Despite Los Angeles Wildfires, CV Physicians ‘Rise to the Occasion’

Clinicians and patients alike have lost homes and possessions, but cardiovascular care in Los Angeles remains robust.

Despite Los Angeles Wildfires, CV Physicians ‘Rise to the Occasion’

Black smoke from the Eaton Fire behind USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, CA, on January 8, 2025. Photo Credit: Michael Bowdish

In the wake of multiple firestorms still ravaging Los Angeles neighborhoods, cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons continue to care for patients—many who have lost homes and possessions—while also facing evacuation or worse.

Both the Palisades and Eaton fires that broke out last week, among several other smaller fires, have claimed at least two dozen lives and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.

Cardiovascular surgeon Michael Bowdish, MD (Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, Los Angeles, CA), who was forced to evacuate to a hotel for 6 days, told TCTMD he could think of “a dozen” faculty members who lost their homes. His team at Cedars-Sinai limited nonemergent cases for several days but performed a complicated heart transplant not long after the fires started.

Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, where he also operates, canceled all elective and nonemergent surgeries for 2 days, but “people still came to work,” Bowdish said. “How you behave in a crisis in some ways defines who you are. I think in healthcare, most of us, we rise to the occasion. We don't go hide in a corner—that’s what I didn't see. I knew people who lost their homes that were still at work.”

In an email, David L. Brown, MD (Keck Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA), told TCTMD that though his hospital was close to the Eaton Fire, “work goes on as usual with normal patient volumes both in the hospital and in the office.”

Patients who lost homes also were treated at area hospitals last week, including TV and comic book writer David M. Booher, who received robotic mitral valve surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital just days after losing his home in Altadena.

Joanna Chikwe, MD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), who performed the surgery, had spent much of her day reassuring patients of their safety despite seeing flames from the Sunset fire out their windows, according to a press release.

“I called patients already scheduled to have open-heart surgery to see what they wanted,” she said. “When I saw David’s address I thought, ‘He’ll never want to proceed. He must be overwhelmed.’ But I was astonished and inspired by his resolve. He told me, ‘Let’s fix my heart so I can rebuild my life.’”

Despite Los Angeles Wildfires, CV Physicians ‘Rise to the Occasion’
Flames in view outside Bowdish's home before he evacuated early in the morning on January 8, 2025. Photo Credit: Michael Bowdish

In addition to interrupting lives and clinical care, the fires also threatened the annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), scheduled for next week in downtown Los Angeles. However, STS leadership announced a unanimous vote to proceed with the conference after several conversations with city officials as well as local physicians.

On the STS website, cardiothoracic surgeon Fernando Fleischman, MD (Keck Hospital of USC, Los Angeles, CA), urged colleagues to still attend the meeting. “Although it’s been a tough week, LA is getting back to a new normal,” he said. “A meeting that brings us together is a much-needed show of support for our resilient community. Your presence will be an emotional, physical, and economic hug to a city that needs it.”

STS President Jennifer Romano, MD (University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center, Ann Arbor), announced the creation of a charitable fund that will be directed toward emergency response and long-term disaster relief. “We are mindful of the overwhelming devastation and loss that LA has suffered, and want our presence to support, not detract, from LA’s ability to navigate recovery efforts and take care of its residents,” she said on the STS website.

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