Lars Georg Svensson, MD is an attending surgeon and Director of the Aorta Center, Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Connective Tissue Disorder Clinic, and Director of Quality and Process Improvement in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. He is also a professor of surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Svensson is board-certified in general, vascular, thoracic and cardiac surgery. He specializes in adult cardiac surgery; cardio-aortic and aortic surgery, including combined valve and aneurysm surgery; minimally invasive mitral and aortic valve surgery; mitral and aortic valve repair operations (including bicuspid valve repairs and modified David Reimplantation operation), blood conservation; prevention of stroke and paralysis after aortic surgery; Marfan syndrome; peripheral vascular surgery; Percutaneous valve surgery; and the Maze procedure. Dr. Svensson is experienced in treating professional athletes with aorta disease, such as Boston Celtics player Jeff Green.
He was born in Barberton, South Africa. He completed his undergraduate work at Treverton College in Mooi River, South Africa and earned his medical degree and Ph.D. in blood flow pathophysiology from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he received numerous fellowships and awards.
Dr. Svensson received his training in cardiology and in general surgery at the Johannesburg Hospital and his training in cardiothoracic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, for which he received a fellowship. He also completed a cardiovascular surgery fellowship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
In 2005, Dr. Svensson was named King James IV Professor of Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He has also held academic appointments including Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston; Clinical Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School; Clinical Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tufts University in Boston; and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants and fellowships and has been listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in Medicine, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, and in Top Doctors.
Dr. Svensson has contributed to advances in protecting the brain, spinal cord, and kidneys during major cardiac and aortic surgery and has been instrumental in developing minimally invasive keyhole surgery. He is currently the principal investigator in a number of clinical research trials, including research to investigate percutaneous methods for replacing or repairing aortic and mitral valves.
He has authored the reference text book "Cardiovascular and Vascular Diseases of the Aorta" and has authored or co-authored hundreds of journal articles, reviews, book chapters, abstracts, and commentaries. He has been invited to lecture at hundreds of regional, national, and international symposia and conferences. He is the former associate editor of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. He also serves on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal for Minimal Invasive Cardiac Surgery, Journal of Cardiac Surgery, and the Annals of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.
He has chaired the multispecialty guidelines writing committees for endovascular treatment with stents for the thoracic aorta and the guidelines committee on aortic valve surgery. He was a member of the multispecialty guideline committee on treatment of thoracic aortic disease.
Dr. Svensson is a Fellow in these professional societies: The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in Vascular and Cardiothoracic Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, and the American College of Physician Executives. In 2011 he was made an honor member of the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland. In addition, he is an active member of several other professional organizations, including the DeBakey International Society.
In his leisure time, Dr. Svensson enjoys photography and sailing.
View Dr. Svensson's Presentations for Medical Professionals: Evolution of aortic valve and aortic surgery - Parts I and II