Appointments and affiliations
Director, Cardiac Surgery Residency Program
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Surgeon, Division of Cardiac Surgery
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
Talal Al-Atassi, MD, CM, MPH, FCCS, FRCSC is a surgeon in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa. He currently serves as the Cardiac Surgery Residency Program Director.
Background
Dr. Al-Atassi earned his MD at McGill University and his Masters of Public Health at Harvard University. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute where he was the chief resident, followed by a Thoracic Aortic and Endovascular Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and an Interventional Structural Heart and Minimally Invasive Fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Al-Atassi is the first Canadian surgeon to formally train in novel transcatheter techniques at leading centres in the United States during his fellowship.
Dr. Al-Atassi has received several awards for his clinical and research activities from the Heart Institute, the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, among others. He is a peer reviewer for the leading journals Circulation and Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Al-Atassi joined the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Heart Institute in 2017.
Research and clinical interests
Dr. Al-Atassi is particularly interested in heart valve and aortic surgery, including less invasive operative techniques (such as novel transcatheter technology).
Publications
- Al-Atassi T, Thourani V. Reply to Letter: Apples, Oranges, and Pears. Transcatheter Aortic Valve. Replacement in Intermediate-Risk Patients Bore Fruit. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg (In Press).
- Al-Atassi T, Kimmaliardjuk DM, Dagenais C, Bourke M, Lam BK, Rubens F. Atrial fibrillation. Ablation does not Increase Operative Risk when Added to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Aortic. Valve Replacement. Ann Thorac Surg (In Press).
- Malas T, Al-Atassi T, Lapierre H, Naik V, Boodhwani M, Brandys T, Hendry P, Lam BK. The Use of Visualization in Surgical Simulation Training to Evaluate the Performance of Vascular Anastomosis on a Bench Model. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg (In Press).
- Al-Atassi T, Thourani VH. Transapical beating-heart mitral valve repair using a chordal implantation device-are we ready to open our minds? Ann Transl Med. 2016 Oct; 4 (Suppl 1): S17.
- Kayssi A, Al-Atassi T, Oreopoulos G, Roche-Nagle G, Tan KT, Rajan Dk. Drug-eluting balloon angioplasty versus uncoated balloon angioplasty for peripheral arterial disease of the lower limbs. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Aug 4; (8): CD011319.
- Al-Atassi T, Khoynezhad A. Indications for Aortic Arch Intervention. Semin Cardiothorac Vasc. Anesth. 2016 Dec; 20(4):259-264.
- Al-Atassi T, Toeg H, Jafar R, Sohmer B, Labrosse M, Boodhwani M. Impact of Aortic Annular Geometry on Aortic Valve Insufficiency: Insights from a Pre-Clinical, Ex-vivo, Porcine Model. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2015 Sep; 150(3):656-664.
- Al-Atassi, Boodhwani M. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in nonagenarians: Looking beyond survival. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2015 Sep; 150(3):723-4.
- Al-Atassi T, Rodriguez M, Ruel M. Cost-Effectiveness of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Drug-Eluting Stents Versus Bypass Surgery for Patients With 3-Vessel or Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: Final Results From the Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) Trial. Letter to the Editor. Circulation. 2015 Jul 7; 132(1):e10.
- Al-Atassi T, Hynes M, Sohmer B, Lam BK, Mesana T, Boodhwani M. Alterations in Aortic Root Geometry in Bicuspid Aortic Insufficiency Versus Stenosis: Implications for Valve Repair. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2015 Apr; 47(4):e151-154.
- Chandrasekhar J, Glover C, Al-Atassi T, Ruel M, McPhedran R, Dickie S, Burwash I, Labinaz M, Lam BK. Subannular prosthetic valve embolization complicating transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation: management without sternotomy. Can J Cardiol. 2015 Feb; 31(2): 227.
- Toeg H, Al-Atassi T, Labinaz M, Le May M, Ruel M. Hybrid Approach for Coronary Revascularization: Where Do We Stand? Curr Opin Cardiol. 2014 Nov; 29(6): 534-41.
- Al-Atassi T, Toeg H, Malas T, Lam BK. Mapping and Ablation of Automatic Ganglia in Prevention of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Coronary Surgery: MAAPPS AF Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Can J Cardiol. 2014 Oct; 30(10):1202-7.
- Kayssi A, Al-Atassi T, Oreopoulos G, Roche-Nagle G, Tan KT, Rajan DK. Drug-eluting balloon angioplasty versus non-stenting balloon angioplasty for peripheral arterial disease of the lower limbs (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD011319.
- Toeg H, Abessi O, Al-Atassi T, de Kerchove L, El-Khoury G, Labrosse M, Boodhwani M. Finding the Ideal Biomaterial for Aortic Valve Cusp Repair with ex vivo porcine left heart simulator and finite element modeling. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2014 Oct; 148(4): 1739-1745.
- Une D, Al-Atassi T, Kulik A, Voisine P, Le May M, Ruel M. The Effect of Clopidogrel Plus Aspirin versus Aspirin Only on Progression of Native Coronary Artery Disease 1 year after CABG: Analysis from the CASCADE Randomized Trial. Circulation. 2014 Sep 9; 130(11 Suppl 1): S12-8.
- Toeg H, Al-Atassi T, Lam BK. Atrial Fibrillation Therapies: Lest We Forget Surgery. Can J Cardiol. 2014 Jun; 30(6): 590-7.
- Toeg H, Al-Atassi T, Kalidindi N, Iancu D, Lelli D, Zamani D, Giaccone R, Masters R. Endovascular Treatment for Cerebral Septic Embolic Stroke. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2014 May-Jun; 23(5): e375-7.
- Al-Atassi T, Malas T, Mesana T, Chan V. Mitral Valve Interventions in Heart Failure. Curr Opin Cardiol 2014 Mar; 29(2):192-7.
- Toeg H, Al-Atassi T, Garcia JP, Ruel M. An Update on Mechanical Circulatory Support for Heart Failure Therapy. Curr Opin Cardiol 2014 Mar; 29(2):167-73.
- Toeg H, Al-Atassi T, Cleland M, Ruel M, Boodhwani, M. Left Ventricular Assist Device Outflow Graft Disconnection. Can J Cardiol. 2014 Feb; 30(2): 247. e13-15.
- Al-Atassi T, Kimmaliardjuk DM, Labinaz M, Dickie S, Rubens F. A novel approach to safe redosternotomy in a patient with aortocutaneous fistula from an infected ascending aorta graft. Perfusion. 2014 Jan 21; 29(4): 373-374.
- Al-Atassi T, Toeg H, Ruel M. Should We Anticoagulate After Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Replacement? Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2013 Dec; 11(12): 1649-57.
- Giordano C, Thorn S, Renaud J, Al-Atassi T, Boodhwani M, Klein R, Kuraitis D, Dwivedi G, Zhang P, DaSilva J, Ascah K, deKemp R, Suuronen E, Beanlands R, Ruel M. Pre-Clinical Evaluation of Biopolymer-Delivered Circulating Angiogenic Cells in a Swine Model of Hibernating Myocardium. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2013 Nov 1; 6(6): 982-991.
- Al-Atassi T, Ruel M. Invited Commentary: Current Outcomes for Tricuspid Valve Infective Endocarditis Surgery in North America. Ann Thorac Surg. 2013 Oct; 96(4): 1381.
- Al-Atassi T, Toeg H, Chan V, Ruel M. Current readings: status of tricuspid valve repair. Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2013 Spring; 25(1): 30-37.
- Al-Atassi T, Lam BK, Forgie M, Boodhwani M, Rubens FD, Hendry PJ, Masters RG, Goldstein W, Bedard P, Mesana TG, Ruel M. Cerebral Microembolization after Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Replacement: Comparison of Warfarin plus Aspirin versus Aspirin Alone Treatment Regimens. Circulation. 2012 Sep 11; 126 (11 suppl 1): S239-244.
- Al-Atassi T, El Khoury G, Boodhwani M. Principles of aortic valve repair [Les principes de la reparation de la valve aortic]. Coeur et Vaisseaux. 2011 Oct; 11:47-51.
- Albacker TB, Chaturvedi R, Al Kindi AH, Al-Habib H, Al-Atassi T, de Varennes B, Lachapelle K. The effect of using microplegia on perioperative morbidity and mortality in elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2009 Jul; 9(1): 56-60.
- Samoukovic G, Al-Atassi T, Rosu C, Gianetti N, Cecere R. Successful treatment of heart failure due to acute transplant rejection with the Impella® LP 5.0. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Jul; 88(1): 271-3