Dr. Vaughn Starnes - Heart Surgeon

Hello! My name is Dr. Vaughn Starnes and I am a heart surgeon having graduated from North Carolina (Chapel Hill) in 1977. To date, I have performed approximately 12,000 cardiac surgeries, of which 4,000 involved heart valve procedures. I perform surgery at hospitals including University of Southern California, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

"Dr. Vaughn Starnes, MD performed minimally invasive without the robot. His confidence is evident. He answered all of our questions and was reassuring. He has a team that handles the follow-up beyond his last check-in on you after the surgery. The USC team is very professional and helpful."

"Friends and family marveled at my rapid recovery at age 78 from minimally invasive mitral valve repair for severe regurgitation thanks to the experienced and gifted Dr. Vaughn Starnes and his team at Keck USC Hospital. At my initial consultation, Dr. Starnes won my confidence and trust and that of my family. He was kind, compassionate and carefully answered all our questions. My surgery, with an incision of about two inches made under my right breast, was without problems. My stay in intensive care was less than 24 hours. I was up and walking and by my third day climbing stairs under the guidance of a physical therapist. Scheduled for release on the fifth day, my heart went into atrial fibrillation, a common occurrence with mitral valves. I remained in the hospital another five days until my heart stabilized. During my hospital stay, Dr. Starnes visited me four times including once in intensive care. Each time he was unhurried, caring and answered all my questions. When I arrived home, I immediately started walking outdoors with my husband. With the recommendation of my cardiologist, Dr. Mark Lurie, I soon entered the excellent cardiac rehab program at Torrance Memorial Medical Center near my home in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Today, eight months since my surgery, my heart sings with grateful renewal thanks to my world class surgeon and his dedicated team and the excellent care at Keck USC. "

"Dr. Starnes had to leave Los Angeles immediately after the surgery, so I can't comment on his bedside manner. However, his manner pre-surgery was reassuring and friendly. He did an excellent job overall and I'd recommend him without reservation."

"Dr. Vaughn Starnes is stunningly good. Loaded with the appropriate quotient of gravitas, I felt completely confident and in great hands with Dr Starnes. I met with two other surgeons prior to Starnes and I wouldn't let them cut my toe nails -- let alone perform open heart surgery. As soon Dr Starnes opened his mouth, I knew he was the guy. Trust your instincts. "

"Dr. Starnes did a minimally invasive, non robotic successful repair on my mitral valve at USC. Personal contact was minimum. He has a team in place to carry-out post operative care. The important thing was that he was able to complete a successful repair."

"Dr. Starnes was excellent, very caring, personable, and answered all questions. The results were outstanding."

"I also had my ascending aorta replaced (Bental Procedure). Dr. Starnes is a highly rated cardiothoracic surgeon who is the head of USC University Hospital. Since this is a teaching hospital, I knew before the surgery that he would be leading residents and students through his rounds. I wasn't as concerned about his bedside manor since I knew he was a highly skilled surgeon."

"Although I didn't have much contact with him, except on the initial interview, I felt confident in his ability in that my recovery went very smoothly without much pain or complication."

"Wonderful."

"Excellent experience with the my surgeon's office, staff, surgical team and hospital (USC University Hospital). Limited contact with Dr. Starnes himself, as I had a fairly straight forward procedure (as if heart surgery is ever straight forward) but he was always personable, interested and confident. 100% successful and happy!"

"Following an aortic valve replacement nine months earlier, my aortic connective tissue continued to dissect. Due to two previous valve surgeries, I was referred to Dr. Starnes to take on the monumental task of replacing the aortic arch and descending artery to mid-chest. Dr. Starnes masterfully accomplished the mission and gave me a third opportunity at life."

"Outstanding surgeon. Pleasant bedside manner. But most importantly he is an extraordinary surgeon and in other hands I would most likely have ended up with a mitral valve replacement rather then a repair. I feel very fortunate."

"This was my husbands 2nd surgery with Dr. Starnes. In July of 2003 Dr. Starnes performed a mitral valve repair and then the latest surgery was the aortic valve replacement. He was the BEST...We went from Arizona back to him for the 2nd surgery..the office staff, the PA"s all the residents and Dr. Starnes himself were very comforting and kept was informed each step of the way. We would always return to Dr. Starnes."

"I consider Dr. Starnes to be the "Michael Jordan" of heart valve surgery. I conducted a very extensive surgeon selection process and was thrilled to learn that one of the best in the business was only 10 miles from my home in Los Angeles. I strongly recommend Dr. Starnes."

My cardiac specialties include:

• Aortic valve replacement including the Ross Procedure
• Mitral valve repair
• Minimally invasive valve repair

Relative to heart valve surgery, I have the following clinical interests:

• Minimally invasive surgical approaches (robotic, transcatheter)
• Pediatric surgery
• Transplant

"I believe my greatest strength as a heart surgeon is twenty-five years experience operating on both children and adults. I feel fortunate to be gifted with the ability to carry-out extremely complex operations with relative ease. I also have a strong research and teaching interest and commitment to furthering USC's cardiac surgery discipline - specifically in areas of minimally invasive valve surgery, aortic valve surgery and congenital heart disease."

Dr. Vaughn Starnes, heart surgeon, graduated from North Carolina (Chapel Hill) in 1977.

I have relationships with several insurance providers including:

• All major health insurance providers
• Anthem Blue Cross
• Aetna

The office of Dr. Vaughn Starnes is located at:

University of Southern California
1520 San Pablo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(888) 536-1766

A map of our clinic is provided below.