An Egyptian charm: meet Magdi Yacoub

Interested in transplant surgery as a career? Cardiothoracic surgeon and one of the transplant pioneers, Professor Magdi Yacoub talks to Zain Khalpey

Professor Magdi Yacoub was born in a little village in Egypt. His father was a surgeon, constantly moving from one place to another depending on the need for surgeons around the country. This greatly affected his childhood as it meant moving every three or four years. This taught him two important things. Firstly, you have to be able to adapt, and, secondly, the enjoyment that comes with meeting and interacting with lots of different people. These lessons have served him well throughout his life.

After his initial medical training in Egypt Professor Yacoub decided that he wanted to be a cardiac surgeon. He came to Britain to do his fellowship exam and also went to Denmark, Sweden, and the United States to find the best training he could. He admits, "What I had in mind was to get the very best training I could in cardiac surgery. I targeted great surgeons, like Lord Brock, and then worked with them."

Professor Yacoub went on to perform the first live lobe lung transplant in the United Kingdom in 1984 and was involved in the first British heart transplant. His current research is on artificial heart assist devices in the UK. He is also working on projects involving ischaemia-reperfusion injury, xenotransplantation, and artificial heart assist devices.

He looks forward to the next day

The professor considers himself privileged to be a cardiac surgeon. "The most important facet is the capacity to treat patients and to see the massive difference in their outlook and in their lives." He continues, "Cardiac surgery is very closely linked to other disciplines like haemodynamics, basic science, and engineering. I find that extremely appealing." He confesses that learning more about such things is what motivates him. "I feel more and more enthusiastic the more I learn. I always look forward to the next day to find out what new things I can think about. There is also so much to do in this fantastic specialty."

Although he knows that there are limits to what you can do in science and medicine, he was always aware of the potential to advance. He has always questioned what can be done and what the limits are of doing things. "This has been very useful, but also difficult. It is very important to think very thoroughly and study the problem at hand in a very deep fashion." He admits that his love of science has been fuelled by a problem solving approach. "It started by determining what my patients' problems were and then it is driven by the search for the answers. The more you look into a problem, such as heart failure, the more you find. Research is extremely exciting."

Professor Yacoub believes that cardiac surgery is now the strongest it has ever been. "It is poised to treat things like heart failure via a combination of methods. I think there are very exciting things around the corner."

His charity work is important

The professor also believes that there are many things that a cardiac surgeon can do, both in terms of clinical work (helping people anywhere in the world) and in research. He is involved in both aspects through his work with the charity Chain of Hope and the Harefield Research Foundation. This foundation, which includes a heart science centre, supports research into the basic mechanisms of cardiac diseases.

He became involved in the Chain of Hope because he has seen the amount of suffering that heart disease can inflict on people. "As a young resident in Egypt I watched children, who had been on the brink of death from heart conditions, recover after corrective surgery. That fuelled my desire to make this an option to as many people as possible, especially in countries where there is so much suffering."

He has recently returned from a Chain of Hope mission in Mozambique and Jamaica and admits to having mixed feelings. "I am satisfied that a number of children have been treated but am sad that I cannot do more and that things cannot be done faster."

During his travels Professor Yacoub has met many of the world's great leaders, including Nelson Mandela. He said, "I was interested to see that inside Mandela's living room there was a picture of Gandhi, and you can see that there are obvious similarities between the two."

The professor believes that all the aspects of his work are equally important and he would like to continue to do a mixture of international and charity work and research. "It is a top priority to help healthcare delivery of the specialty I know most about on an international level. Research--discovering new tools to deliver to people--is just as important. I also want to do everything I can for Chain of Hope to be involved in the wider picture."

Professor Yacoub's advice to others has always been to work hard, concentrate on the problem at hand, and think about what they are doing rather than comparing it with other people. He also advises people to make use of the opportunities and the facilities available rather than striving for the shortest way to success. "Success is a very elusive thing. Success is to enjoy what you are doing now, to the utmost, and do it very well, and without a shadow of a doubt the next stage will be even more enjoyable." He concludes, "If you are enjoying yourself to that extent, there is no doubt whatsoever that you will succeed."

Zain Khalpey, clinical research fellow in cardiothoracic surgery, Harefield Hospital, Harefield
Email: zain@khalpey.freeserve.co.uk


studentBMJ 2002;10:45-88 March ISSN 0966-6494