New leader appointed in medical department

Many years ago, a man left the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at the same time that another entered the institution. Three weeks ago, both individuals met at UCLA to once again relay their positions as one leaves the post of chief of cardiothoracic surgery while the other assumes it.

Dr. Richard Shemin, the newly appointed chief of the cardiothoracic surgery division, will be following the footsteps of Dr. Hillel Laks, who has served the post for over 20 years.

Shemin, who said he remembers hearing of Laks when he had first arrived at Brigham Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, said he never weighed the prospect of serving as the chief at UCLA today, but is both excited and looking forward to starting the role.

Shemin’s expertise lies within the practice of valvular repair and replacement. He is also known among his colleagues as a leader in the development of the field of minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

“I want to bring this position to new areas and build on what Laks has built. I would like to maintain the excellence he has built and work to further the breadth and depth of activities,” Shemin said.

Dr. Ronald Busuttil, professor and executive chairman of the department of surgery, recruited Shemin to UCLA and said he believes Shemin possesses “a great skill set” that is required for the position.

“He is a phenomenal cardiac surgeon who will serve as a great leader for the cardiothoracic surgery department,” Busuttil added.

And while a transition as large as this may have the potential for creating instability within the department, Shemin said he has made a smooth transition and has been grateful to have resources like Laks to call on.

Dr. James Weiss, professor and chief of cardiology, has had the opportunity to work with both Shemin and Laks and said he believes while both have a different area of expertise, they share a forward-thinking quality that has, and will continue to, lead the department to greater heights.

While more procedures are being performed in a cath lab and not in the operating room, the future of cardiac surgery still continues to seem bright in the eyes of most physicians today.

The cath lab is a place where cardiologists access hearts by placing catheters, or tubes, in arteries and veins to perform procedures with the help of imaging techniques.

“We will always need a skilled surgeon … my prediction is that there will be an appropriate readjustment in the scales,” said Dr. Gerald Levey, vice chancellor of medical sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, in regard to the balance of use between cath labs and cardiac operations.

Similarly, Shemin’s perspective paralleled Levey’s.

“The future of cardiothoracic surgery is very exciting and bright. There will be a continued effort to use robotic techniques to reduce the trauma delivered to the patients and many other techniques that will keep cardiothoracic surgery at the forefront,” Shemin added.

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