Physician Bio

Dr. Mahan is the director of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at BCH.
Prior to his arrival in Boulder, Dr. Mahan spent 16 years at Memorial
Hospital in Colorado Springs, 12 of those as director of cardiovascular
and thoracic surgery. He also practiced at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital
for 11 years, nine of those as director of thoracic and cardiac surgery.




Dr. Mahan received his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic
Medicine and completed his residency in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital. He also completed a senior fellowship
in cardiac surgery at Cleveland Clinic.




Dr. Mahan is one of a handful of heart surgeons in the state to perform
hybrid ablation, an advanced, minimally invasive procedure to treat atrial
fibrillation. Hybrid ablation is a collaborative procedure performed by
both a heart surgeon and an electrophysiologist. The heart surgeon creates
scar tissue on the outside of the heart, while the electrophysiologist
does the same on the inside. This scar tissue blocks the damaged electrical
pathways causing the irregular heartbeat characteristic of a-fib. The
procedure involves only three small incisions in the chest and a few small
punctures in the groin. Patients generally go home after only one or two
nights in the hospital.




Mahan also specializes in a minimally invasive procedure known as Thoracic
Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) to treat aortic aneurysms. TEVAR repairs
the aorta using a stent-graft – a flexible metal coil that seals
off the weak part of the aorta, protecting it from growing any larger.
Since TEVAR only requires small groin incisions, it typically leads to
shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times vs. traditional surgical
approaches.