The University of Minnesota and its faculty have been pioneers in surgery and medical technology advancements for over 150 years, bringing those advancements to patients’ bedsides through its clinical practice, University of Minnesota Physicians (M Physicians). From performing the world’s first open heart surgery in 1952 to advancing research in regenerative heart surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School and M Physicians doctors are resolute in their commitment to provide the most advanced heart care for Minnesota’s patients.
One of our heart care leaders is Minnesota native Rosemary Kelly, MD. She is a M Physicians cardiothoracic surgeon who also serves as Executive Vice Chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at University of Minnesota Medical Center and as the C. Walt and Richard C. Lillehei Endowed Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. The doctors Lillehei founded the legacy of advanced heart care in Minnesota, which Dr. Kelly and her team lead today.
Their shared history includes having performed over one thousand heart and one thousand lung transplantations, and Dr. Kelly’s team now makes the University of Minnesota a national leader for resuscitative medicine for cardiac arrest.
Clinical Collaboration is Key
The success of Dr. Kelly’s cardiac surgical team depends on collaboration. They take their teamwork to heart, bringing cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensivists, advanced practice providers (APPs), and administrators together through relationships that allow them to thrive.
“We have high expectations of each other,” Dr. Kelly says, “But we are also there for each other.”
She explains that if her team is helping a patient with a particularly complex condition, they show up to create solutions for the patients as a team. "We do it together so that it doesn't rest on the shoulders of just one surgeon. This inclusive culture improves our quality, patient-centered care, and innovation, while simultaneously supporting our providers." "
M Physicians and our University have a unique mission to care for all of Minnesota. As a member of the University of Minnesota community, M Physicians provides patients access to abundant intellectual resources and talent in multiple disciplines to enhance patient care.
“University of Minnesota is where heart surgery began, because we had leaders that supported challenging innovation.”
Outside of the operating room, Dr. Kelly brings that innovation to life through research on adjunctive regenerative therapies to enhance recovery after coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery.
"My research is the development of stem cell therapies applied to the heart to improve heart function for patients suffering from chronic ischemic heart disease," she explains, "My current goal is a multi-institutional clinical trial to study the application of stem cell signaling at the time of CABG to help restore damaged hearts to normal function."
Dr. Kelly believes that team collaboration and researching creative solutions are how heart care advances.
“We provide robotic surgery, minimally invasive approaches, multidisciplinary recommendations, and patient-focused care. We are the public institution that reflects our state’s greatest intellectual strength in advanced heart health care.”
This legacy supports care in communities, rural health, and health systems across Minnesota. “As University physicians, we are proud to serve all Minnesotans.”
That statewide mission is critical. “We are not just focused on clinical excellence, but clinical excellence for all.”