Dr. Alexander "sasha" I Kraev, MD

Originally from the northeast, Dr Kraev finished his undergraduate training with a degree in Literature from Dartmouth College in NH. After pursing his hobby in skiing, he remained in the west. He completed his MD degree at Oregon Health & Science University in POrtland, OR. He followed that by going to a very busy training program in General Surgery at Weill Cornell in New York City. After discovering a passion for Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, he transitioned to Yale University for his fellowship. He further developed those skills by spending some time dedicated to catheter based surgery at Columbia University in New York City, and minimally invasive surgery at Duke University in Durham, NC. He returned to the west to follow his heart and dreams of treating rural population under the Big Sky. When not working, he is constantly exploring the outdoors with his wife Christina Clement DDS and their two young children, Michael and Anya.

Dr Kraev is a full scope adult Cardiac and …Thoracic Surgeon with focus on excellence and data driven outcomes in minimally invasive valve surgery, complex aortic surgery, mitral and aortic valve repair, difficult/re-do/high risk surgery, endovascular surgery, video assisted and robotic thoracic surgery, thoracic oncology, community outreach, program building and local and regional relationships.

During his short stint in Washington, he has received awards in 2022 and 2023 for best coronary artery bypass grafting results, and now has a Three Star Rating from STS.

He brought multiple new technologies to the Billings Clinic and was the first to perform video based cardiac surgery, ablations and catheter based interventions in that scope. He now serves as a trainer for some of these approaches, as other colleagues seek out his expertise.

Recent Publications:

- Gerdisch MW, Reece TB, Emerson D, Downey RS, Blossom GB, Singhal A, Baker JN, Fischlein TJM, Badhwar V; BAVr Working Group. Early results of geometric ring annuloplasty for bicuspid aortic valve repair during aortic aneurysm surgery. JTCVS Tech. 2022 Jun 9;14:55-65. PMID: 35967205

- Kraev AI, Perez-Tamayo RA. A Gnostic Understanding of Coping for the Cardiothoracic Surgeon. Tex Heart Inst J. 2022 Sep 1;49(4):e217657. PMID: 35816722

- Kraev A, Counts S. Robotic Left Diaphragm Plication Using Automatic (Cor-Knot) Device. February 2021. doi:10.25373/ctsnet.13957454. Video https://www.ctsnet.org/article/robotic-left-diaphragm-plication-usingautomatic-cor-knot-device

- Kraev A. VATS Epicardial LV Lead Placement. May 2020. doi:10.25373/ctsnet.12350456. Video. https://www.ctsnet.org/article/vats-epicardial-lv-lead-placement

- Kraev AI, McGinn J, Etkin Y, Turner JW, Landis GS. Improving the Power of the American Society of Anesthesiology Classification System to Risk Stratify Vascular Surgery Patients Based on National Surgical Quality Improvement Project-Defined Functional Status. Ann Vasc Surg. 2018 Oct;52:153-157. PMID: 29885432