connelly (2009 – 2012).

Dr. Gerdisch earned his medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill., where he also completed his residency and fellowship in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. Dr. Gerdisch had post-doctoral training at various institutions in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Gerdisch is an independent physician, who chooses to practice at Franciscan St. Francis Health and has several professional memberships and has been widely published in medical journals and publications. He has presented nationally and internationally on new technology in cardiac surgery and surgical treatment of heart disease.

As the only HealthGrades 5-Star valve repair and replacement surgery program in the Indianapolis, Franciscan St. Francis Health offers a full spectrum of services including complex mitral valve repair, combined valve, coronary and atrial fibrillation corrective procedures, valve-sparing aortic root repair, valve surgery for advanced heart failure patients and minimally invasive approaches including transcatheter aortic valve replacement.