Edward Soltesz, MD

Edward Soltesz, MD, MPH, is a  cardiovascular and heart transplant surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery in general and cardiothoracic surgery.

Dr. Soltesz is the Surgical Director of the Kaufman Center for Heart Failure and Recovery and the Program Director for Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery residency and fellowship training programs. He also is the Course Director for the American Austrian Foundation/Open Medical Institute Cardiac Surgery Medical Seminar held annually in Salzburg, Austria. Additionally, as the Director of Cardiac Surgery Affiliate Programs at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Soltesz oversees quality and outcomes of more than 15 affiliated programs and 45 surgeons.

Specialty interests: Thoracic aorta; ascending/arch aneurysm, redo arch dissection, TAA, descending aneurysm, Aortic regurgitation, Aortic Stenosis, Isolated Aortic Valve Repair, mini AVR, Concomitant procedures for aortic valve disease, Heart Transplant, VAD, complex aortic and endovascular surgery, complex reoperative heart surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, minimally invasive maze procedure, minimally invasive aortic and mitral valve repair/replace, high risk CABG or MVR, sole Afib therapy: including Convergent procedure; Maze and LAA, Root replacement, valve-sparing root replacement, mini-thoracotomy aortic valve replacement, Cardiac Tumors, and adult congenital heart disease, Tricuspid valve surgery, SVC Stenosis

Number of Procedures Performed: Cleveland Clinic performs more than 4,000 heart surgeries each year. All Cleveland Clinic cardiac surgeons complete between 300-400 cardiac cases per year. Dr. Soltesz specializes in the Maze procedure, having performed more than 210 since joining Cleveland Clinic, as well as the sternal-sparing right-anterior thoracotomy aortic valve replacement.

Success rates: Among top U.S. hospitals for cardiac surgery, Cleveland Clinic’s volume is the highest with the best quality outcomes. You can view success rates for specific procedures at http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/about-heart-vascular-institute/treatment-outcomes.aspx

Education and Training: A native of Cleveland, Dr. Soltesz graduated as valedictorian of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland and received a full academic scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross. There, he obtained degrees in both Classics and Chemistry, was awarded the British Marshall Scholarship, and graduated summa cum laude as the class valedictorian. Dr. Soltesz then went on to receive his medical degree from Harvard Medical School where he was awarded the Harvard National Scholarship.

Dr. Soltesz stayed at Harvard to complete his residences in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He was awarded the Mannick Research Award for his NIH-funded research in cardiothoracic imaging and is the author of several peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts in this area. During this time at Harvard, Dr. Soltesz also earned a Master of Public Health from Harvard University School of Public Health with a focus on clinical effectiveness.

Dr. Soltesz then returned to Cleveland to complete an additional fellowship in complex aortic and endovascular surgery at Cleveland Clinic, where he was subsequently appointed to the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in 2008.

Research, Publications and Speaking: Dr. Soltesz is the author of numerous articles in the areas of minimally invasive valve surgery, optical imaging in cardiac surgery, near-infrared fluorescence imaging, and complex valve surgery.

Dr. Soltesz’s research program focuses on large-scale assessment of cardiac surgical outcomes from a public health perspective, quality improvement and safety, clinical outcomes of valve surgery, and heart failure. He is widely published in the areas of minimally invasive surgery, cardiac surgical outcomes, heart failure, and optical imaging in cardiac surgery, and has papers in The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and Annals of Thoracic Surgery. In addition, he is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and serves as a guest reviewer for many other journals. He has lectured and served as a visiting professor both nationally and internationally

About Dr. Soltesz: I enjoy heart surgery because it truly affords the opportunity to care for very sick patients and make them feel better and live longer. It is gratifying to be able to develop relationships with my patients, and I consider it a true privilege to enter their lives and help them in the way I’ve been trained.

Leisure time activities:  Spending time with my wife and 3 children, continually trying to improve my tennis game