About Dr. Vinay Badhwar,
Heart Valve Surgeon

"My daughter underwent robotic surgery to repair her mitral valve. Today, one year later, she has recovered beautifully. Thanks to the expertise of Dr. Badhwar and a lot of prayers."

-- Antoinette Vitullo, Mitral Valve, Robotic Surgery, 06/23/2020

"I have known Dr. Badhwar since meeting him at UPMC, Pittsburgh approximately 10 years ago. We were never sure if we would see each other again once he departed from UPMC. Fast forward to 2020. My leaky mitral valve became severe and I had no doubt who I would choose to do my surgery. I was so fortunate to learn Dr. Badhwar was only a short distance away in Morgantown, WV at WVU. I had robotic assisted mitral valve repair and had a 7 day hospital stay which included walking many steps! I was back to my yoga, biking and walking routines within a month. Incidentally, I had referred my dear friend's father to Dr. Badhwar for heart surgery years ago. Angelo is now 92 years old and living well! Incidentally, by reading this site, I learned my salsa dance teacher also had surgery (the same type as myself) by Dr. Badhwar! What a small world it is. I love Dr. Badhwar's calm demeanor and willingness to talk to you in detail about your condition and the procedure you will have."

-- Victoria Baker, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, Robotic Surgery, 06/18/2020

"Dr. Badhwar is a compassionatel person. He is very knowledgeable in all areas of the heart and it's working. He is very dedicated to making your surgery the best experience it can be. He has a wonderful staff. You are their main concern!

Although no one wants to have surgery, he and his staff are dedicate to making it as comfortable as possible.

Thank you, Dr. Badhwar!"

-- Richard Haddon, Aortic Valve, Valve Repair, Mini Sternotomy, 12/20/2016

"Fortunately enough, by the grace of god, I met Dr. Badhwar after I was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation. Right from the first impression, I liked him a lot with respect to bedside manner, professionalism and rest of all qualities an ideal surgeon possess. My life has completely taken a U-turn after surgery and am enjoying my life more than ever. I can't sleep with out remembering his name every single night. He is a gift to human from heaven!"

-- Madhav Dhital, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, Robotic Surgery, 07/01/2015

"Dr. Badhwar is the the very best surgeon in the United States. He is very kind, compassionate, and he knows what he is doing. This was my second open heart surgery. If I would of been able to have him for my first surgery then I would not of needed a second one."

-- Tricia Allen, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, Median Sternotomy, 06/23/2015

"Dr. Badhwar was recommended by my sister in-law. I am so happy I chose him. I had my surgery in July, 2014. I am doing great. He is a very kind man. He made me feel so at ease. I was very comfortable going into surgery. After the procedure, he makes sure you are well taken care of !!"

-- Josephine Rizzo, Aortic Valve, Valve Replacement, Mini Sternotomy, 07/02/2014

"I suffered from mitral valve prolapse for years. When the regurgitation became so severe that I became symptomatic, my cardiologist spoke very highly of and recommended Dr. Vinay Badhwar! I was terrified to have heart surgery, however, after meeting with Dr. Badhwar, and having everything explained clearly, calmly and patiently to me, I was able to have this surgery with confidence that I was in the best of hands. My husband was also very impressed with his ability to explain why this was necessary and how it would be done. I was able to have a robotic mitral valve repair through my ribs.

I knew that Dr. Badhwar had done this particular surgery successfully many times. In addition to being school teachers, my husband and I also teach salsa dancing and run a weekly dance night. We were both amazed at how quickly I recovered from this surgery and was back to teaching dance. Five weeks after my surgery I was back on the dance floor and teaching salsa with my husband! I will always think of Dr. Badhwar, Dr. Wei, Dr. O'Toole (cardiologist) and the team of professionals that were involved in my surgery, as the most amazing people who gave me my life back!

A side note: my brother also had mitral valve prolapse and you can guess who I recommended to do the surgery! He also had a successful mitral valve repair by Dr. Badhwar and Dr. Wei!"

-- Colleen Shirey, Mitral Valve, Valve Repair, Robotic Surgery, 03/12/2014

"On January 10th, 2013 I had a heart valve repair operation. The lead surgeon for my operation was Dr. Vinay Badhwar. His team included a lead nurse for the operating team, and a variety of other doctors including an anesthesiologist and others. All were outstanding!

My surgery was minimally invasive which meant that instead of cracking open my rib-cage, everything was done through a three inch incision on the right side of my chest and a variety of small cuts equal to pencil holes for tubes and scopes to be inserted. During the surgery, two of my heart valves were banded with titanium bands and I also had the Maze Technique to solve a problem with Atrial Fibrillation. The banding has solved the leakage problem and the Maze Technique has solved my atrial fibrillation problem.

Since the operation was micro-surgery, my recovery time was cut in half. Today, I am stronger and in far better condition than I was ten years ago. This is all due to the work of Dr. Badhwar and his team. He is truly an artist when it comes to his surgical technique. The operation was one part of my experience, but the preparation prior to the operation was equally important.

Like many people facing a heart operation, I was living in fear for nearly two years regarding the possible outcome of my operation. I kept putting off the operation for as long as possible – hoping against hope that things would get better and that the operation would be unnecessary. My fear was laid to rest in October, 2012 on a visit to my cardiologist. I respect his advise highly and the two pieces of information he provided to me during that visit were crucial in my decision to proceed with the operation.

First, based upon a specific measurement of the leakage coming out of my faulty heart valve, the fact my heart valve was significantly larger than normal and since my problem was nearly twenty-five years old, the valve was nearing the point of replacement rather than repair. This measure provides a “window of opportunity” in which it is possible to repair a valve rather than replace it. If you wait too long, you move into the replacement mode which is more difficult and lengthens recovery time.

Second, my cardiologist shared with me the fact that his daughter-in-law had a condition similar to but worse than mine. Some months before this appointment, she was admitted to the emergency room for the same type of operation which I had been postponing. The person that he called in to do her operation was Dr. Badhwar and his team. The end result was highly successful. Based upon this information, two things were obvious – the right surgeon had been identified and my stalling needed to stop. The operation was imminent. The key was when to schedule the surgery.

The next step was to schedule a meeting with Dr. Badhwar. I found his staff and the head nurse to be outstanding in terms of professionalism and their communications and human relations skills. I was so impressed.

The office visit was calm, the explanation provided by Dr. Badhwar and Ms. James was in simple terms and easy to understand. It included highlighting where my condition lie in my heart based upon a scale model of the heart which they showed me. During this consultation, Dr. Badhwar was careful to listen well to my questions, observed my emotional state and they took the time needed to answer my questions clearly and frankly. I admired their patience and communication skills. Based upon this initial consultation, I left the office confident that I would be in good hands -- these were the right people to do my surgery.

It is now nearly a year since my operation. My progress has been far beyond expectations – I have healed and recovered far sooner than anticipated. My body is in good repair and my fear has disappeared. I continue to meet with Dr. Badhwar and his team on a quarterly basis for follow-up check-ups. My treatment continues similar to my earlier experience – very professional, patient oriented and outstanding communication skills in simple terms.

I have already recommended Dr. Badhwar and his team to three neighbors in my community who have similar problems to mine. I will continue to recommend him in the future. Overall, I came away from this experience with great admiration for this medical team and confidence in the quality of medicine available in our area.

I will be celebrating my one year anniversary for my surgery on January 10th, 2014 – the same day that I will also celebrate my son’s 25th birthday. Thank you for doing an outstanding job! It is greatly appreciated."

-- Jerry Groves, Mitral Valve, Tricuspid Valve, Valve Repair, Maze Procedure, 01/10/2013

"Dr. Badhwar replaced my aortic valve and repaired my aortic root on June 7, 2011. He did a fantastic job. We never felt rushed, he took great care and time every single time he met with me and explained (not only in detail, but also in easy to understand terms) everything from my condition, my options, the surgery and what he actually did to how to get the most out of my recovery. His bedside manner is the epitome of compassion and professionalism. Most importantly, my recovery has been fast and virtually pain free. Our entire experience with Dr. Badhwar was just wonderful. I felt very comfortable with him and trusted him completely and I am so very glad that I did. Dr. Badhwar saved my life."

-- Matthew Fountain, Aortic Valve, Valve Replacement, Root Replacement, 06/07/2011

"Dr. Vinay Badhwar is the best. Small scar. Aortic heart valve replaced with On-X mechanical valve. Greatest surgeon. Thank you for saving my life!"

-- Patrick Williams, Aortic Valve, Valve Replacement, 04/10/2011

"Skilled and on top of his game. If I had to do it again, it would be him!"

-- Terry Swearingen , Aortic Valve, Pulmonary Valve, 11/29/2009