Valvular heart disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Underserved populations in developing countries face profound gaps in access to care, while even in developed nations—including the United States—limited availability of expertise in reconstructive valve surgery continues to challenge optimal treatment. To address these unmet needs, the Mount Sinai Health System in 2026 established the Adams Valve Institute, a global center dedicated to advancing comprehensive valve disease care and reconstructive valve surgery.
The Adams Valve Institute builds on more than two decades of pioneering work by David H. Adams, MD, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System, and unites a multidisciplinary team of experts in valvular heart disease. The Institute will promote innovation in advanced imaging, reconstructive surgical techniques, peer-to-peer education, health policy reform, and leading-edge research across the full spectrum of valvular heart disease.
The Mount Sinai Hospital performs the highest volume of mitral and tricuspid valve repairs and advanced aortic root operations in New York State and has consistently achieved the highest quality distinctions from the New York State Department of Health. Repairing or reconstructing a patient’s native valve has been shown to extend life expectancy and significantly reduce complications when compared with mechanical or bioprosthetic valve replacement.
Ismail El-Hamamsy, MD, PhD, the Randall B. Griepp Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine and Director of Aortic Surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System, will serve as the inaugural Director of the Adams Valve Institute.
“Our new Institute will expand our efforts across the full spectrum of valvular heart disease,” Dr. Adams says. “Collaboration has been the foundation of our success, bringing together cardiologists, imaging specialists, anesthesiologists, critical care teams, and scientists with a shared mission to advance best practices in heart valve disease care.”
From left: Lilyanne Chen, MD; Elbert Williams, MD, Director of The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Aortic Aneurysm Surveillance Program; Ismail El-Hamamsy, MD, PhD, Director of the Adams Valve Institute; David H. Adams, MD, Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System; Anelechi Anyanwu, MD, Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support of the Mount Sinai Health System; Ahmed El-Eshmawi, MD, Clinical Director, Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center; Percy Boateng, MD, National Director, Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center; Aarti Patil, MD; and Timothy Lee, MD.
In his role as System Director of Aortic Surgery, Dr. El-Hamamsy oversees the largest Ross procedure program in the United States. The Ross procedure replaces a diseased aortic valve with the patient’s own pulmonary valve, avoiding the long-term limitations of artificial valve replacement. Describing the Institute’s vision, Dr. El-Hamamsy says, “Dr. Adams is internationally recognized for pioneering reconstructive strategies that restore a patient’s own valve. The Adams Valve Institute will build on this legacy to set a global standard for techniques, education, research, and equitable access in reconstructive valve surgery for all valves and for patients of all ages, from infancy through advanced adulthood.”
A cornerstone of the Institute will be the development of specialized Centers of Excellence focused on the most complex and underserved areas of valvular heart disease. Mount Sinai’s Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center is already an internationally recognized center in mitral valve management, outcomes research, and reconstructive standards of care. New centers will apply similar principle-based management approaches and focus on aortic valve disease and the Ross procedure, Marfan syndrome and other connective tissue disorders, arrhythmic mitral valve prolapse, radiation-induced heart disease, congenital and adult congenital heart disease, and complex re-operative valve surgery.
“The Centers of Excellence within the Adams Valve Institute will offer hope to patients with rare or highly complex conditions that require specialized expertise not available at most centers,” Dr. Adams says. In parallel with clinical innovation, the Institute will support transformative multidisciplinary research through targeted investments in infrastructure and dedicated faculty support.
The Adams Valve Institute will also work to systematically reduce barriers to high-quality surgical care by collaborating with nonprofit organizations to advocate for policy reform at both federal and state levels. Key initiatives include standardizing physician licensing, improving payer policies, expanding transparency in outcomes reporting and peer-recognized centers of excellence, and increasing access for underserved populations, including veterans. Additionally, the Institute will serve as a global educational hub through expanded live surgery courses, international mission programs, and the creation of the world’s largest digital library of valve reconstructive technique videos—freely accessible to surgeons worldwide.
“Creating the Adams Valve Institute recognizes Mount Sinai’s long-standing leadership in the surgical treatment of heart valve disease as well as the transformative improvements in clinical care spearheaded by Drs. Adams and El-Hamamsy,” says Evan L. Flatow, MD, Dean for Clinical Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine.
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine, says, “The Adams Valve Institute, operating in close collaboration with the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, will ensure continued state-of-the-art and life-changing treatments for our patients locally, nationally, and globally.”