World-Renowned Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Pedro del Nido Speaks at the
Dr. Edward B. Stinson Translational Cardiothoracic Surgeon Scientist Visiting Professorship

by Roxanna Van Norman
March 31, 2025

The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery proudly welcomed surgeon-scientist Pedro del Nido, MD, as the Dr. Edward B. Stinson Translational Cardiothoracic Surgeon Scientist Visiting Professor on March 3, 2025.

Dr. del Nido serves as Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and holds the William E. Ladd Professorship in Child Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Renowned for his expertise in pediatric cardiac surgery, prolific scientific research, and innovative medical inventions, Dr. del Nido has dedicated his distinguished career to pioneering reconstructive techniques for complex congenital heart defects. He is known for developing the groundbreaking “del Nido cardioplegia,” a heart preservation solution that enables prolonged surgical procedures and is used in cardiac surgeries worldwide.

Dr. Edward B. Stinson is a globally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon-scientist, celebrated for his groundbreaking clinical and translational research contributions to cardiac surgery, including heart transplantation and aortic surgery.

Reflecting on Dr. Stinson’s legacy, during opening remarks, Dr. del Nido was the obvious choice to kick off the newly renamed Dr. Stinson Visiting Professorship series, said Joseph Woo, MD, Chair and Norman E. Shumway Professor. "No one in our entire larger specialty today embodies Dr. Stinson’s clinical skills, scholarship, mentorship, and leadership as remarkably as Dr. del Nido.”

Dr. del Nido presented "Heart Valve Disease in the Young: A Global Challenge," drawing on his extensive expertise in research and clinical practice in pediatric heart valve disease. His talk addressed various aspects of valvular heart disease, reconstructive techniques for heart valve disease, and valve replacement therapies.

He explored how the landscape of pediatric valve disease management needs to evolve, discussing the need for further advancements in treatments for congenital heart valve conditions. "For children, I would argue it's a lifelong problem," said Dr. del Nido. "And for that reason, the economic impact, the social impact, and the health impact is way out of proportion than that of valvular heart disease in adults."

Dr. del Nido explained that congenital heart disease is the most common major birth defect, affecting 1.35 million children born worldwide each year. Valvular heart disease accounts for a quarter of all congenital heart diseases. "Valvular heart disease is the component that impacts the kids long term," he said.

In his research and clinical practice, he finds that the challenge with current therapeutic solutions is the limited durability of devices for children, which leads to lifelong treatments and multiple operations. “You need a valve that can grow with the child,” he said. Dr. del Nido discussed his latest innovation in the operating room - a novel expandable heart valve for children in clinical trials. This innovative design has the potential to extend beyond pediatrics into adult valve replacement therapies and reduce the need for repeated surgeries as people get older.

“Hosting Dr. del Nido at Stanford Children’s is a tremendous honor. He is the consummate surgeon, scientist, and program leader, whose career has continued to help define how congenital heart specialists think through the ongoing challenges within our field,” said Michael Ma, MD, Division Chief and Associate Professor of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. “His lecture on pediatric valvular heart disease was both sobering and inspiring and is a call to action for organizations like ours, with the requisite clinical, translational, and innovative energies, to orchestrate solutions for our sickest children.”

Dr. del Nido's talk embodied the spirit of Dr. Stinson's Visiting Professorship lecture by highlighting how an idea in pediatric heart valve disease was scientifically studied, engineered into a novel expandable heart valve, and translated into clinical practice.

The lecture was attended by more than 65 faculty, fellows, residents, and trainees. The event took place at the James H. Clark Center on the Stanford campus.

About Dr. Pedro del Nido

Dr. del Nido was born in Santiago, Chile, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 10. He attended undergraduate and medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed a general surgery internship and residency at Boston University and a cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Toronto. He then pursued a clinical fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. During his early research at the University of Toronto, Dr. del Nido focused on myocardial preservation, a pursuit that led to the development of “del Nido cardioplegia.” This technique advanced myocardial protection, dramatically improving surgical outcomes worldwide in pediatric and adult cardiac procedures.

In 1994, Dr. del Nido joined the faculty at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He rose to the rank of Professor of Surgery in 2001 and was named William E. Ladd Professor of Child Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief at Boston Children's Hospital in 2004.

Dr. del Nido has received NIH funding throughout his career, has over 600 publications, and over 50 awarded and pending patents. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the American Heart Association's Distinguished Scientist Award.

Dr. Edward B. Stinson

About Dr. Edward B. Stinson

Dr. Stinson, a pioneer in heart transplantation, is a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon-scientist known for his groundbreaking clinical and translational research contributions to cardiac surgery. Alongside Norman E. Shumway, MD, PhD, Dr. Stinson was pivotal in performing the first successful human heart transplant in the United States. During his long career at Stanford, he contributed significantly to building a leading cardiothoracic surgery program through advances in care, mentorship, and education.

Dr. Stinson received his bachelor's and medical degrees from Stanford University. He trained in cardiovascular surgery and joined the faculty in 1969. Throughout his career, his research interests focused on the intersection of surgery and cardiac research and made transforming discoveries in surgical interventions and treatments to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Stinson, together with Randall Griepp, MD, led Stanford's heart transplant team during the early 1970s, the formative years of heart transplantation. Dr. Stinson performed cardiac surgery almost exclusively. He was known as "Fast Eddie" in the operating room for his skill and speed at surgery. He became the first holder of the Thelma and Henry Doelger Professorship of Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford Medicine.

For two years, he left Stanford to serve as a staff associate at the National Heart and Lung Institute Clinic of Surgery and was responsible for clinical activity in cardiac surgery and intramural research programs addressing cardiac physiology and heart transplantation. Dr. Stinson then returned to Stanford and became the director of the heart transplantation program. In 1973, he also became the principal investigator of a prestigious grant on heart and lung transplantation from the National Institutes of Health, a project that spanned nearly 25 years. He also was a founding member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation and chaired its first international program.