Francis P. Sutter DO, FACS, FACOS

Dr. Sutter, chief of cardiac surgery at Lankenau Medical Center and clinical professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College, is well-known for his innovative approach to coronary bypass surgery, using a robotic surgical system to perform coronary artery bypass grafts while his patients’ hearts continue to beat. The procedure is far less intrusive, sparing his patients the foot-long incision, split sternum, and connection to a heart-lung machine that is required in traditional coronary bypass surgeries.

Dr. Sutter has performed close to 1,700 of these procedures more than any surgeon in the United States and has presented his method to cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiologists across the globe. He began performing the minimally invasive robotic bypass surgeries at Lankenau in 2005, after he, his partner and the hospital conducted a $1 million fundraising drive to purchase the robot.

Dr. Sutter has led national and international scientific meetings, frequently an invited guest speaker; he shares his expertise in the area of minimally-invasive surgical robotics. He has also published extensively on surgical treatments and has served as principal investigator and sub-investigator in studies and trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.