Jose Navia, M.D.

Associate Staff

Associate Staff

Associate Staff

José L. Navia, MD, is a staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute. He specializes in adult-acquired heart disease, minimally invasive robotic and video-assisted cardiac surgery, off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, minimally invasive mitral and aortic valve surgery, heart transplantation, ventricular assist devices, surgical electrical therapies for heart failure and arhythmia surgery.

A native of Argentina, Dr. Navia is board certified to practice medicine and surgery in the United States by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he holds Specialist Certificates in Cardiovascular Surgery and General Surgery in his native country. He earned his medical degree from the School of Medicine at the National University of La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed his internships and residencies in general surgery, cardiovascular surgery and cardiothoracic surgery in Argentinian hospitals.

He received a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery from the Cleveland Clinic in 1994. During his fellowship and residency at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Navia served as Chief Resident for one year. He has received the Rene Favaloro International Fellow Award and the Dr. Charles H. Bryan Clinical Excellence Award. He joined the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute in 1998 following an appointment at the Italian Hospital in Buenos Aires as staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

In his work as a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, Dr. Navia plans and performs complex surgeries to treat a wide variety of cardiac disorders. Among his many awards is first prize at the National and International Meetings for Resident Physicians in General Surgery for his research project “Sensitivity and Specificity of Prognostic System in Acute Pancreatitis.” He was awarded another first prize by the National and Latin American Congress for Resident Physicians in General Surgery for “Choledoc Litasis Markers in Acute Gall Disease”.

Dr. Navia is a national leader in successfully and safely utilizing various techniques in minimally invasive off-pump bypass surgery. Currently, he is participating in the development of the Center for Electrical Therapies for Heart Failure. This Center’s mission is to advance cardiac resynchronization therapy and mechanical circulatory device therapy.

Dr. Navia has been a co-investigator for several clinical research trials. Dr. Navia’s research focuses on robotic cardiac surgery, video-assisted minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and a stentless mitral valve -- an original design for mitral valve replacement that is being used across the country. He has developed different cannulas (tubes for needles and surgical instruments) for pulmonary bypass and has designed a proximal anastomosis device to avoid clamping the aorta during cardiac surgery. He has also developed a percutaneous mitral valve ring and prosthesis. He is extensively involved in research to investigate new and more effective treatments for heart failure. Dr. Navia owns six patents and has four additional patents pending. He was awarded the Cleveland Clinic Innovator of the Year Award in both 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Navia has published many articles and abstracts in national and international professional publications on topics related to his surgical and research specialties, in addition to being a manuscript reviewer for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Navia organizes seminars and symposia on advanced topics in cardiothoracic surgery and presents his work at major international conferences with leading physicians from around the world.

Dr. Navia enjoys spending time with his family, especially when they are on the beaches of his native Argentina or skiing together in the winter.

Watch a video about Dr. Navia and his work performing video-assisted valve surgery.

• Surgical Director, Center for Electrical Therapy in Heart Failure.
• Manuscript reviewer for several medical journals such as, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and The Argentine Society of Cardiology.

• HeartMate II® Left Ventricular Assist System.  Laboratory training program at Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX   December 19-20,2005.
• Robotic Cardiac Surgery. The Latest Technology Nano Medicine Summit. Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland, Ohio. October 25-26, 2005.
• Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation. Is Ready For Prime Time. State of the Heart. A Cardiovascular Seminar For Nurses 2005. American Heart Association, Learn and Live. Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. May 6, 2005.
• Minimally Invasive Left Ventricular Epicardial Lead Placement:  Surgical Techniques for Heart Failure and Resynchronization Therapy:  Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting.  San Antonio, Texas.  January 24 –January 28, 2004.
• The Latest Technology-Robotic-Assisted Cardiac Surgery. Cleveland Clinic Health Talk-Innovations in Heart Surgery: Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland, Ohio 44195. February 26, 2003.

• Received a National Institutes of Health RO1 grant to develop robotic tools for off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. 
• Pioneered the design for incisions used during minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery.
• Holds several US patents including: Method of Implanting a Stentless Cardiac Valve Prosthesis Apparatus; Method for Auto-Retroprofusion of a Coronary Vein; and Method and Apparatus for Replacing a Mitral Valve with a Stentless Bioprosthetic Valve.
• Four additional US patents applied for in 2007 are pending.
  

• Rene Favaloro International Fellow Award, 1994-1995.
• Dr. Charles H. Bryan Clinical Excellence Award from Cleveland Clinic, Cardiothoracic Surgery,1996.
• Cleveland Clinic Innovator Awards, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
• Minimally Invasive Robotic Association
• American Medical Association
• Heart Rhythm Society
• American Heart Association