Anelechi Anyanwu, MD, is Professor and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery.
Dr. Anyanwu trained in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Harefield Hospital, London, United Kingdom and affiliated hospitals in the University of London Network. He was trained by internationally renowned surgeons including Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, Professor Gilles Dreyfus and Professor Tom Treasure. Under the tutelage of Professor Yacoub and Dr. Ashgar Khaghani, he was trained in Heart and Lung Transplantation. Harefield Hospital has performed more thoracic organ transplants than any other hospital in the world — Dr. Anyanwu is one of few surgeons world-wide who are trained in all aspects of thoracic transplantation including heart transplantation, heterotopic heart transplantation, heart-lung transplantation, domino heart transplantation and lung transplantation. At Harefield hospital he was also trained in various aspects of heart valve surgery including homograft implantation, another field pioneered by Professor Yacoub’s team. His other areas of specialized training include multiple arterial revascularization using bilateral skeletonized internal mammary artery grafts — this operation is more durable than the standard coronary artery bypass surgery using a single mammary artery and leg veins for bypass. Using the technique of skeletonization, bilateral internal mammary artery grafting can be extended to most patients even diabetic and obese patients (who are generally excluded from multiple arterial grafts).
Dr. Anyanwu also has an interest in minimally invasive surgery and received training in this area in London. His interests include reducing invasiveness of surgery by minimizing incisions and tissue dissection, avoiding cardiopulmonary bypass or myocardial ischemia and reducing level of anesthesia and monitoring. He has performed open heart surgery on awake patients with use of epidural anesthesia, a technique that may hasten patient recovery and reduce morbidity in selected patients.
Following his training in England, Dr. Anyanwu joined the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2004 as a Senior Clinical Fellow. His primary interests were Mitral Valve Repair, Complex Valvular surgery, Surgery for Heart Failure and Re-operative Cardiac Surgery. Under the close instruction of Dr. David Adams, Dr. Anyanwu was trained intensively in the entire spectrum of techniques for mitral valve repair, and is one of only a handful of surgeons in the United States to received formal training in mitral valve repair to a proficient and advanced level. His main interests are in minimally invasive mitral valve repair and mitral valve repair for dilated cardiomyopathies. Apart from mitral repair, during the Fellowship at Mount Sinai, Dr. Anyanwu acquired expertise in complex re-operative valvular surgery, and heart failure surgery. Working with Dr. Adams, Dr. Anyanwu has led the advanced heart failure program, introducing new mechanical devices for circulatory support and has also re-established the combined heart-lung transplant program.
In the News: Dr. Anelechi Anyanwu disusses mitral valve leakage in The Daily News feature The Daily Check Up.
MD, University of Nigeria
Internship, Surgery
University of Nigeria
Residency, General Surgery
Greenwich District Hospital
Residency, Cardio-Thoracic Surg
Hammersmith Hospital
Fellowship, Cardio-Thoracic Surg
Mount Sinai Hospital
English
Download the CVAnyanwu AC, Itagaki S, Pinney S, Adams DH. Initial experience with routine less invasive implantation of HeartMate II left ventricular assist device without median sternotomy. European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery 2014 Mar;.
Anyanwu AC, Itagaki S, Varghese R, Castillo J, Chikwe J, Adams DH. Re-repair of the mitral valve as a primary strategy for early and late failures of mitral valve repair. European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery 2014 Feb; 45(2).
Anyanwu AC, Filsoufi F, Salzberg S, Bronster DJ, Adams DH. Epidemiology of stroke after cardiac surgery in the current era. Journal of Thoracic and Cariodvascular Surgery 2007; 134(5): 1121-1127.
Filsoufi F, Anyanwu AC, Adams DH, Rahmanian PB. Physiologic basis for the surgical treatment of ischemic mitral regurgitation. 2006; 4(4): 261-268.
Adams DH, Anyanwu AC, Filsoufi F, Rahmanian PB. Current concepts in mitral valve repair for degenerative diseases. 2006; 11(3): 241-257.
Rahmanian PB, Anyanwu AC, Adams DH, Filsoufi F. The pathophysiology of ischemic mitral regurgitation: implications for surgical and percutaneous intervention. 2006; 19(5 Suppl): S78-86.
Karlof E, Salzberg SP, Fisoufi F, Steinbock B, Anyanwu AC. How fast does an atrial myxoma grow?. 2006; 82(4): 1510-1512.
Khaghani A, Banner NR, Anyanwu AC, Birks EJ. Heart transplantation from live donors. 2004; 23(9 Suppl): S257-S259.
Anyanwu A, Adams DH. Pitfalls and limitations in measuring and interpreting the outcomes of mitral valve repair. 2006; 131(3): 523-529.
Salzberg SP, Filsoufi F, Anyanwu A, Adams DH, Gass A, Pinney SP, Carpentier A, von Harbou K. High-risk mitral valve surgery: perioperative hemodynamic optimization with nesiritide (BNP). 2006; 80(2): 502-506.
Salzberg SP, Filsoufi F, Anyanwu A, Adams DH, Karlof E, Carpentier A, Dansky HM, von Harbou K. Increased neointimal formation after surgical vein grafting in a murine model of type 2 diabetes. 2006; 114(1 Suppl): 1302-1307.
Anyanwu AC, Itagaki S, Pinney S, Adams DH. Initial experience with routine less invasive implantation of HeartMate II left ventricular assist device without median sternotomy. European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery 2014 Mar;.
Pandis D, Sengupta PP, Castillo JG, Caracciolo G, Fischer GW, Narula J, Anyanwu A, Adams DH. Assessment of longitudinal myocardial mechanics in patients with degenerative mitral valve regurgitation predicts postoperative worsening of left ventricular systolic function. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography 2014 Jun; 27(6).
Anyanwu AC, Itagaki S, Varghese R, Castillo J, Chikwe J, Adams DH. Re-repair of the mitral valve as a primary strategy for early and late failures of mitral valve repair. European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery 2014 Feb; 45(2).
El-Eshmawi A, Castillo JG, Rhee AJ, Pawale A, Anyanwu AC. Accessory mitral valve leaflet. The Annals of thoracic surgery 2014 Jul; 98(1).
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Adams DH, Anyanwu AC, Chikwe J, Filsoufi F. The Year in Cardiovascular Surgery. J Am Coll Cardiol 2009 June; 53(25): 2389-2403.
Anyanwu AC, Adams DH. Reply to the Editor [editorial]. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2008; 135(1): 228-229.
Pawale A, Pinney S, Ashley K, Flynn R, Milla F, Anyanwu AC. Implantable left ventricular assist devices as initial therapy for refractory postmyocardial infarction cardiogenic shock. European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery 2013 Aug; 44(2).
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Dr.Anyanwu did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2015 and/or 2016: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
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