Dr. Issa received his medical degree with honours from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2010. Afterward, Dr. Issa completed a residency in general surgery at the Clinics Hospital of the Federal University of Minas Gerais in 2013 and a residency in cardiovascular surgery at the Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo in 2017. He obtained his board certification in 2017.

Dr. Issa was an attending cardiac surgeon at the Santa Casa Hospital in Belo Horizonte from 2017 to 2019.

Furthermore, Dr. Issa pursued extensive training in North America at different centres for four years. He completed a one-year clinical fellowship focused on valvular disease at the Toronto General Hospital, a one-year clinical fellowship focused on congenital cardiac surgery at the BC Children’s Hospital, a one-year clinical fellowship focused on advanced coronary and valve surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and a one-year clinical fellowship focused in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, USA. Dr. Issa received the René Favaloro Award as the best trainee during his year at the Cleveland Clinic.

In 2023, Dr. Issa joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario as a cardiac surgeon. Dr. Issa is an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiac Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa.