Cardiac Surgeon Rakesh M. Suri Joins Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute

Prominent cardiothoracic surgeon and robotic surgery innovator Rakesh M. Suri, MD, DPhil, has joined the staff of Cleveland Clinic. He serves as both Chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Chief of Staff at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a new 4.4 million-square-foot specialized medical center in the United Arab Emirates that began treating patients in early 2015.

Dr. Suri also maintains a presence at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, where he returns routinely to perform heart surgeries and serve as Professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

He came to Cleveland Clinic after 12 years at Mayo Clinic, where he served as a consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Professor of Surgery, and Chair of the Enterprise Robotic Practice, among other education- and innovation-oriented roles.

“As Cleveland Clinic grows globally, we want to recruit top talent across our organization,” says Toby Cosgrove, MD, CEO and President of Cleveland Clinic. “Dr. Suri has joined a world-class team and brings a wealth of clinical, research and medical education expertise that will benefit patients from all over the world.”

Master of robotics and minimally invasive procedures

At the fore of that expertise is Dr. Suri’s acumen in robotic-assisted heart surgeries, of which he is one of the world’s most experienced practitioners, and the use of minimally invasive platforms in valve repair procedures.

“Dr. Suri is a gifted and talented surgeon who has developed a worldwide reputation for valve surgery, particularly robotic mitral valve surgery,” says Lars Svensson, MD, PhD, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. “We are delighted he has joined our heart surgery team and is helping our seminal program in Abu Dhabi grow into a premier place for patients to receive unsurpassed care in the Cleveland Clinic tradition. His arrival further expands our superb heart robotic surgery team.”

In addition to mitral valve repair and robotic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, Dr. Suri’s diverse areas of clinical expertise include:

• Aortic valve repair
• Transcatheter heart valve technology
• Arrhythmia surgery
• Reoperative cardiac surgery
• Complex valvular heart disease
• Bicuspid aortic valve and aortic aneurysm surgery
• Pathobiology of myxomatous mitral valve disease
• Healthcare economics

Researcher and innovator

Dr. Suri’s clinical interests are matched by expansive research pursuits. He has held leadership roles for major multicenter clinical trials, including the PARTNER, PORTICO and COAPT studies, and serves as national PI for the Perceval S Aortic Heart Valve Study. He has extensive experience working with large research databases and has contributed to more than 230 journal articles and book chapters.

His leading research passions include the following areas in which he has investigations underway — research that he is continuing at Cleveland Clinic:

• Mitral valve repair, where he has shown that delaying repair until symptoms develop or heart function deteriorates is harmful, and that repair should be considered early after mitral valve regurgitation is diagnosed.
• Robotic and minimally invasive valve repair, which he has demonstrated can shorten hospital stays and allow patients to return to their usual activities more swiftly.
• The causes of myxomatous mitral valve disease, with the aim of preventing the condition’s onset or progression. Dr. Suri’s team recently identified inflammatory cells in myxomatous mitral valve leaflets and abnormal proteins in leaflet tissue, which aligns with the idea that myxomatous mitral valve disease may be linked to immune system overactivity.
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement and percutaneous mitral valve repair, where he continues to study indications, safety and effectiveness of new heart valve therapies delivered through small catheters inserted via the patient’s groin.

He has also distinguished himself as a hands-on innovator, contributing to the generation of 11 submitted or issued patents for inventions that have improved various aspects of valve surgery and other procedures. While at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Suri chaired that institution’s multidisciplinary Enterprise Robotics Practice and served as Novel Technologies Chair in the Department of Surgery and Innovation Chair in the Structural Heart Program.

Teacher and mentor

A key part of Dr. Suri’s role at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi involves teaching and mentoring others on the new facility’s cardiothoracic surgery staff. He brings a demonstrated enthusiasm for teaching others, having served in the following roles at Mayo Clinic:

• Professor of Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
• Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Fellowship Program
• Associate Program Director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program

He has likewise lectured extensively around the world.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Suri at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where he will help grow the heart program and attract and retain the best and brightest physicians who are committed both to patients and to science,” says Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and a fellow cardiothoracic surgeon.

Dr. Suri’s mentoring and leadership date back to his service as chief resident during his thoracic surgery residency at Mayo Clinic. He also completed a residency at the University of Toronto, where he received his medical degree. He completed his doctoral studies as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University in the U.K.

“I am honored to be a part of Cleveland Clinic’s outstanding team of physicians and scientists who are committed to clinical excellence, cutting-edge innovation and medical education,” says Dr. Suri. “It’s also very exciting to be able to work with providers from around the world in helping patients of the United Arab Emirates and beyond in this new role.”