Cardiothoracic surgeon Basel Ramlawi, MD, MMSc, FACS, FACC, has joined
Valley Health Cardiothoracic Surgeons and the medical staff of Winchester
Medical Center. He will serve as chairman of Valley Health’s Heart
& Vascular Center and director of the new Advanced Valve and Aortic
Center at Winchester Medical Center.
Dr. Ramlawi was most recently an attending surgeon at the Houston Methodist
DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center (HMDHVC), where he also directed the
aortic program and assisted with thoracic surgery education at HMDHVC
as well as nearby MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Ramlawi completed his medical education at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, followed by a cardiac surgery residency at The University of
Western Ontario. He completed an advanced clinical fellowship in heart
failure and minimally invasive valve surgery at Columbia University and
an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, where
he also earned a Master of Medical Sciences degree. He has held faculty
appointments within the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Columbia
University and New York- Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Ramlawi is board certified in cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery,
and has expertise in catheter-based and minimally invasive valve repair,
thoracic aortic & root surgery, arrhythmia procedures, and complex
cardiac surgery. He is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons and
American College of Cardiology.
“Dr. Ramlawi’s passion for innovation, teamwork and excellent
patient care compliments Valley Health’s ongoing commitment to further
develop and enhance the region’s most comprehensive heart and vascular
program,” said Mark H. Merrill, Chief Executive Officer, Valley
Health System and President, Winchester Medical Center. “We are
thrilled to have his surgical expertise, collegial style and leadership
with one of the nation’s top programs working for us as we look
to the future.”
Dr. Ramlawi has received prestigious awards from the American Heart Association,
The American Federation for Medical Research and The Royal College of
Physicians & Surgeons of Canada. The Houston Business Journal named
him one of the city’s “40 Under 40” standouts. His work
has been published in more than 75 peer-reviewed publications, books and
abstracts, and he speaks regularly at national and international cardiology
and cardiovascular surgery conferences on such research interests as minimally
invasive valve repair, stroke prevention and neurologic outcomes in cardiac
patients, and ventricular assist devices.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Ramlawi to our heart and vascular
team at Valley Health and Winchester Medical Center,” said Grady
W. (Skip) Philips, III, Senior Vice President, Valley Health System and
Chief Operating Officer, Winchester Medical Center. “He has a rich
clinical background that will support our team’s ability to expand
key and innovative new services to improve the cardiovascular health of
our regional community. We are grateful for the time and commitment of
physicians and other clinicians on the search committee for helping us
attract a surgeon of this caliber.”
Dr. Ramlawi joins cardiothoracic surgeons Edward Kofsky, MD in practice
at Valley Health Cardiothoracic Surgeons on the Winchester Medical Center
campus. A fourth surgeon, Shalini Reddy, MD, specializing in thoracic
surgery, will join the practice this month.