Internationally Renowned Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Lars Svensson Featured at the Inaugural Dr. D. Craig Miller Visiting Professorship Lecture

The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery was pleased to welcome cardiac surgeon-scientist Lars Svensson, MD, PhD, as the first lecturer for the Dr. D. Craig Miller Visiting Professorship on August 11, 2025.

Dr. Svensson serves as the Chief of the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute and as the Delos M. Cosgrove, MD, Chair for Heart Disease Research, Professor of Surgery, Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He is also the Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Connective Tissue Disorder Clinic, Director of Quality Outcomes and Process Improvement for the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Affiliate Cardiac Surgery Program at Cleveland Clinic, and Professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and Case Western Reserve University.

Respected worldwide for his expertise and research in cardiac surgery and prolific scientific research, Dr. Svensson has accomplished significant advances in protecting the brain, spinal cord, and kidneys during major cardiac and aortic surgery, and has been instrumental in developing minimally invasive keyhole surgical techniques (J-incision). His research focuses on aortic valve surgery, surgery for thoracic aortic aneurysms, minimally invasive valve surgery, and percutaneous valve treatment. He also reported the first replacement of the entire aorta from the aortic valve to the aortic bifurcation in one operation.

Dr. Svensson’s lecture, titled, “Inaugural D. Craig Miller Lecture: Pioneering and Iterations” distilled Dr. Miller’s pioneering work in cardiothoracic surgery over time, and integrated Dr. Svensson’s personal admiration and friendship with Dr. Miller and other Stanford cardiac surgeons. From early on, Dr. Svensson and Dr. Miller aligned on significant aortic valve surgery research, starting with Dr. Svensson’s cross-clamping of the thoracic aorta in the 1980s and encompassing Dr. Miller’s research on prosthetic valve endocarditis and the advantages of homografts and his innovations in mitral valve replacement including chordal sparing and mitral annuloplasty.

He further discussed how he would incorporate Dr. Miller’s research findings into his own practice at Cleveland Clinic. He reviewed key studies by Dr. Miller, himself, and others on transcatheter (TAVR) vs. surgical  aortic valve replacement (AVR), aneurysm repairs, surgery for acute dissection of the ascending aorta, brain protection during total arch replacement, cardiac surgery for Marfan patients, and other topics. He concluded with this memorable statement: “D. Craig Miller is a true giant in academic surgery who cares for patient outcomes, who dares and enjoys life.”

Dr. Svensson presented to a full house of over 90 faculty, fellows, residents, and trainees at the James H. Clark Center on the Stanford campus.

About Dr. Lars Svensson

Dr. Svensson obtained his medical degree in 1978, MSc in 1983, and PhD in 1986 from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. His Cardiology, General, and Vascular Surgery training was at Johannesburg Hospital, followed by cardiovascular surgery training at Cleveland Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine, including a cardiothoracic surgery residency. He returned to Cleveland Clinic in 2001 where he still practices today.

His list of accomplishments is long, including being named the King James IV Professor of Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2005. He has held prestigious 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 TuftsUniversity in Boston, and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, JTCVS – Open, and JTCVS Techniques, and has served on other prestigious editorial boards, as well as authored or co-authored hundreds of journal articles, reviews, book chapters, abstracts, and commentaries and lectured at hundreds of national, and international symposia and conferences.

Dr. Svensson served as President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) from 2023-2024. He now serves as a director on the AATS Board. Dr. Svensson is also a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, and the American College of Physician Executives.

About Dr. D. Craig Miller

Dr. D. Craig Miller, Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Emeritus, is a highly accomplished cardiothoracic surgeon who dedicated his life to aortic surgery at Stanford University, providing invaluable direction to the department, shaping countless trainees, and improving the lives of hundreds of patients. Inspired by Norman E. Shumway, MD, PhD, who performed the first successful adult heart transplant in the United States at Stanford, Dr. Miller pursued a career in cardiovascular surgery. After his residency, which included general surgical, peripheral vascular surgical, and adult cardiothoracic surgical training at Stanford University, he joined the Stanford faculty in 1978. He became the Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery in 1989.

At his core, Dr. Miller is a surgeon-scientist dedicated to improving patient outcomes through clinical practice and research work. He served as a principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R0l grant on left ventricular mechanics and valve disease for nearly 30 years. He also received numerous other NIH R0l grants and Veteran Affairs Merit Review grants over the years and published over 650 scientific papers. Dr. Miller served as the 88th President of AATS from 2007-2008, President of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association from 1994 to 1995, and Chair of the American Heart Association Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Council in 1995 to 1997.