A Bit of History

The Rabin Medical Center Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is one of the oldest such departments in the country, initially established in 1951. Cardiac surgeon Prof. Morris Levy, who performed Israel's first heart transplant in 1968 just several months following South Africa's Dr. Bernard's trailblazing effort, led the Department from 1964 until 1991, when he retired. RMC (then called Beilinson) was the fifth hospital in the world to conduct such a procedure.

Prof. Bernardo Vidne was appointed the new head of the Department in January 1991 and significantly expanded its activities, turning it into the largest and most advanced facility in Israel devoted to cardiothoracic surgery, serving both Rabin Medical Center and Schneider Children's Hospital and its satellite division at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot directed by Dr. R. Brauner.

Prof. Vidne retired from his position as Department Chair in April 2006, bringing in Dr. Eyal Porat to take the reins of the country's now leading Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. Dr. Porat, a native of Haifa in the north of the country, is the former Director of the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Robotic Program at The University of Texas-Health Science Center and founder and Director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Research and Robotic Technology at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Dr. Porat practiced at both the Houston Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center and at the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School from 2000 until accepting the position of Rabin Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department Chair.

International Standard of Service and Care

Dr. Porat leads the Department at an international level of service and care, together with a team of outstanding surgeons-each one an eminent expert in his/her field. The Department performs some 1400 adult heart and thoracic operations every year, numbers that compare very favorably with the foremost heart centers in North America. Its operating theaters are equipped with the most sophisticated technology and cutting edge equipment available today. It offers state of the art Intensive Care for around the clock monitoring and supervision of post operative and critically ill patients, and provides advanced hospitalization facilities in semi-private or private accommodations for complete expert post operative medical and nursing care.

All Facets of Cardiac Surgery Performed

The Department performs all facets of cardiothoracic surgery, including:

• Coronary artery bypass
• Complex valve repair and replacement
• Complex aortic aneurysm repair
• Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass
• Congenital heart malformation surgery
• Thoracic surgery including lung reduction and other complex surgical procedures
• Heart, lung and heart-lung transplantation
• Artificial heart transplantation

Specialized Surgical Divisions

The Department's specialized surgical divisions enable optimal comprehensive care of all complex heart diseases:
The Aortic Surgery Division is headed by the Department Chair, Dr. Eyal Porat, this division is the most experienced in the region for complex aortic operations. The Transplant and Heart Failure Division is under the direction of Dr. Benjamin Medalion, comprising multiple resources to surgically treat all types of congestive heart failure, performs heart, lung and combined heart-lung transplantations. This Division carries out all the lung transplants in Israel, and the largest number of lung transplants in the entire region. The Thoracic Surgery Division is directed by Dr. Milton Saute, performs close to 400 thoracic procedures annually.

Take Part in Our Future

It is possible to fund a special section within the Department, such as the Intensive Care Unit, or one of the Divisions, or donating a needed piece of medical or administrative equipment.

In all cases donations will be marked by a plaque in place.

Please contact the AFRMC office at (212) 279-2522 or email afrmc@afrmc.org for donations to the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.