Thomas E. MacGillivray, MD, director of cardiac surgery at MedStar Health and chairman of cardiac surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, has been elected the new president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).
The announcement was made during STS 2023, the 59th annual meeting of the STS, in San Diego.
“I am honored and humbled to serve as the next president of the STS, the largest and most inclusive professional society in our specialty, as we continue to support our members and our patients through collaboration, education, research and patient care,” MacGillivray said in a prepared statement.
MacGillivray is a veteran cardiothoracic surgeon with more than three decades of experience. His specialties include aortic diseases, adult congenital heart disease, mechanical circulatory support, cardiac tumors and pulmonary embolism (PE). Prior to working for MedStar Health, MacGillivray was with Massachusetts General Hospital and then Houston Methodist Hospital. He has also published more than 125 peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters and been an STS member since 2003. His most recent role with STS—he’s served the group in numerous ways over the years—was as its first vice president in 2021-2022.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be a cardiothoracic surgeon,” he added in the same statement. “We have so many effective techniques and treatments to offer patients suffering with thoracic, congenital and acquired cardiac diseases. Cardiothoracic surgeons must continue to lead the efforts to ensure that all patients have access to the highest quality surgery and value-based care.”
One of MacGillivray’s primary goals as president is to focus on the long-term outcomes of surgery and highlight the potential benefits of surgery over other therapies. For instance, he was a co-author of a recent analysis that found more pulmonary embolism (PE) patients should be considered for surgery. Those findings were presented to attendees at STS 2023 and published in Circulation.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.