Victor O. Morell, MD, Named Chair of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
July 12, 2023
Congratulations to Victor O. Morell, MD, the Eugene S. Wiener Chair of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, who has been appointed as the new Chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Dr. Morell joined UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2004. He is a skilled surgeon, administrator, researcher, and educator. In May 2011, Dr. Morell was appointed co-director of the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute. He also serves as the director of cardiovascular services for the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Morell is board-certified in thoracic and congenital surgery.
Dr. Morell earned his medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He completed his surgical residency at Robert Packer Hospital-Guthrie Clinic, where he was chief surgical resident in his final year. He completed his cardiothoracic residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He also completed fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London, England, before joining the medical staff at Children's Hospital of Tampa. In Tampa, Dr. Morell received the Pediatric Specialist of the Year award in 2001.
Dr. Morell was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2004. His leadership has elevated the profile of the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Heart Institute such that it is ranked among the top 10 in the country in Pediatric Cardiology and Heart Surgery by U.S. News and World Report, in addition to the program’s in addition to the program's continued recognition and achievement of the highest ranking by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for nine consecutive reporting periods.
Under his leadership, the program has recruited internationally recognized surgeons such as Dr. José Pedro da Silva, pioneer of the cone procedure for Ebstein’s anomaly. Dr. Morell currently leads a multidisciplinary team of pediatric cardiologists and surgeons, pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, pediatric cardiac critical care intensivists, and specially trained pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery nurses and operating room technicians that is often used as the gold standard model in building congenital heart surgery programs throughout the country.
