Dr. William Hiesinger promoted to Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
by Roxanna Van Norman
April 27, 2023
Dr. William Hiesinger devotes his career to helping the sickest patients through highly specialized surgical programs, advances in AI and heart failure research, and training future surgeons
The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is thrilled to congratulate William Hiesinger, MD, for his promotion to Associate Professor, effective March 1, 2023.
Dr. Hiesinger practices at Stanford Health Care, focusing on a broad range of cardiothoracic surgery and specializing in heart transplantation, mitral and aortic valve repair, surgical treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronary artery bypass, and complex thoracic aortic procedures. He provides exceptional care for his patients with expertise and compassion, drawing on the strength of his team to deliver successful surgical treatments and outcomes for all cardiac cases.
"My achievements are a combination of hard work and a great team. I've been lucky to be surrounded by phenomenal people in both the hospital and the lab settings who have been integral to my success," said Dr. Hiesinger.
Before coming to Stanford, Dr. Hiesinger received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery and cardiac surgery training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
High-volume clinical practice
Since joining the department in 2016, Dr. Hiesinger has led the development and expansion of several active, high-volume clinical practices. He takes on challenging and complex cases, requiring collaborative effort across multi-specialty clinical teams.
"What makes my practice unique is the acuity. My team and I are ready to take on the sickest, most challenging cases and offer potential treatment," said Dr. Hiesinger. "It's very rewarding to help people who may have no other option. These challenges make the job exciting and worthwhile."
He currently serves as the Surgical Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, where he leads and directs the surgical implantation of ventricular assist devices, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and other mechanical pumps to support heart function and blood flow in critically ill patients. His successful surgical outcomes and comprehensive patient care have positioned Stanford as one of the premier centers for the surgical treatment of end-stage heart failure in the country.
Dr. Hiesinger is also the Surgical Director for the Stanford Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, a Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association Recognized Center of Excellence. He has helped to build a robust, multidisciplinary program dedicated to providing high-quality care and surgical treatments to patients with this rare heart condition.
In 2022, Dr. Hiesinger performed Stanford's first-ever pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) surgery for a patient with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). This operation marked the launch of a formal program to provide specialized care to patients with CTEPH.
"The new PTE surgery program has been very rewarding to build from scratch with my colleagues in the division of pulmonary medicine. We hope to help many more patients with CTEPH in the years to come," he added.
Heart failure, AI, and more
Beyond his active clinical work, Dr. Hiesinger also focuses his research on machine learning and cardiovascular medicine.
"Research is important because it allows one to impact healthcare in ways that go beyond an individual patient. I am able to broaden what I can do to help people," said Dr. Hiesinger.
Dr. Hiesinger's lab brings together approaches from engineering and clinical medicine, aiming to leverage recent advances in natural language processing, computer vision, biomechanics, and transcriptomics to translate research from the bench to the patient's bedside. "We strive to do things like diagnose diseases earlier, better risk-stratify patients getting surgery, and bring computational tools to all facets of clinical medicine. The hope is to democratize healthcare and to improve outcomes," he noted.
To further support his work, the National Institutes of Health awarded a multi-year grant to Dr. Hiesinger to support the development of an artificial intelligence-based echocardiography platform to predict cardiovascular surgery and heart failure outcomes.
William Hiesinger, MD
Training future surgeons and scientists
In addition to clinical care, Dr. Hiesinger has a deep passion for mentoring residents, fellows, and trainees pursuing a career in the specialty. "Helping aspiring surgeons achieve their goals, do the things they want to do in life and to succeed has been hugely rewarding for me," he said.
He specifically mentioned the residents that have made up his lab, including cardiothoracic resident and postdoctoral research fellow Patpilai Kasinpil, MD, postdoctoral research fellow Cyril Zakka, MD, and former postdoctoral research fellow and current Penn cardiothoracic resident Rohan Shad, MD.
Dr. Hiesinger is also the program director for the Cardiothoracic Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Fellowship, which provides hands-on experience and patient care responsibilities in heart, heart-lung, and lung transplant procedures, mechanical circulatory support devices, and organ procurement. "The best part is being able to train doctors from all over the world who go out and become leaders in the field," he said.
Currently, he oversees his multiple practices, operates on complex surgical cases, maintains an active research lab, and trains future surgeons while, most importantly, ensuring his patients receive the best care possible.
"Helping people to live happy, healthy lives. That's why we do it. That's why we operate. That's why we become surgeons," said Dr. Hiesinger.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Hiesinger on his promotion.