The WVU Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute are adding four new surgeons to their cardiac and thoracic surgery teams.

Goya Raikar, M.D., has joined the Division of Cardiac Surgery at WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Trained at the Mayo Clinic in 1997, Raikar has spent his career dedicated to the advancement of complex adult cardiac surgery with a focus on minimally invasive and robotic techniques. Well-versed in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery and structural heart therapies, Raikar is a known figure in robotic cardiac surgery, often having served as a proctor for growing programs. He joins WVU Medicine from the DeBakey Heart Surgery Center of the Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital, where he serves as chief of cardiothoracic surgery.

“We could not be more fortunate to have Dr. Raikar join us to provide an integral role in the continued growth of our nation-leading program,” Vinay Badhwar, M.D., department chairman and executive chair of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said. “I have known Dr. Raikar for several years, and his calm, gentlemanly demeanor matched by his technical ability serve to be an ideal fit for our multidisciplinary, multicenter team. Given our international role as one of the pre-eminent programs in robotic cardiac surgery, the addition of Dr. Raikar enhances our ability to not only provide expanded services to our patients, but to help the global community through continued innovation and peer-to-peer education.”

The Division of Thoracic Surgery will welcome three new surgeons.

Nick Baker, M.D., a McDowell County native and graduate of West Virginia University, will join the faculty at Ruby Memorial Hospital and WVU Medicine United Hospital Center this week from UPMC, where he most recently served as director of robotic thoracic surgery. Following completion of his general surgery residency in Charleston in 2013, Baker pursued training in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He furthered his interest in robotics and thoracic oncology at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering, followed by an advanced fellowship in minimally invasive thoracic surgery in Pittsburgh in 2015, after which he remained on faculty. He has focused his career on novel solutions for thoracic oncology and robotic thoracic surgery. Baker brings expertise in all aspects of thoracic surgery, including benign and malignant diseases of the lung, esophagus, mediastinum and pleura.

Nida S. Bham, M.D., completed her surgical training at Vanderbilt University followed by a thoracic fellowship at Yale University, where she has been lauded as one of the top-ever products of Yale’s program. Bham’s expertise is in benign and malignant diseases of the lung and esophagus and thoracic surgical education. She will join the WVU Division of Thoracic Surgery this fall, working closely with the teams at Ruby Memorial and the WVU Cancer Institute.

Saiesh R. Voppuru, M.D., completed his training in Hyderabad, India, where he remained in clinical practice in thoracic surgical oncology. Seeking to further enhance his skills, he traveled to Rochester, Minnesota, to complete an advanced fellowship in Thoracic Surgical Oncology at the Mayo Clinic. Voppuru will be joining the Morgantown-based faculty this fall, and he will also work closely with the teams at Ruby and the WVU Cancer Institute.

“We are thrilled to welcome these three outstanding additions to our growing and highly successful Thoracic Surgical faculty as we continue to provide consistent regional leadership and service that includes Dr. Jahnavi Kakuturu at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, Dr. Robert Herron at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, and Dr. Shalini Reddy at WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg,” Badhwar said.

To lead the expansion, Jason Lamb, M.D., will assume the role of chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery.

“Dr. Lamb has consistently provided outstanding technical and organizational leadership for many years while delivering additional focus on cardiothoracic surgical education, quality, and rural outreach,” Badhwar said. “He has worked very closely to help support the academic and system leadership of Drs. J.W. Awori Hayanga and Alper Toker, as they all have vaulted the Division to national prominence in recent years.”

For more information on the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, visit WVUMedicine.org/Heart.