Identifying Global Needs in Cardiac Surgery: An Interview with Peter Zilla

At the 2023 EACTS Annual Meeting, CTSNet Editor in Chief Joel Dunning and CTSNet senior editors set out to interview the most knowledgeable CT surgeons from around the world. Stay tuned for more interviews from the meeting.

In anticipation of the 2023 World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease, Senior Editor Dr. Emily Farkas spoke with Prof. Peter Zilla about his unique career as a surgeon-scientist in Austria and South Africa. They also discussed mismatched criteria for cardiac care between NGOs and local medical centers, and the need to create local capacity to treat rheumatic heart disease in low-and-middle-income countries. 

Prof. Zilla is the head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town and has been a leader in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease, including leading the Access to Surgery group in the World Heart Federation Rheumatic Heart Disease Task Force. In addition, he was an original organizer of the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance.

To learn more about today’s notable research in rheumatic heart disease, register for the WHF’s 2023 World Congress on Rheumatic Heart Disease, which is being held from November 2-4 and can be attended virtually.

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