MUSC Health Cardiothoracic Surgery at Ashley River Tower

Dr. Lucas Witer is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon in Charleston, South Carolina who specializes in heart transplantation, coronary artery disease, aortic valve surgery and advanced heart failure. He is a part of the MUSC Heart and Vascular multidisciplinary team, collaborating with world class colleagues in areas like cardiology and vascular surgery.MUSC Health has a Blue Distinction® Center+ designation in the area of cardiac care. The MUSC Health heart program is ranked high-performing in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery and heart failure by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Witer completed residency in general surgery at the Oakland University - William Beaumont Hospital, a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the New York Presbyterian- Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He continued advanced subspecialty training at the New York Presbyterian - Columbia University Medical Center in heart failure, advanced mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist device implantation and cardiac transplantation.

Dr. Blanding is a heart and lung surgeon at MUSC. A lifetime South Carolinian and family member of heart and lung patients, he is first and foremost committed to getting his patients back home to their families to continue their lives. Having completed a 6 year cardiothoracic surgery residency, his practice includes the full breath of heart surgery including bypasses and valve repair/replacement. He also performs minimally invasive/robotic mitral valve surgery for patients wishing for a faster recovery. He has a specific interest in heart and lung transplantation as well as advances therapies for severe heart and lung diseases.

Nicolas Pope, M.D. is a cardiothoracic surgeon in Charleston, South Carolina. As part of the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center Clinical Team, Dr. Pope treats a wide range of surgical heart conditions. His patient care philosophy is to treat each patient like they are a member of his family. He offers the latest valve replacement and treatment options and specializes in minimally invasive procedures and transcatheter aortic valve replacements. His clinical interests include surgical treatment of thoracic aortic disease, heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, and critical care patients undergoing heart surgery and heart transplantation. Dr. Pope completed his general surgery training at the University of Virginia, during which time he spent two years of dedicated basic science research into the treatment of aortic aneurysms and therapies to improve lung preservation for transplantation. At the University of Virginia, Dr. Pope went on to complete a Surgical Critical Care fellowship, focusing on the care of patients after cardiac surgery. He remained at Virginia for his Cardiothoracic Surgical Fellowship. Dr. Pope's research interests include advanced therapies for heart failure and the causes and potential treatment of aortic aneurysms. He has authored over 15 peer-reviewed manuscripts and six book chapters.

Dr. Arman Kilic is the John Kratz Endowed Chair in Cardiac Surgery, Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Chief of the Heart and Vascular Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence. Dr. Kilic is an internationally recognized cardiac surgeon whose expertise spans the full range of adult cardiac surgery, including coronary artery bypass grafting, complex valve procedures, aortic surgery, and heart failure surgery. He trained in general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he served as administrative chief resident, and he completed his cardiothoracic surgical training at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kilic has published over 400 manuscripts, is the Principal Investigator on a NIH funded R01 grant, and serves in both national and local leadership roles on multiple clinical trials. He is a regularly invited faculty lecturer at national and international meetings. He is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, The Halsted Society, the American Heart Association, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. He has mentored numerous medical students and surgical trainees.

Dr. Marc R. Katz received his combined M.D. and MPH from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1981. He completed his internship and residency in general surgery at the Medical College of Virginia, then a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery under Dr. Richard Lower (co-pioneer of heart transplantation with Norman Shumway). An additional fellowship in pediatric cardiac surgery was next completed at Boston Children's Hospital. He served as chief of cardiothoracic transplantation at the Medical College of Virginia, and subsequently founded the Virginia Transplant Center in Richmond, Virginia. During his career in adult cardiac surgery he performed the first combined heart - kidney transplant in the eastern U.S. the first left ventricular assist device in Virginia, and has been a pioneer in minimally invasive and robotic heart surgery. Dr. Katz currently serves as professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. Additionally he is associate director of the Heart \& Vascular Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence and is co-director of the South Carolina Heart Valve Center. Dr. Katz continues an active practice in adult cardiac surgery specializing in minimally invasive, trans-catheter and robotic approaches for valve disease, plus surgery for congestive heart failure, placement of ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation.