Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular Center has earned a three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting. Historically, only 4 to 7% of database participants in the United States and Canada achieve this prestigious designation, which recognizes quality patient and clinical outcome excellence.

The STS rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs across the United States and Canada. STS ranked LMC in the highest quality tier after analyzing the latest data for coronary artery bypass grafting procedures and aortic valve replacements during a three-year period, from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021. “The mission of LMC has always been to provide high-quality health care that meets the needs of our communities, and our care continues to be recognized at the highest levels, including receiving three stars from STS for coronary artery bypass grafting and aortic valve replacement.

We have also enjoyed sustained growth — from one surgeon, one physician assistant and one operating room to three surgeons and three physician assistants who operate out of three operating rooms,” said Jeffrey A. Travis, MD, chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular Center. LMC began its complete cardiac care program in 2012 with expectations to perform about 100 open heart surgeries each year. But the program has far exceeded expectations. To date, LMC has performed more than 3,950 open heart surgeries — an average of nearly 400 surgeries each year. “Receiving three stars from STS further solidifies all the hard work, dedication and collaboration among our entire heart team at LMC,” said Lisa Pittman, RN, MSN, outcomes coordinator in the Center for Quality Outcomes for Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular Center. “It has been incredibly rewarding to see all the accomplishments of this team during the past several years, and we look forward to celebrating many future successes.”


Heather M. Currier, MD; Jeffrey A. Travis, MD; William M. Yarborough, MD, Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular Center cardiovascular surgeons