Victor O. Morell, MD

Contact

Assistant

Lynda A. Cocco
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 4401 Penn Ave.,
Central Plant Building, Suite 03200, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Ph: 412-692-3216

Address

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 4401 Penn Avenue, 5th Floor Faculty Pavilion Pittsburgh, PA 15224

Title(s)

Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Eugene S. Wiener Professor of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Vice Chair and Director Cardiovascular Services, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Interim Division Chief, Division of Adult Cardiac Surgery
Surgeon-In-Chief, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Chief, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Co-Director, UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute
Co-Director, Heart Institute, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Education and Training

MD, Ponce School of Medicine -1988
BS, Purdue University - 1984
Associate Program Director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency, University of Pittsburgh- 2005-present
Chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh- 2004-present
Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh- 2004-2015
Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh- 2015-present
Surgical Director of the Heart Transplant Program, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh- 2004-present
Chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Tampa, Florida- 2000-2004
Medical Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Tampa, Florida- 2000-2004
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon, All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida- 2000-2004
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital, Orlando, Florida- 1997-1999
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship: Great Ormond Hospital for Sick Children London, 1996-1997
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship: Boston Children's Hospital, 1995-1996
Clinical Assistant Instructor, Department of Surgery, Health Sciences Center at Syracuse-1992-1994

Professional Activities

Southern Thoracic Surgical Association
Congenital Heart Surgeons Society
Society of Thoracic Surgery
American Board of Thoracic Surgery
World Society for Pediatric & Congenital Heart Surgery

Journal Reviewing and Editorial Boards

Editorial Board, Congenital Heart Disease: Clinical Studies from Fetus to Adulthood 

Research Interests

Surgical patches and their propensity to promote the formation of anti-HLA antibodies (allosensitization), especially in patients who are at high risk for future cardiac transplantation
Development of a pediatric ventricular assist device to support children with severe heart dysfunction
Various aspects of pediatric cardiac and thoracic surgery 

Publications

Chrysostomou C, Morell VO, Kuch BA, O'Malley E, Munoz R, Wearden PD. Short and intermediated-term survival after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in children with cardiac disease. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2012

Wine TM, Colman KL, Mehta DK, Maguire RC, Morell VO, Simons JP. Aortopexy for Innominate Artery Tracheal Compression in Children. Otolaringol Head Neck Surg 2013 March 25.

Yoshida M, Menon PG, Chrysostomoua C, Pekkan K, Wearden PD, Oshima Y, Okita Y, Morell VO. Total cavopulmonary connection in patients with apicocaval juxtaposition: optimal conduit route using preoperative angiogram and flow simulation. Euro J Cardiothoracic Surgery 2013

Plonka C, Wearden PD, Morell VO, Miller SA, Webber SA, Feingold B. Successful heart transplantation from a donor with Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy. Am J Transplant. 2013 Jul;13(7):1915-7

Sanchez-de-Toledo J, Chrysostomou C, Munoz R, Lichtenstein S, Sao-Avilés CA, Wearden PD, Morell VO, Clark RS, Toney N, Bell MJ. Cerebral Regional Oxygen Saturation and Serum Neuromarkers for the Prediction of Adverse Neurologic Outcome in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. MJ. Neurocrit Care. 2013 Nov 8.

Chrysostmou C, Maul T, Morell VO, Callahan PM, Nguyen K, Lichtenstein S, Coate EG and Wearden P. Neurodevelopmental Outcomes after Pediatric Cardiac ECMO Support. Front Pediatr. 2013 Dec 19;1:47

Chu D, Anastacio MM, Mulukutla SR, Lee JS, Smith AJC, Marroquin OC, Sanchez CE, Morell VO, Cook CC, Lico SC, Wei LM, Badhwar V. Safety and Efficacy of Implementing a Multidisciplinary Heart Team Approach for Revascularization in Patients With Complex Coronary Artery Disease: An Observational Cohort Pilot Study.  Published online September 10, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2014.2059  

Morell VO. Nikaidoh or Rastelli?. Rev Argent Cardiol 2014;82:454-455

Chu D, Chan P, Wei LM, Cook CC, Gleason TG, Morell VO, Badhwar V.  The Impact of Comprehensive STS Quality Improvement on Outcomes and Failure to Rescue.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2015 (accepted for publication). 

Chu D, Schaheen L, Morell VO, Gleason TG, Cook CC, Wei LM, Badhwar V.  Partial Aortic Clamping to Perform Proximal Coronary Anastomosis is Not Associated with An Increased Risk of Stroke.  JAMA Surg. 2015 (accepted for publication). 

Al-Jughiman MK, Al-Omair MA, Van Arsdell GS, Morell VO, Jacobs ML. D-transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (d-tga/vsd/lvoto): A survey of perceptions, preferences, and experience. Pediatr. Cardiol. 2015.

Shah DK, Deo SV, Althouse AD, Teuteberg JJ, Park SJ, Kormos RL, Burkhart HM, Morell VO. Perioperative Mortality Is The Achilles Heel for Cardiac Transplantation in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Evidence from Analysis of the UNOS Registry. J Card Surg 2016; 1–10

Panigrahy A, Lee V, Ceschin R, Zuccoli G, Beluk N, Khalifa O, Votava-Smith JK, DeBrunner M, Munoz R, Domnina Y, Morell V, Wearden P, Sanchez De Toledo J, Devine W, Zahid M, and Lo CW.Brain Dysplasia Associated with Ciliary Dysfunction in Infants with Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr 2016;178:141-8

Trakas E, Domnina Y, Panigrahy A, Baust T, Callahan PM, Morell VO, Munoz R, Bell MJ, Sanchez-de-Toledo J. Serum Neuronal Biomarkers in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Cardiac Surgery. Pediatr Neurol. 2017 Jul;72:56-61

Morell VO. Nikaidoh Procedure: How I Teach It. Ann Thorac Surg 2017;104:1446-9.