Lawrence E. Greiten, M.D. Thoracic Surgeon

Clinical Biography

Dr. Lawrence E. Greiten is widely acknowledged as a highly-skilled congenital cardiac surgeon. He was trained at some of the country’s finest and most productive surgical institutions. Dr. Greiten received his medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He then completed his general surgery training and his adult cardiothoracic training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. He obtained his advanced training in congenital cardiac surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Dr. Greiten also earned a Master’s in biomedical sciences, clinical and translational science from the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education.

As a pediatric congenital cardiac surgeon, Dr. Greiten has an extensive surgical practice dedicated to diagnosing and managing congenital cardiac defects in neonates, infants, children, adolescents, and adult patients. Dr. Greiten’s goal as a congenital cardiac surgeon is to provide families with the highest quality of care, which is reflected in his astonishingly low operative mortality rates. Dr. Greiten created this patient-oriented mission to help advance the field of congenital cardiac surgery and to improve the clinical care and quality of life in patients with congenital heart defects. As a clinical scientist, Dr. Greiten sustains a busy clinical practice complimented by his research, administrative and educational interests.

Dr. Greiten’s pediatric congenital cardiac surgery practice includes the diagnosis and management of a vast array of congenital cardiac defects including: corrective and palliative surgical repairs of all congenital heart defects, heart transplantation, mechanical circulatory support including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices (VADs), minimally invasive surgical procedures, hybrid pediatric cardiac catheterization(s), as well as pre/post-operative pediatric cardiac intensive care management.

Unique to Dr. Greiten’s surgical practice is his use of minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dr. Greiten is able to perform a variety of conventional cardiac operations using small incisions and specialized instruments which leads to a quicker recovery. Benefits of minimally invasive heart surgery include less blood loss, lower risk of infection, reduced pain, shorter hospital length of stay, faster recovery and quicker return to normal activities. Dr. Greiten also performs “hybrid” procedures with interventional pediatric cardiologists to assist in vascular exposure, intra-cardiac access for device placement, as well as cardiopulmonary bypass support for complex procedures.