University Clinic RWTH Aachen
Congenital Heart Disease
Member Since: 2017
Biography:
Prof. Ali Dodge-Khatami, MD, Ph.D., is a Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgeon and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the RWTH University Hospital in Aachen, Germany. He graduated from medical school in Geneva, Switzerland (1991) and accomplished his Cardiovascular Surgical training in Switzerland (1998). Congenital Heart Surgical Fellowships were in Chicago (1998-99) at Children’s Memorial Hospital, and in London, UK (1999-2000) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.
Fully dedicated to congenital heart surgery since 2000, his faculty positions included The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany where he was Head of Program in Hamburg, Germany (2008-2012). From 2013-2022, leadership roles in the USA included Jackson MS, Houston TX, and System Chief at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York. He speaks fluent English, French and German, and is proficient in Persian, Dutch and Spanish.
Author of more than 129 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 9 book chapters, he has been committed to research, faculty, resident and student teaching during 23 years of post-graduate full-time appointments at University Hospitals culminating in a Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2003). His involvement with The Novick Cardiac Alliance and dedication to promoting congenital heart surgery in developing nations (Ukraine, Russian Federation, Vietnam, Kenya, DR Congo, Libya, Lebanon, Northern Macedonia, Honduras) is continuous since 2008. He is a member of CHSS and ECHSA, professional organizations dedicated to promoting excellence and education for pediatric and congenital heart surgery.
What Does the AATS Mean to You:
The AATS is the highest professional organization embodying our specialization, by representing scholarly and clinical activities, and by providing a visible platform for idea exchange, education, mentoring, research and innovation.
My First Experience with AATS:
I was a congenital heart surgery fellow with my mentors Constantine Mavroudis and Carl Backer in Chicago, 1999, when they graciously invited me to attend my first AATS meeting in New Orleans. After finishing up my first year with them, plans were underway to do a second fellowship at G.O.S. in London, the future seemed bright, there were nothing but amazing and famous surgeons whose articles and book chapters I devoured walking around, and the Presidential speech was one of the most inspiring I'd ever heard; those few magical days of the 79th Annual Meeting really made me want to someday earn to be a part of that special world.
Why I became an AATS member:
Becoming part of a special group of scientist-surgeons, an extended elite family who collaborate and exchange ideas, seems like the only way to go...
The most impactful presentation I have seen at an AATS meeting:
Irving Kron's 39th Presidential Speech on surgical mentorship.
The first presentation I gave is:
Surgery in Native Endocarditis: Indications, Results and Risk Factors. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Swiss Society of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, St. Gallen, Switzerland, June 2-4, 1994.
The first paper I had published is:
A. Dodge, M. Hurni, P. Ruchat, F. Stumpe, A.P. Fischer, G. van Melle, H. Sadeghi: Surgery in Native Valve Endocarditis: Indications, Results and Risk Factors. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1995; 9:330-334.
I plan on becoming more involved in the organization through:
I would offer assistance in any organizing committee I could be useful in (Annual Meeting, Research, Mentoring, etc.).
My career in CT Surgery was inspired by:
Congenital cardiac surgery is personally for me the highest art form in surgery, combining scientific knowledge and innovation, technical precision, grace, adaptability, stamina, improvisation, and 3-D mental vision: who wouldn't want to try to be the best at it? Plus, it's a never-ending process that will never bore you - you can always get better."
My career in CT Surgery was inspired by:
Congenital cardiac surgery is personally for me the highest art form in surgery, combining scientific knowledge and innovation, technical precision, grace, adaptability, stamina, improvisation, and 3-D mental vision: who wouldn't want to try to be the best at it? Plus, it's a never-ending process that will never bore you - you can always get better.
A significant case/patient interaction that impacted my career is:
Early on in my first years as an attending, during an aortopexy for annoying symptomatic innominate artery compression syndrome, I lost an otherwise healthy teenager on the table from an aortic tear and exsanguination. The boss was out of town, I couldn't gain control, I couldn't go on bypass quickly enough, anesthesia had only put in minimal peripheral access and we'd all scantly showed up "for just a simple, easy aortopexy case". It was the worst thing I'd ever been a part of or had caused. I went to the packed and overwhelming funeral 2 days later and realized I had decimated a family, almost a community. I realized that no matter how "small" or "easy" an operation had seemed until then, you can never PREPARE enough for all possible scenarios, however unlikely. They will happen, and you must be prepared: the responsibility is huge, and you must assume it fully, always.
The biggest impact my mentor had on my career is:
Drs. Mavroudis and Backer found me the second fellowship at G.O.S. in London which opened up even more doors, supported me through numerous publications, research, presentations, life scenarios moving back to Europe and back again to the USA, and subsequent job opportunities. They have become friends, and continue to provide wisdom: mentors never stop having impact, and ultimately become big brothers...
The topic most important to advancing the field of CT Surgery is:
Losing the restrictions and fear that will otherwise hinder innovation; we need to free ourselves of too many shackles, some self-imposed, which burden what can otherwise be achieved.
The most pressing issues impacting CT surgery are:
Keeping interventional percutaneous strategies as accountable to excellence and perfection as we do for our own surgical results. If we let this get out of hand, not only have we lost, but so have our common patients. More common ground and firm but constructive dialogue needs to happen at the higest levels with "the gatekeepers".
Advice for Trainees:
Dig deep, never lose your focus on the end goal, never give up, but enjoy the journey, as you'll only live through it once.