Dato’ Dr. Ghandhiraj Somasundram
Consultant Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon
DPTJ, MBBS, AM (MAL), FRCSI (edinburgh), FRCS (Glasgow), CST CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (UK), DIPloma CArdiovascular surgery (vienna),
Global Health (harvard university) Member of EACTS, STS, ATCSA, MATCVS
Dato’ Dr Ghandhiraj Somasundram is a Consultant Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon. He currently practises and is the Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Gleneagles Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He also practises at Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he had initially helped to establish and develop the Cardiothoracic Surgical Services.
Dr. Somasundram obtained his primary surgical fellowship with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He then went to the Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow and acquired the Diploma of Fellowship in General Surgery in 1986.
He embarked on his career in cardiothoracic surgery with a visit to the Mayo Clinic in 1988. There he met Dr. Gordon Danielson who was then Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, and the eminent Dr. Hartzel Schaff who later took over as the Head of department. After starting his initial training at the General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur he left Malaysia to further his training at the University of Vienna in Austria, which holds its reputation as a leading centre for Heart and Lung surgery and transplant in Europe. Subsequently, Dr. Somasundram left to work at the Regional Centre for Cardiothoracic surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England. He trained largely in adult cardiac surgery. During his time in England, he also gained experience under Dr. Mark de Leval and Dr. Jarovslav Stark, observing Pediatric cardiac surgery at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London before returning to Malaysia.
Dr. Somasundram was appointed as a Consultant surgeon at Gleneagles Hospital in 1996, where he continues to have an advanced practice. He was also the Clinical Director of Heart and Lung Centre of Prince Court Medical Centre, which was established in 2007. He currently works as a Senior Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Prince Court Medical Centre.
Dr. Somasundram is a specialist in coronary artery bypass surgery, heart valve repair and replacement, surgery for aortic aneurysms and dissections and left ventricular restorative surgery.
He also performs the full range of thoracic operations and video assisted thoracoscopic interventions for lung and mediastinal disease and chest trauma.
Most notably, Dr. Somasundram is an expert in surgical pulmonary thromboembolectomy for life-threatening acute massive pulmonary thromboembolism using his innovative technique which he has shared and presented his work in regional academic conferences.
Dr. Somasundram is an active member of many professional medical bodies including the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), European Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), Asian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (ASCVTS) and the Malaysian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (MACTS )
Dr. Somasundram has presented at numerous meetings and an expert reviewer of academic journals.
Continuing his efforts to give back to Malaysians, Dr. Somasundram established the first ever Charitable Heart Centre in Malaysia to assist the underprivileged community with affordable treatment for heart disease - The MAA Charitable Cardiac Diagnostic and Treatment Centre.
Additional roles:
Chairman and Board of Governors of MAA Medicare Charitable Cardiac Diagnostic Centre
Board of Trustees of MAA Medicare Charitable Foundation
Ex-Committee Member of the Asian Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and current expert reviewer of manuscripts submitted for publication.