Dr. Goya Raikar, a Pioneer in Robotic Cardiac Procedures

“The journey of a thousand surgeries begins with a single incision.” These are the words of Dr. Goya Raikar, who was inspired to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery early in his own journey by his father, who was a surgeon in a small Nebraska town.

Today Dr. Goya Raikar is a nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon and a pioneer in robotic cardiac procedures. He is currently chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital and Froedtert South Medical Group in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

Froedtert South’s commitment to robotic-assisted surgery is one of the main reasons Dr. Raikar chose to practice medicine there. Their minimally invasive surgical practices have made Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital a destination for cardiothoracic and vascular surgeries. 

There, patients have access to the advanced treatments for the heart and its valves, aorta, arteries, and muscles with experts who provide leading-edge care to give patients faster relief – and recovery – from serious conditions.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and it is becoming more common as the population ages. With its hybrid-CVOR, heart procedures at Froedtert are performed in an operating room equipped with  the most advanced surgical and imaging technology.

Surgeons at Froedtert are leaders in their field – Dr. Raikar is the only cardiothoracic surgeon performing robotic surgery in the Pleasant Prairie area.

With over two decades of surgical experience and board certifications in both general and cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Raikar is widely respected for his expertise in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery techniques, including robotic mitral valve repair, aortic valve replacement, coronary artery bypass procedures and thoracic aneurysm treatment.

Raikar’s distinguished career includes performing the first robotic-assisted mitral valve repair in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. His surgical innovations offer patients shorter recovery times, reduced pain, and better clinical outcomes. Most recently, he helped launch a Robotic Mitral Valve Repair Program at Community Memorial Hospital as Chief Cardiac Surgeon at the DeBakey Heart Center of Wisconsin within the Froedtert South Hospital system.

Trained at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Wisconsin Hospital, Dr. Raikar has held academic and surgical leadership roles at leading institutions including the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Heart Hospital, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has served as a principal investigator on numerous clinical trials focused on valve replacement, arrhythmia, and heart failure, and is a contributing author to peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters on cardiac surgery.

On Why He Specializes in Robotic Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. Raikar specializes in robotic cardiothoracic surgery because, as he points out, it allows patients to recover more quickly. While many people think this type of surgery cannot be performed robotically, Dr. Raikar says this is a misconception. “Most complex surgeries can be done by a robot,” he explains.

Compared with traditional open or even standard minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), robotic thoracic surgery offers greater precision, improved visualization with a 3D magnified camera, better access to difficult chest anatomy, and smaller incisions and less trauma for patients.

             Thoracic surgery, says Dr. Raikar, is established as the preferred method of robotic lung resection and esophageal work.

             In addition to his clinical and academic work, Dr. Raikar sits on the editorial board of The Heart Surgery Forum, has mentored surgical teams across the U.S. in robotic techniques, and previously served as President of the Minnesota Society of Thoracic Surgery.

Accomplishments Achieved with the Surgical Team

What does Dr. Raikar consider among his greatest accomplishments? He is quick to point out that any accomplishment he has achieved has been with teams of other medical professionals.  Complicated surgeries are not accomplished by a single surgeon alone.  He is proud to have had the first team in Minnesota to perform a robotic heart surgery.

At Western Virginia University his team performed the first TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) explant in the world. Transcatheter aortic valve is a treatment to replace a narrowed aortic valve that doesn’t open fully. TAVR is minimally invasive, which means it uses smaller surgical cuts than open-heart valve surgery. The surgery is currently the fastest-growing cardiac surgery procedure in the U.S.

  Dr. Raikar also cites his accomplishments in Combined Bypass and Valve Surgery, also known as CABG  The seeds of innovation, he says were sown during his initial time at Froedtert South. 

Recognition at National Conference

             He is looking forward to the upcoming National Conference of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, which will be held in New Orleans, and where Dr. Raikar says, “We will be part of the largest robotic valve surgery series in the world. My former partner has been appointed as the incoming lead surgeon for the robotic surgery society.” In addition, the team is involved in the introduction and use of new equipment for the Da Vinci surgical system. 

The da Vinci vision system delivers 3D high-definition views, giving the surgeon a crystal clear view of the surgical area that is magnified 10 times to what the human eye sees. The surgeon uses tiny instruments that move like a human hand but with a far greater range of motion.

The conference is the preeminent event in cardiothoracic surgery, offering more translational science and hands-on activities than any other educational event of its kind. The meeting features thought-provoking lectures, late-breaking research, and outstanding didactic and interactive educational programs, an expansive Exhibit Hall, and unique networking opportunities for every member of the cardiothoracic surgery team. 

Making it All Work – Balancing Surgery and His Personal Life

         Dr. Goya Raikar starts his day before the sun rises, which typically means at 4:30 a.m. with rounds and the review of cases. At noon, it’s time for his lecture. His day finishes up usually between 5:30 and 6 p.m.  and then it’s on to rounds and inpatient consults. As he is fond of saying,” A surgeon’s day begins before the sun and ends when the work is done.”

When asked how he balances the demands of performing high-stakes surgeries with research and teaching, Dr. Raikar, whose wife is also a surgeon, pauses, “I live, eat and breathe cardiac and thoracic surgery. I don’t have a good balance, but when I am away, I play hard hiking and goofing around with my three boys.”

As Dr. Raikar often says, “the legacy of a surgeon is written in the lives they touch.”  Indeed, he has touched hundreds of lives already, and he will, no doubt, touch hundreds more.