In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews Dr. Richard Prager, STS Past President and director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan. Listeners will learn that Dr. Prager was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and as a young boy, longed to be just like Jackie Robinson. His career aspirations shifted after the experience of joining his physician father on house calls and carrying the “big leather doctor bag” and portable EKG machine, as well as a summer hospital job washing walls and cleaning patients’ rooms. Dr. Prager shares that he chose cardiothoracic surgery “because it was the hardest thing I could think of to do.” “Same Surgeon, Different Light” is a program from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) designed to demystify cardiothoracic surgery, revealing the men and women behind their surgical masks.

Learn more about STS diversity and inclusion efforts at sts.org/diversity.

Patients can learn more about cardiothoracic diseases and their treatments at ctsurgerypatients.org.