Maimonides Aortic Center offers world-class diagnostic and treatment options for aortic conditions and preventative screening services for patients and their families. At Brooklyn’s only dedicated center for aortic disease, cardiac and vascular aortic surgeons and endovascular specialists work together to perform the most up-to-date procedures and operations and provide appropriate follow-up care for patients and families. They care for people with aortic aneurysms, aortic dissection and other aortic conditions.

Close Collaboration Between Subspecialty Aortic Surgeons

Unlike some other aortic centers, Maimonides Aortic Center features close, ongoing collaboration between heart aortic surgery and vascular aortic surgery. These subspecialists are all housed under one roof in a state-of-the-art medical complex to ensure close communication with an emphasis on individualized, pragmatic care.

“We don’t keep the patients on one side of the street or the other, so to speak,” explained Benjamin Youdelman, MD, Co-Director of Maimonides Aortic Center. “If my colleague has a better technique, we’ll go that way. If I have a better technique, we’ll go this way.”

All Aortic Center patients benefit from this strategic collaboration, as their clinicians are constantly working as a team on a case-by-case basis to determine courses of treatment that utilize the most reliable techniques, the latest advanced methods, or a combination of both for these complex conditions.

“Aortic disease is the most lethal of the vascular pathologies with associated high-risk surgical corrective operations,” said Robert Rhee, MD, Co-Director of Maimonides Aortic Center. “At our center, the least invasive and less risky options are always considered first prior to any open surgical operations.”

Clinical Research Enhances Patient Treatment Options

“The objective of our team is to perform the most minimally invasive, least painful operations that we can,” said Dr. Youdelman. “To that end, we are involved with current state-of-the-art clinical research so we can offer the latest technology and treatments to our patients in the form of clinical trials.”

Because specialists at the center are actively involved with research, they get early access to the most advanced and latest techniques in aortic therapies . This level of experience and familiarity allows Aortic Center care providers to perform these minimally invasive procedures consistently and successfully.

Comprehensive — and Comprehensible —Services for Patients

Patients come into the Aortic Center by referral from a local emergency department, their primary care provider, another vascular or thoracic surgeon, or their cardiologist. During their first visit to the center, the team will complete a full evaluation with imaging, such as a CT scan, echocardiogram, or ultrasound.

All options are presented with a clear, definitive plan, individualized for each patient. A subsequent discussion in a cardiac-vascular conference attended by surgeons and interventionalists follows the initial visit so that the least invasive, most effective treatment option is chosen for a particular patient based on their individual and family needs.

The team then follows the patient on a regular basis – which often means annual follow-up visits but can sometimes be more or less, depending on their needs.

Family Monitoring for Aortic Disease

“Aortic disease runs in families, just like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer,” said Dr. Youdelman. “It has been very well documented to have genetic links – and that’s not very well known, even within the medical community.”

That’s why the Aortic Center provides family monitoring of all first-degree relatives of patients with aortic conditions. When a person is diagnosed with an aortic condition, the center offers screening for parents and siblings starting at age 50, or 10 years before the patient’s diagnosis if they were younger than 60 when it occurred.

Personalized, Convenient Care

Even as a world-class facility providing the full range of aortic care, Maimonides Aortic Center has a small, boutique-like feel. When patients arrive, office staff direct them where they need to go. If a patient needs to see another subspecialty aortic provider, they will have a short walk in the same building to see that provider – and they can often get in to see them during the same visit.

“We have our office hours at the same time on the same day,” said Drs. Youdelman and Rhee.

Patients enjoy the convenience of a one-stop shop for the best care in all aspects of cardiac vascular and aortic surgery.

Get Care Now

We are the only aortic center in Brooklyn and are proud to be the borough’s destination for expert aortic care. Visit our website or call us at 718-283-7000 for more information.