Dr. Randall K. Wolf, MD, FACS, FACC is a cardiovascular surgeon and a pioneer in the minimally invasive surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AFib). He has performed close to 3,000 Mini-Maze procedures since the first one in 2003, and has demonstrated the procedure to over 800 heart surgeons worldwide. He has been visiting professor in 18 countries, including Oxford University, University of Tokyo, and Peking University. Dr. Wolf has been an invited professor to deliver hundreds of lectures at hospitals, academic meetings, and seminars in the United States and abroad.
He is currently a member of the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center at the Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He serves as the arrhythmia specialist of the group. Through his tenure, Dr. Wolf has operated on AFib patients from almost all of the US states. He was also the keynote speaker at the annual Japanese Society for Tobacco Control in Takamatsu, Japan and the annual Chinese Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Shenyang, China.
From 2015 to 2018 Dr. Wolf served as Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He founded the AFib Centers of Excellence and served as the Surgical Director of the Hearts in Rhythm Program at Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center.
Randall K. Wolf, MD, FACS, FACC
Dr. Wolf is a pioneer of robotic surgery. He was the first North American heart surgeon to perform DaVinci cardiac surgery. He served as Professor of Surgery at the Ohio State University and Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, at the University of Cincinnati, and the inaugural Ethicon-Endosurgery Chair for Innovation in Surgery. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and medical textbook chapters, and was the inaugural co-editor of the Innovations Journal.
He served as President of both the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS) and the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgery Club. When not operating or lecturing, Dr. Wolf enjoys performing stage and close-up magic and is a magician member of the Academy of Magical Arts, as well as a collector of antique magic books and illusions.
Areas of research expertise: Minimally invasive atrial fibrillation procedures and devices, minimally invasive heart and lung surgery, robotics in cardiac surgery, anastomotic devices, surgical sealants, biosurgery.
Interests and subspecialties: Minimally invasive atrial fibrillation surgery, Robotic assistance in minimally invasive heart surgery, minimally invasive coronary artery bypass and valve repair, instrumentation for minimally invasive heart surgery, video thoracoscopy and video-assisted thoracic surgery, lung volume reduction for emphysema and thoracoscopic spine surgery, phrenic nerve pacemakers and MEMS technology.
Other links:
Facebook page for the Wolf Mini-Maze
Dr. Wolf on FOX 26 Houston discussing AFib and the Mini-Maze procedure
Dr. Wolf and Magic:
Magic and Medicine: Heart surgeon is also professional magician (Video)
Watermelon Surgery by Penn and Teller