Cardiothoracic and ICU Anesthesia

The CT/ICU division of anesthesiology is composed of three anesthesiologists who are trained and board-certified in either critical care medicine, cardiothoracic anesthesiology, or both. All are certified in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).

Our faculty provide anesthesia services for cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures as well as for complex procedures, including ablations of arrhythmia and placement of devices, for the cardiac electrophysiology service. Anesthesia is also provided to the cardiology department for cardioversions and TEE procedures.

In the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), care for critically ill patients and includes mechanical ventilation management, treatment of different categories of shock, nutrition, and antibiotic therapy.

In addition to clinical duties, the division provides daily education for anesthesia residents and medical students at the bedside. This is complemented with 8-10 hours of didactic activities each month. The division is also responsible for a one-month ICU rotation elective for medical students during the academic year.

Three courses, two at the national level and one at the state level, are also organized by division faculty every year. The two national courses are Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) and Difficult Airway Management/Lung Isolation.

Clinical research is a significant component of CT/ICU faculty duties. The division recently completed a multicenter national clinical trial, and will soon be participating in a new $250,000 trial. In the past year and as a result of ongoing research, the division has published three manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and made three presentations at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting.