When he was a student in medical school, Matthew Janko, MD, scrubbed in to assist surgeons during an organ transplant operation. The awe-inspiring experience led Dr. Janko to pursue a career in surgery. Years later, when his own father underwent a transplant operation, Dr. Janko committed himself to treating each patient like family.

“All doctors take a public oath to ‘do no harm,’” says Dr. Janko, “but I made another oath to myself to always go the extra mile for my patients.” 

Now, Dr. Janko is bringing that commitment to patients in northeast Georgia as a cardiothoracic surgeon with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, which is an integral part of Georgia Heart Institute.

Dr. Janko earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts and completed an internship in General Surgery through Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He completed a residency in Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy plus a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Janko comes to Georgia from Baptist Health Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. His main clinical interests include coronary artery surgery, aortic surgery and lung cancer surgery. He also offers minimally invasive options, including robotic surgery through keyhole incisions.

“I was attracted to NGPG and Georgia Heart Institute because they are both part of Northeast Georgia Health System, which is one of only two systems in Georgia that offers robotic heart surgery,” says Dr. Janko. “It’s a forward-thinking program that provides innovative technology and techniques that you typically find in large academic health systems, but it combines those advancements with the feel of a community hospital that treats every person like an individual.”

Dr. Janko and his wife, Kate, are expecting their first child, and they have two very active German Shorthaired Pointers named Blitz and Dash. He enjoys playing and composing music on piano, guitar and ukelele. And he also loves to travel, having visited Cuba, Europe, the Middle East and Asia in recent years.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, go to georgiaheartinstitute.org/janko or call 770-212-3216.