Endowed Chair, Mount Sinai Randall B. Griepp, MD Professor in Cardiovascular Surgery

Ismail El-Hamamsy, MD, PhD, FRCSC, is Randall B. Griepp Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery and System Director of Aortic Surgery. His principal surgical focus is aortic root reconstructive surgery in young adults, including patients with heritable and connective tissue disorders.

Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. El-Hamamsy directed the Montreal Heart Institute’s aortic surgery program, one of the busiest complex aortic surgery programs in North America, and was Associate Professor at the University of Montreal. He founded the Montreal Heart Institute’s Aortic and Connective Tissue Clinics, and helped establish several Ross programs across North America, Europe and Asia. Altogether, he has performed more than 700 Ross procedures and valve-sparing operations, which are among the world’s most complex and challenging aortic surgeries.

Dr. El-Hamamsy completed his medical education and cardiac surgery training at the University of Montreal, followed by a 4-year fellowship in London under the mentorship of Sir Magdi Yacoub. During this period, he completed a PhD entitled “The Living Aortic Valve” at Imperial College London. He currently leads a research team exploring the natural history of aortic disease, as well as innovative therapeutic approaches to diseases of the aorta and aortic valve.   

Dr. El-Hamamsy has published more than 150 scientific articles in The Lancet, Circulation, JACC and other leading peer-reviewed journals, authored or co-authored several book chapters, and delivered more than 100 invited lectures around the world. He serves on the Editorial Boards of The American Heart Journal, Journal of Heart Valve Disease, Structural Heart and the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, and is an elected member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.  He also serves on the Heart Valve Society’s Board of Directors, and – among other humanitarian projects – helped establish the Aswan Heart Center in Egypt.

Clinical Focus