Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Sanjiv K. Gandhi, M.D., will join the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital in September 2004. Gandhi’s appointment is part of the Medical Center’s effort to ensure the pediatric heart and lung services, collectively called cardiothoracic services, are among the nation’s best.
“Congenital cardiothoracic treatment is a team endeavor,” says Joel D. Cooper, M.D., the Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery and head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the School of Medicine. “We are committed to the growth and development of each component of the pediatric cardiothoracic team.”
Heart abnormalities are the most common type of birth defect, affecting almost one percent of newborns. There are many kinds of defects and multiple types of treatment. Some infants simply require close monitoring to make sure their condition doesn’t worsen, while others need open-heart surgery within the first hours of life. Treating the wide range of congenital heart defects therefore requires cooperation between a diverse group of experts, from nurses to cardiologists to surgeons.
“Our cardiology and cardiothoracic programs have a strong history,” says Lee Fetter, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital and senior executive officer of BJC HealthCare. “We have recently made a commitment in partnership with the School of Medicine to expand the scope of these programs by dedicating new resources over the long term. We hope to accelerate progress in diagnostic and therapeutic advances as well as in basic science and translational research. Our goal is ultimately to cure and prevent congenital heart disease in children.”
According to Fetter, there already have been several significant strides toward that end, including recruitment of Achi Ludomirsky, M.D., as the new director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and the Louis Larrick Ward Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering.
“The pediatric cardiology team is excited to welcome Dr. Gandhi as a new member of our group,” Ludomirsky says. “His arrival will enhance our expertise in the surgical treatment of neonates and children with congenital heart disease.”
To continue enhancing the surgical side, Gandhi will work closely with the team’s chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, Charles B. Huddleston, M.D., professor of surgery at the School of Medicine.
“Thanks to a unique constellation of opportunities, we see a wonderful chance to enhance this program,” Cooper says. “In addition to Sanjiv’s clinical and research expertise, he also is known for his strong support of nurses and for the close ties he builds with his patients and their families. All of these qualities are very important for a pediatric cardiothoracic program like ours.”
Gandhi is no stranger to the School of Medicine. In 1995, he conducted research with Huddleston during a cardiothoracic surgery research fellowship.
“During his fellowship, Sanjiv was extremely productive,” Huddleston says. “He’s a very energetic, driven individual, and we’re very excited to have him join our team.”
Before accepting the position in St. Louis, Gandhi served as acting director of the Section of Congenital Heart Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He also was associate director of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program and the surgical director of Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Transplant at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Gandhi received a bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1989 and a medical degree from McGill University in Montreal in 1993. He has authored more than 50 scientific articles and is a member of several of the world’s prestigious clinical societies, including the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons.
The full-time and volunteer faculty of Washington University School of Medicine are the physicians and surgeons of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.