About Us
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Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons P.C. was founded in 1945 by Dr. Charles J. Donald upon his completion of special thoracic surgery training at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Donald and Dr. O.W. Clayton, who joined him in 1952, adopted and implemented new and progressive surgery techniques for treating heart and lung disease. Prior to the availability of open heart surgery they did many closed mitral commissurotomies on patients who had rheumatic mitral stenosis.
Here at Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons, P.C. we have a history of providing the most up to date procedures -- making us the leading cardiovascular and thoracic practice in Alabama. We pride ourselves in providing Alabama with a lot of firsts. We began by performing Alabama's first private-practice open heart surgery in 1968 shortly after Dr. Thomas A.S. Wilson and later Dr. Austen L. Bennett, III joined the group in 1967. Since that time, the group has established open heart surgery programs at other hospitals, including Brookwood Medical Center, St. Vincent's East (formerly Medical Center East) and St. Vincent's Birmingham and has performed more than 30,000 open heart surgery procedures.
Not losing sight of the founding principles, we have continued to prove our surgical expertise and strong procedural leadership by performing the state's first minimally invasive robotic heart surgery for mitral valve replacement. We strive to provide these firsts for one reason: our patients. We are dedicated to providing our patients with the best care possible, beginning with your initial consultation and ending with your last post-operative check-up. Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons, P.C. set a standard by bringing open heart surgery to Alabama. The least we can do is provide our patients with the most trusted cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons in the state.
While heart surgery continues to be a prominent part of the practice, the group is just as interested in maintaining and developing new skills to stay on the cutting edge of developments in vascular surgery, pulmonary surgery and surgery of the esophagus. Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons was also in the forefront of introducing vascular surgery of the extremities, carotid surgery for stroke prevention, aneurysm surgery, pacemaker and defibrillation implantation to the community. We are currently the only practice in the state of Alabama performing minimally invasive robotic heart surgery for mitral valve replacement and some one vessel bypass surgery.
Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons P.C. currently includes six board certified or board eligible thoracic surgeons led by John L. Harlan, M.D., F.A.C.S., President. In order to provide our patients with the best service possible, we take great pride in our staff. From the receptionist to the operating room, our team makes sure that each patient and their family is our highest priority.