Piedmont Heart Cardiothoracic Surgery Atlanta

Dr. Rajagopal earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He completed his internship at the University of Washington in Seattle and his residency at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Rajagopal fulfilled a cardiology fellowship with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. He completed his undergraduate training at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, nuclear cardiology, and interventional cardiology. Dr. Rajagopal has a special interest and expertise in the minimally invasive treatment of valve disease.

Mark R. Helmers, MD, is a cardiovascular surgeon who treats coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysms, and heart valve disease. He has a special interest in transcatheter and minimally invasive valve procedures.

He is passionate about patient-centered care and leveraging shared decision making and a multidisciplinary team approach to provide the best possible care for his patients.

In his spare time, Dr. Helmers enjoys hiking, skiing, playing guitar, travelling, and spending time with his family and dog Bubba.

Ezequiel J. Molina, MD is the new surgical director of the LVAD and Heart Transplant Program at the Piedmont Heart Institute. He earned his medical degree from Buenos Aires University in Argentina. He completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York ,where he served as a clinical instructor focusing on heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support devices. Dr. Molina is board certified in Thoracic Surgery and General Surgery.

Dr. Molina has been practicing medicine for 10 years. He is proficient in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery including surgical coronary revascularization, aortic aneurysms, valve surgery, and complex reoperative surgery. He specializes in durable LVAD implantation, heart transplantation and surgical therapies for cardiogenic shock. Dr. Molina publishes and presents extensively in his field at national and international meetings. He has been an Investigator in several LVAD trials. Dr. Molina serves as a member of the STS-Intermacs Database Task Force, the largest durable LVAD registry in the world. Prior to joining Piedmont, Dr. Molina was the surgical director of the LVAD and Heart Transplant Program at the MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute in Washington, DC. He also served as co-interim chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Molina was an associate professor of Surgery at Georgetown University and the program director of the mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation surgical fellowship.

In his spare time, Dr. Molina enjoys spending time with his wife and three little children. He enjoys cycling, running, reading, and traveling. Dr. Molina is accepting new patients and welcomes most major insurance plans.

Dr. Gott has been practicing cardiac surgery since 1989. He earned his medical degree from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he then completed an internship and residency from 1982 to 1986. Dr. Gott also served a residency at Emory University affiliated hospitals from 1986 to 1989. He served a research fellowship in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at University of Louisville. Dr. Gott is board certified in thoracic surgery. He has been on medical staff at Piedmont Hospital since 2000.

Dr. Brown has been practicing cardiothoracic surgery since 1994. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He completed his internship and residency at Emory University affiliated hospitals from 1985 to 1994. He then served as research fellow and clinical fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at Emory University affiliated hospitals. Dr. Brown is board certified in thoracic surgery. He has been on medical staff at Piedmont Hospital since 2001.

Karolis Bauza, MD PhD, specializes in surgical coronary artery revascularization, heart valve surgery, complex reoperative cardiac surgery, heart transplants, and durable left ventricular assist devices.

Prior to joining Piedmont, Dr. Bauza spent several years at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, developing cardiac surgery skills that his patients need and deserve.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, running, cycling, and traveling.

Dr. Bauza welcomes new patients and accepts most major insurance plans.

Dr. Stewart is a structural and interventional cardiologist specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of valve disease. A native Atlantan, Dr. Stewart was actually born at Piedmont Hospital, as were all four of his children. After completing his education at Harvard, Yale, and Emory including cardiology, interventional cardiology, and structural cardiology fellowships at Emory, he stayed on as faculty and helped found and lead the Structural Heart program at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital from 2013 - 2020. He then was recruited to co-direct and lead the newest open heart surgery and structural heart program in the state at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, GA.

He and his wife, Amy, and their four kids are excited to be back in Atlanta full time, and thrilled to be working with the superlative team at the Marcus Heart Valve Center and Piedmont Heart Institute.

In his spare time, Dr. Stewart is an avid tennis player, a sometimes runner, a die-hard Atlanta Braves fan, and a budding tree-farmer and ecologist while restoring a longleaf pine forest in South Georgia.

Dr. Thourani is board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. He earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Thourani completed a general surgery internship at Emory University, followed by a residency and fellowship at Emory University. He also completed visiting fellowships for minimally invasive and transcatheter valve surgery at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China, and a fellowship with Prof Fred Mohr in Leipzig, Germany. Dr. Thourani is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, the Heart Valve Society, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the South Atlantic Cardiovascular Society, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He serves as the President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (2019-2020) and the President-elect for the Heart Valve Society (2019-2020).

Dr. Thourani specializes in valve surgery, specifically in minimally invasive and transcatheter aortic and mitral valve surgery. He is passionate about working with a multi-disciplinary team in providing the patient with options for traditional, minimally invasive, and transcatheter surgical options.

In his spare time, Dr. Thourani enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, tennis, and going to sporting events and concerts.

Dr. Thourani welcomes new patients and accepts most insurance plans.