Paul Kirshbom, M.D., is a highly trained pediatric cardiac surgeon, with years of experience repairing damaged hearts. Some of the defects he fixes are minor, such as a small hole between chambers that will close on its own. Others are highly complex, possibly requiring several surgeries over time.
“In some ways, what I do is as much art as it is science,” said Dr. Kirshbom. “Some hearts are missing parts or are put together the wrong way. That’s where the art comes in. Many of our operations require literal rebuilding of cardiac and vascular structures. As one of my colleagues says, each child is a custom job.”
As chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at both Yale and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford, Dr. Kirshbom heads a team that includes Gary Kopf, M.D., and Mohsen Karimi, M.D. The three surgeons are participants in a partnership involving Yale School of Medicine, Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, and CCMC established to make highly specialized pediatric cardiac surgery available to families throughout Connecticut.
Dr. Kirshbom and his colleagues treat children of all ages, as well as adult patients with congenital heart defects—structural problems present at birth in the heart and its large blood vessels. Caring for these patients is a collaborative effort among surgeons and other specialists, including pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, pediatric cardiac nurses, pediatric cardiologists, and perfusionists (who manage heart-lung machines). Surgeons and other specialists meet regularly to discuss the best approach for each case.
“Families with children who need this type of care come in with huge disparities in experience and knowledge,” Dr. Kirshbom said. “One family with a prenatal diagnosis may have done tons of research before the child was born. Another may learn of a child’s problem much later, when it first presents during a pre-sports physical. Some children are hospitalized for only a few days; other families face repeated hospitalizations over years. Part of our job is to understand parents’ concerns and provide them with the right amount of information.”
Dr. Kirshbom said one of the rewards of this work is hearing from families long after a surgery. He knows one family that sends school photos every year of their daughter, who was operated on as a newborn and is now in fifth grade. “She’s doing fine,” Dr. Kirshbom said. “Those photos tell the story of why we’re here.”
More about Dr. Kirshbom
Name: Paul Kirshbom, MD
Medical school: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Additional training: Fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery at Duke University Medical Center and pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Personal interests: “I’ve just taken up beekeeping. My son wanted to do it, and now I’m enjoying helping the hive grow and watching the bees thrive. No honey yet. Maybe next year.”
Family: Lives in Cheshire with his wife, Teri, an interventional radiology technician, and their son, William.
Languages: English, Spanish. “Both of my parents are South American, and I grew up in a bilingual household.”
Last book read: The Berlin Boxing Club, by Robert Sharenow. (“I’ve been going through the New York Times bestseller list from five and 10 years ago, so I am reading all sorts of books.”)