After joining Cleveland-based University Hospitals in 2020 as UH Cleveland Medical Center’s director of cardiothoracic transplantation, Yasir Abu-Omar, MD, PhD, in February was appointed chief of cardiac surgery at the system’s Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.
During his time at UH, Dr. Abu-Omar implemented the health system’s donation after circulatory death heart transplant program and co-developed the system’s extracorporeal CPR program, the first of its kind in Ohio.
He recently spoke to Becker’s about his plans for his new role as the Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute’s cardiac surgery chief.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is your vision for the future of the cardiac surgery program? How do you plan to build upon UH’s reputation for excellence in cardiac care?
Dr. Yasir Abu-Omar: Our first priority is always going to be serving our patients and the region. Whatever we do, whatever innovative ways we look at things, the bottom line is to provide the best quality of care to patients across the board.
In the field of cardiac surgery and thoracic transplantation, we want to continue, as we have done in the past few years, introducing innovative techniques that streamline our patients’ recovery as they go through major cardiac surgery.
One of the areas where we have led the way include minimally invasive valve surgeries and robotic techniques for valve and coronary artery bypass operations, these techniques give patients better results and greater satisfaction. Aligned with that, one of our colleagues is one of the world’s experts on what we call Enhanced Recovery After Surgery. By implementing ERAS protocols, we continue to ensure that the patient’s journey through the entire process remains as smooth as possible, and we will continue to improve upon that.
We also have a close affiliation with Case Western Reserve University. By continuing to contribute to research on a national and international scale, we ensure that we remain recognized for our academic abilities. This, in turn, automatically translates into the best care we can provide for our patients, which remains our core mission.
We want to continue our mission of teaching here so that our residents can develop and advance beyond what we have accomplished, just as we like to think that we have advanced beyond the previous generation.
Q: Are there any new techniques or emerging technologies in cardiac surgery that you’re particularly excited about implementing at UH?
YAO: We recently started a robotics program, which has allowed us to achieve incredible visualization of the areas we are operating on through high-definition robotic cameras and the articulation that the robotic arms provide. This also allows us to perform procedures through smaller and smaller incisions, as I alluded to earlier. Less trauma for the patient, hopefully translates to quicker recovery and overall greater patient satisfaction.
I would also like to maintain our multidisciplinary approach as we continue to build centers that specialize in specific disease processes.
For example, we developed a center called the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center. This center includes over 10 clinicians spanning multiple specialties, including electrophysiology, cardiology, imaging specialists, surgeons and even geneticists. Through the center as a group, we treat patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, providing a holistic approach to their very complex case management.
Q: You played a key role in bringing donation after circulatory death transplant capabilities to University Hospitals. What did you learn from this effort and how will that experience influence your work as chief of cardiac surgery?
YAO: The core takeaway [from that experience] was that building an effective team with appropriate leadership and ownership enabled us to coordinate a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. It involved multiple disciplines, all putting their heads together to make things happen. That’s how we found success.
Another key lesson there was innovation through collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach to patient management. We have to continue innovating, researching, and collecting data. Most importantly, we must maintain the highest quality standards. While we want to continue growing in volume, we never want to compromise on quality.