Information About Prof. Dr Jürg Grünenfelder
Treatment Focus
- Minimally invasive heart valve surgery (aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair / replacement without opening of the chest)
- Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG)
- Robot-assisted bypass surgery
- Catheter-based valve implantation
- Aortic aneurysm surgery
- Closure of atrial septum defects
- Pacemaker / ICD implantation and electrode explantation
- Thoracoscopic ablation for atrial fibrillation, and closure of the left atrial appendage
Medical Range
Range of therapeutic services
The cardiological department of the HerzKlinik ensures availability of all cardiological examinations
Range of therapeutic services
Cardiac and thoracic vascular surgery
- Bypass surgery
- Surgical aortic valve replacement
- Mitral valve reconstruction or replacement
- Tricuspid valve reconstruction or replacement
- Aortic aneurysm surgery
- Atrial septal defect closure (ASD closure)
- Cardiac arrhythmias/atrial fibrillation ablation
- Biventricular cardiac pacemaker
- Defibrillator implantation
Minimally invasive heart surgery
- Minimally invasive surgical aortic valve replacement
- Surgical mitral valve reconstruction
- Minimally invasive tricuspid reconstruction/replacement
- Bypass surgery
- Minimally invasive atrial septal defect closure (ASD closure)
- Thoracoscopic cardiac arrhythmias/atrial fibrillation ablation (maze operation)
- Thoracoscopic atrial appendage resection/clipping
Catheter-based valve implantation (TAVI, Mitraclip)
About Prof. Dr Jürg Grünenfelder
Prof. Dr. Jürg Grünenfelder is a specialist in cardiac surgery at Heart Clinic Hirslanden and has many years of successful experience in the entire field of cardiac surgery. He specializes in minimally invasive valve surgery and catheter-based valve interventions.
Professor Grünenfelder is the Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery and performs catheter-based valve surgery together with Professor Corti, head of cardiology at the HerzKlinik Hirslanden.
The HerzKlinik Hirslanden excels by the very close cooperation of all its specialists in the area of cardiac medicine, making it possible to offer each patient the best treatment method.
Latest surgical techniques: mitral valve reconstruction/replacement
Surgical repair or mitral valve replacement is the second most common heart valve surgery. The cause of the disease is either degenerative, or a functional or inflammatory change in the structures of the mitral valve. This leads to insufficiency of the heart valve, which can considerably impede the heart's pump performance.
Prof. Grünenfelder and his team support the medical conviction that the anatomically correct repair of the mitral valve is a sustainable, curative therapy for mitral insufficiency. Prof. Grünenfelder has different surgical procedures at his disposal for this purpose. In most cases, the defective mitral valve can be reconstructed in a minimally invasively procedure. In this procedure, access to the heart is through an incision between the ribs. The sternum does not need to be opened.
Recently, the DaVinci robot has been used for these operations at the Hirslanden Heart Clinic. The DaVinci technology supports very precise mitral valve reconstruction. As an alternative to the minimally invasive technique, mitral valve reconstruction can also be performed via a median sternotomy. To treat mitral insufficiency, Prof. Grünenfelder and his team custom choose the method suitable for the patient.
Catheter-based reconstruction: using the clip procedure (MitraClip)
So-called mitral clipping is a minimally invasive procedure based on the heart catheter. The MitraClip procedure was introduced specifically for the functional restoration of the mitral valve. This special clip is an alternative to surgical therapy for high-risk patients and patients with advanced cardiomyopathy, and has become increasingly important in recent years.
Minimally invasive therapy of atrial fibrillation: maze procedure
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most frequent tachycardic cardiac arrhythmias, which can lead to the formation of blood clots (thrombi), resulting in vascular occlusion. The minimally invasive treatment of atrial fibrillation of this kind at the Hirslanden Heart Clinic is unique due to the so-called maze procedure, in which the atria are divided into very specific segments using a cutting and suture technique, and so the spread and development of atrial fibrillation is very successfully prevented.
Aortocoronary bypass surgery: using the surgical robot DaVinci
The latest-generation surgical robot DaVinci is chosen at the Hirslanden Clinic for selected heart operations, such as aorto-coronary bypass surgery, and promises patients smaller surgical access routes, reduced wound areas and faster recovery.
The robot has four arms that carry up to three instruments next to the camera, which can be inserted into the body through small incisions and controlled in this way by the surgeon. According to renowned cardiac surgeons, the flexibility and precision of the robot system that can now be achieved surpass those of the human hand, and thus offer new opportunities in cardiac surgery
Curriculum Vitae
- Medical studies at the University of Zurich
- Training in surgery and cardiac surgery at the University Hospital Zurich
- Advanced training in cardiac pathology at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, USA
- Advanced training in cardiac surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA
- Research in cardiac transplantation at Stanford Medical Center, Palo Alto, USA
- Senior and Managing Physician at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Zurich
- Professor of Cardiac and Thoracic Vascular Surgery at the University of Zurich
Medical Team
Dr Thierry Aymard
Heart Surgery
PD Dr Patric Biaggi
Head Heart Imaging (Echocardio-graphy)
Prof. Dr Roberto Corti
Head Interventional Cardiology
Prof. Dr Jürg Grünenfelder
Director Cardiac Surgery
PD Dr David Hürlimann
Head of the Dept. of Heart Devices and Rhythmology
Dr Silke Küsst
Cardiology
Prof. Dr Georg Noll
Head Hypertension and Heart Failure
Dr Ivano Reho
Interventional Cardiology
Prof. Dr Sacha Salzberg
Cardiac Surgery and Atrial Fibrillation Therapy
Dr Robert von Wattenwyl
Heart Surgery
PD Dr Christophe Wyss
Interventional Cardiology
Extras
Special consultations of HerzKlinik Hirslanden: cardiological check-up
Videos
da Vinci assisted Heart Surgery: Mitralvalverepair
Video, Länge 3:19
Mitral valve repair with the da Vinci. Truly innovative minimally invasive heart surgery.

Location
Zurich Main Station | 10 min |
Zurich Airport | 20 min |
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Contact
Prof. Dr Jürg Grünenfelder
Director
Heart Clinic Hirslanden
Cardiac Surgery
Witellikerstrasse 40, CH-8032 Zurich
T: +41 44 504 75 31
F: +41 44 387 97 20
Fri 14:00 – 18:00 o’clock

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