Memorial to Kitipan V. Arom, MD, PhD

On May 30, 2010 the field of cardiovascular surgery, physicians and friends mourned the loss of a mentor, colleague and friend.  Kit Arom died in Bangkok on this day after a long battle with pancreatic carcinoma.

Born Kitipan Visudharom, Kit came to the United States to do his internship at the University of Kentucky and finished his general surgery and cardiovascular surgery training at the University of Minnesota.  He conducted his PhD in cardiovascular surgery under the guidance of Aldo Castaneda at the University of Minnesota and was a diplomat of the American Board of  Surgery and the American  Board of Thoracic Surgery.  Over this time, he changed his name to Arom as he said “No one could pronounce it otherwise.” 

Following his tenure at the University of Minnesota he went to the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio where along with Drs. Fred Grover and Kent Trinkle established a program of excellence in San Antonio and helped develop a strong Thoracic Surgery Residency Program.  He returned to the twin cities in 1979 to join Dr. Demetre Nicoloff in the private practice of cardiovascular surgery helping to establish a group which became preeminent in the state of Minnesota.  During his time in Minnesota he was the Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery and a founder of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at United Hospital, Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital HealthEast Care System and Head of Cardiovascular Surgery at the John Nasseff Heart Hospital, this in addition to being the busiest heart  surgeon in the state of Minnesota.  In 2000 he returned to Bangkok to establish the Bangkok Heart Institute, where he was Chief  Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Director and was also appointed Director of the Bangkok Heart Hospital,  these being  Thailand’s preeminent institutions of cardiovascular and thoracic care. Kit was also attending physician to the King of Thailand.  He served  in many other leadership positions and on several boards.

While prodigious work such as this would test anybody’s endurance, Kit also served his profession with the same vigor and enthusiasm as his surgical practice.  He was a member of societies too numerous to mention, but in those societies he served in leading roles.  He was a founder and Past President of the Minnesota Society of Thoracic Surgeons, President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Society, President of the Lillehei Surgical Society, President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons of Thailand and a Founder, senior advisor and Board Member of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery.  As a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons he was a founding member of the STS Data Base, now the largest collection of heart surgery data globally and until his death he served on the STS Workforce on National Datatbases and on the Workforce on International relationships. He served on numerous committees for  the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.  Aside from his  practice Kit Arom’s  forte was clinical research and he was an author or coauthor of  nearly  200 peer reviewed publications and chapters as well as 2 text books.  He was a major proponent of creating a cardiothoracic surgery database for Thailand and for the Asian Society for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery. He was an editorial consultant to the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the European Thoracic and Cardiovascular Journal, Innovations and the Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals.

Kit was a very friendly and outgoing person whose great sense of humor has been broadly acknowledged. As Gus Mavaroudis noted, “Only Kit would say that Americans drive on the parkway and park in the driveway”.  He gladly shared his knowledge and superb technical skills with colleagues and residents.  Kit was always at the forefront of evolving technology and treatments, an early  adopter , and devoted much time to refining surgical techniques.    He was recognized for his ability, his affability and tireless work ethic by friends and colleges alike, completing all of the work noted  above during his years of practice.  As his friends and partners, we will truly miss him, knowing that Kit was there for his friendship, participation and with his wife, Sue, being a generous and frequent host in his country of Thailand.  Our condolences and best wishes go to his wife, Sue and his son Danny, his daughter in law Allie and his three grandchildren as he will surely be missed by all of us.

Robert W. Emery, MD 
Cardiac Surgical Associates 
St. Paul, MN United States

Frederick L. Grover, MD 
University of Colorado Denver, Department of Surgery 
Aurora, CO United States