Treatments & Conditions

Meet our new cardiac surgeons bringing expert, personal care to S.C. patients

November 9, 2026 5 Minute Read Time

The cardiac surgery program at Roper St. Francis Healthcare recently added two top surgeons to our team.

Awad El-Ashry, MD, FACS and Joseph Sweeney, MD continue our legacy as a state and national leader in minimally invasive valve procedures, and combine the clinical expertise and personal touch that make us a favorite among patients and referring physicians.

“We’re at full strength and able to see urgent cases in less than 24 hours,” says J. Matthew Toole, MD, a 10-year veteran of the team. “We’re ready to partner with PCPs and cardiologists on whatever their patients need, from valve repair and replacement to treatment in our dedicated aortic aneurysm clinic.”

Joseph Sweeney, MD

Cardiac surgery
Awad El-Ashry, MD

Cardiac surgery
J. Matthew Toole, MD

Cardiac surgery

New surgeons with extensive expertise

Roper St. Francis Healthcare sees more patients for minimally invasive valve procedures than any institution in the state. And our patient volume for mitral valve surgery sits in the top 5% of centers nationwide.

Dr. El-Ashry builds on this success with 10 years of experience in MIS, most recently at the University of Buffalo. He has performed thousands of surgeries, with outcomes that meet or exceed benchmarks set by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Dr. El-Ashry has also contributed to research into valvular disease and new treatments, as well as trained other surgeons across the country in new and complex procedures. He joins Roper St. Francis as its Director of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery.

Dr. Sweeney recently completed his fellowship at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In addition to his expertise in valve procedures, he has contributed to research on aortic aneurysms and surgical oncology.

“Roper St. Francis gives me the rare chance to work at the leading edge of my field while also giving each patient the time and attention they deserve,” he says.

Care for aortic aneurysms includes rare valve-sparing procedure

Beyond valvular disease, our surgeons’ expertise runs the gamut of common and complex heart conditions.

For example, we saw so many cases of aortic aneurysm that it spurred us to establish a dedicated clinic to serve these patients. While some patients require only monitoring or medical management, others require specialized surgery like valve-sparing root replacement that are only offered by experienced teams like ours.

All patients seen in 7 days or less

Our team prioritizes seeing patients quickly.

Elective cases: Scheduler calls within 2 days of referral and patients evaluated within a week. Surgery follows 1 to 2 weeks later.
Urgent and emergent cases (hospital-to-hospital transfers): Evaluation within 24 hours and surgery within a week.

“Being referred for heart surgery is distressing for many people. We want to explain their options and provide comfort and reassurance as soon as possible,” says Dr. Toole.

Referring physicians have direct access to surgeons

All three surgeons share their cell phone numbers with referring physicians to make communication easy and direct. Physicians often reach out to see whether a patient should be evaluated, and our surgeons provide regular updates about their patients following evaluation and surgery.

“I genuinely enjoy consulting with referring providers,” says Dr. El-Ashry. “It's one of the first calls I make after I get out of the operating room. And I expect to continue the conversation as the patient recovers and into the future.”