Dear Colleague:

“The only constant is change.” And with change comes opportunity. For many years, Albany Cardiothoracic Surgeons (ACTS) has defied Heraclitus. However, over the past two years, we have seen remarkable growth and change as a cardiac surgical practice.

We have added new team members, built a new organizational structure, enhanced our philosophy of care and introduced new technologies.

New Surgical Team
In 2011, Albany Cardiothoracic Surgeons recruited Dr. Christopher Terrien, a promising Ivy League trained surgeon. Chris is from Vermont, where he did his general surgery training. He then completed his cardiothoracic training at Yale. His father and uncle are both cardiologists at the University of Vermont, and his lineage shows in his thoughtful and caring approach to his patients and their families. We are fortunate that his interpersonal skills are only exceeded by his surgical abilities.
This year, Dr. Alexandros Karavas joined us from New Hampshire where he was in private practice. Alex did his general surgery training in Boston and his cardiothoracic training at Vanderbilt. He spent an additional six months at the University of Pennsylvania where he did further training in aortic surgery. With his broad clinical exposure, penchant for hard work and surgical dexterity, he is an asset to our practice and the region.
The anchor to the surgical team is Dr. Javid Saifi who did his general surgery and cardiothoracic training in Albany. At the core of every successful program, there is always an extraordinary person. In the case of ACTS, that person is Javid who is known as much for his calmness as for his willingness to care for the region’s most complex surgical patients.
I joined ACTS in 2011 for the second time in my career. I did general surgery at the University of Rochester and cardiothoracic training at Columbia University. I then joined ACTS only to go back to Columbia University as the director of the heart transplant program. I moved to the University of Wisconsin where I served as Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery, before returning to Albany as the chief of the newly created Department of Cardiac & Vascular Services at St. Peter’s Health Partners. Read more…