Overview

Dr. Fraser Rubens is a Cardiac Surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Professor in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa.

Background

A native of Kingston, Ontario, Dr. Rubens completed his medical school training at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1985. After completing his surgical training in Ottawa, Dr. Rubens undertook research training as a Fellow with the Medical Research Council in the Department of Pathology at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, for which he received an MSc. In 1992, he returned to Ottawa to complete his cardiothoracic training and fellowship. He was certified as a Fellow by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) in General Surgery in 1990 and in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in 1994.

Dr. Rubens established an active program in the surgical treatment of chronic pulmonary embolism from which more than 120 patients have benefited. The program receives referrals from across Canada. Results have been recognized internationally as a result of excellent survival statistics. Director of the minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery (MIDCAB) program, Dr. Rubens is the Canadian leader in both the number and favourable results of MIDCAB surgery. He has been an active advocate of complete arterial revascularization and novel surgical therapy for high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and has pioneered several key surgical techniques in Ottawa, including radial artery bypass, descending thoracic aorta-coronary bypass, gastro-epiploic bypass, stentless valve surgery, arterial y-grafting, auxiliary artery cannulation, mammary artery skeletonization, and novel techniques in off-pump surgery.

Dr. Rubens is the Principal Investigator for several peer-reviewed grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and sits as an internal reviewer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. He is a popular speaker, having given over 35 invited lectures in Canada and abroad on the pathophysiology of cardiopulmonary bypass, chronic pulmonary embolism, and blood conservation. Dr. Rubens has two patents under his name.