Balakrishnan Mahesh, MD

About Me

Dr. Balakrishnan Mahesh is a cardiac and transplant surgeon and surgical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and an associate professor of surgery at Penn State College of Medicine. He is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in all major heart surgery, heart transplantation and implantation of ventricular assist devices. He was one of the first heart transplant surgeons in Pennsylvania to use the Paragonix SherpaPak, a revolutionary device that transports donor hearts safely.  

As surgical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support, Dr. Mahesh performs conventional cardiac surgery for patients with failing hearts, supporting them with a range of short- and long-term cardiac support devices.  

He also specializes in total arterial coronary revascularization, with emphasis on total arterial grafting; mitral valve repair; tricuspid valve repair; aortic root replacement surgery; minimally invasive aortic valve replacement; surgery for atrial fibrillation; and repeat, also called redo, cardiac surgery.  

Before joining Penn State Health, Dr. Mahesh was an attending cardiac and transplant surgeon at Harefield Hospital, London; senior clinical lecturer at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, Scotland; and surgical tutor with the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He received a Clinical Excellence Award from the United Kingdom National Health Service.

Dr. Mahesh has published extensively and enjoys research in antibody-mediated rejection following heart transplantation, as well as development of newer left ventricular assist devices.