Cardiac Surgery
Emile A. Bacha, MD
Emile A. Bacha, MD
Chief, Congenital and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and
NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Center for
Children's Health
Dr. Emile A. Bacha is Director, Congenital and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Congenital Heart Center, located on both campuses at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and the Komansky Center for Children's Health. He is also the Calvin F. Barber Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Adjunct Professor of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College. Immediately prior to joining NewYork-Presbyterian, he was Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Senior Cardiac Surgeon at Children's Hospital Boston.
Dr. Bacha is widely recognized as a pioneer in developing minimally invasive techniques for correcting congenital heart defects. He is known for developing novel techniques to perform hybrid surgical-interventional catheter-based procedures for many complex congenital heart defects, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He specializes in minimally invasive approaches to pediatric cardiac surgery and cardiac surgery in low-birth-weight infants and has pioneered methods of improving surgical safety. He has developed a method of pediatric cardiac surgical performance metrics that is now an accepted method of surgical monitoring for pediatric cardiac surgeons. Among his notable innovations is the development of a less invasive surgical alternative for treating babies born with ineffective left ventricles -- one of the most life-threatening birth defects. These innovations are reinforced by his interest in outcomes research. Dr. Bacha is funded through a grant from the American Heart Association to study operating room procedures with the aim of maximizing safety and ensuring the best possible surgical results.
After receiving his medical degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, Dr. Bacha completed an internship and the first portion of his general surgery residency at the affiliated Klinikum Grosshadern University Hospital and German Heart Center. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston and Emory School of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta. He was a Research Fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at Hospital Marie-Lannelongue in Paris, and completed his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School. In 2000, he joined faculty of the University of Chicago, where he helped establish their pediatric cardiac surgery program, including a minimally invasive surgery program. In 2005, he returned to Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston, serving as Associate Professor of Surgery and Senior Associate in the Department of Cardiac Surgery where he was named Chief, Adult Congenital Heart Disease Surgery in 2006 and Director, Congenital Heart Valve Disease Center in 2008. He joined NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children's Health in January of 2010.
Dr. Bacha is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Congenital Heart Surgery. He has received many professional honors and awards and is widely published.
