History and Rationale for Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion

Marc Gillinov, M.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic is North America’s largest cardiac surgery program, performing more than 5,000 cardiac surgical procedures annually at its Main Campus in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Gillinov has a particular interest in mitral valve repair with a focus on robotic mitral valve surgery. He has written extensively on robotic mitral valve repair and has produced a series of educational surgical videos and manuscripts with the intention of “demystifying” mitral valve repair in degenerative disease.

Dr. Gillinov also serves as Chair of the NIH-funded Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), the world’s premier cardiac surgical research enterprise. Under Dr. Gillinov’s leadership, the CTSN has conducted numerous randomized controlled trials that have informed guidelines and changed clinical practice.

Dr. Gillinov has been an AATS member for 25 years, and his AATS activities have included Program Co-Director for the Annual Meeting, Co-Director of the STARS meeting, Board membership in the AATS Foundation, and membership and leadership of several AATS committees. Dr. Gillinov has been appointed as a Director of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and, reflecting his commitment to training and education, is the designated Director for Education.

He lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Lisa.