leaders in health: dr. robert cusimano’s rare talent and desire to share it
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dr. robert cusimano is one of very few surgeons in the world who can perform complex heart tumour surgeries.
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dr. robert cusimano, a first-generation italian canadian, grew up with seven siblings. his father, who immigrated to canada against his will when he was a child, had limited opportunities for himself, being forced to earn family income during the great depression instead of getting an education.
when robert’s father grew up, he made a promise to himself as a parent: he was going to give his children the education opportunities that he was not awarded because of his circumstances, and that’s precisely what he did.
both of robert’s parents were incredibly supportive of his educational career, which began as a dream to be a teacher, rooted in his experience on the student council in high school. that is, until a school strike in the mid-1970s changed his mind.
“during the strike, i organized many activities for my fellow students to enrich their time during the strike,” he said in an email to healthing. “one activity i found was a university of toronto open house in the department of physiology.”
after attending the open house, robert’s passion for health began.
“suddenly, i wanted to be a physiologist,” he said.
he followed through on this career change of heart and applied for a program at the university of toronto. in his first year, he applied for a scholarship for a summer research program, got accepted to toronto general hospital, and the rest is history.
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“after two and a half years with them, i wanted to be an academic cardiac surgeon,” he said. “in medical school, i explored many different specialties but always came back to cardiac surgery as the one specialty i loved the most.”
today, robert is one of a select few cardiac surgeons worldwide who can perform rare cardiac surgeries to remove heart tumours.
learning and teaching around the world
while robert is currently practicing in toronto, his medical career isn’t exclusive to the area. he followed his passion for health from undergrad in canada to medical school in both houston, texas, with dr. denton cooley, and cape town, south africa, where he worked under dr. christian barnard.
he’s also done some research in boston, massachusetts, to round out his around-the-world medical training.
with cardiac calling to him throughout medical school, he remained steadfast in his desire to heal hearts. he brought himself home to canada to do his residency in northern ontario, first with a general focus, then cardiac. he also went headfirst into experimental surgery, earning a master’s degree in the field, which allowed him to taste each one, only to find out that he knew what he wanted all along.
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“after sampling all of the areas of medicine i have, i still like cardiac surgery the most of all the specialties i have experienced,” he said, calling back to his time at toronto general with his mentor, dr. ronald j. baird.
“i always considered dr. baird as my medical father,” he said.
because of his robust studies and skillset, robert is now leading the charge in complex cardiac surgery at university of health network’s peter munk cardiac centre, as well as indulging his first dream of becoming a teacher as professor of surgery at the university of toronto.
he’s also taken the teaching aspect of his position international, discussing rare cardiac tumours and the methods used to help patients who develop them with other specialists and doctors worldwide. he loves sharing his insights so much that, when another specialist asks him for help with a patient, he doesn’t ask for compensation.
he simply wants to be able to give a lecture to local doctors so that they, too, can learn how to do what he does, all the while remaining humble enough to admit that he “does not know everything.”
“the field of cardiac tumours, there is none at this time, i want to change that, is in its infancy. this is because of the rarity of the tumours,” he said.
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he’s currently working on a years-long project called the international registry to assess cardiac tumours (interact) to share what he knows, learn from others and make “more informed decisions regarding best treatment options for patients,” while giving people a place to turn when they have health concerns but don’t have as good of access to specialists, information or resources.
“imagine being in a network where someone in an underserviced area of the world could discuss a problem, tumour or not, with large complex centres?” he said. “once up and running, i hope this will act as a global resource for information, education, interaction and research.”
saving lives while leaning on collaboration
over the years, robert has seen his fair share of complex heart tumours. because of that, his skill set has continued to grow through adversity and build on situations with both positive and negative outcomes.
he notes that “no two cardiac tumours are alike,” so he can only plan so far; sometimes, when a person comes on the table, the situation may be a little different from what he had anticipated.
robert recalls a more recent surgery where a young woman had a heart tumour, and when he went in to remove it, it wasn’t as extensive as he thought. but for all situations, whether it’s closer to the plan or further away, it always comes down to what he’s learned and his ability to use that in high-stakes situations, like open-heart surgery.
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“one enters the operating room with principles and hopes that those principles are sound and will get one through,” he said.
while robert is a highly skilled surgeon, he does not let that go to his head. his goal with his skills is not to receive accolades, but rather to teach others and learn from others in a way that makes the world a better place—and to help people who need it most.
he visits and is visited by specialists from around the world, and continues to receive inquiries he does not ignore, because he knows that when people work together, good things happen.
“i don’t see boundaries as politicians may. people need help. it does not matter who they are. when we are operating on a person, we are presented with a problem to work on. we use our skills to help solve that problem,” he said. “sometimes we do it alone, but mostly with a lot of help, either locally or internationally.”
he continues, “this collaboration makes us all better. while i may not be able to cure the woes of the world like poverty or malice, i’ve come to realize that through collaboration, with a goal, we will all come out ahead.”
he notes that he owes a lot to a mindset instilled in him growing up: the importance of collaboration and community.
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the importance of family both in and outside the hospital
robert drew on the support of his family while growing up to pursue a career in cardiac surgery. today, he has a family of his own with his wife, jackie, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at mt. sinai, and two children: a daughter who works in the art world and his son, a french-immersion teacher in nova scotia.
they also have two dogs to complete their immediate family unit, which he regards as “one slowing down and the other still a little bouncy.”
he notes that having them by his side throughout his career, whether that be in the good times when he has successful surgeries or the not-so-good times when a surgery has failed, is a saving grace.
“the strength i get also comes from the love and support of my wife and children,” he said.
he holds his family in high regard because of how he was raised.
“as i get older, i become more like my parents,” he said. “they taught us that family is important. we were taught that in numbers, more could be achieved. i did not realize how important those lessons were at the time.”
he also notes that in a community, it’s not just one family that matters—it’s everyone who’s been there and helped along the way.
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“had my father not been so wanting of an education, i may not have gotten as far in school. without the compassion of my mother, i may not have been as understanding of family suffering. without the mentorship of my medical educators, i may not have reached where i am today. without my teachers, i may not have been inspired to teach others,” he said.
he also owes a lot to his patients and their families.
“we can feel the appreciation of that family,” he said. “one can see how a person who was looking at a transplant or worse can now go through life with a scar on their chest instead, brings one great satisfaction, strength and courage to keep going, to keep pushing boundaries and keep looking for more ways to help more people.”
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