What motivated you to become a heart surgeon? How did you find this passion of yours?
Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to learn how the human body works, which resulted in my dream to become a doctor. Furthermore, I always performed handicraft work, which resulted in the dream of becoming a surgeon because I also wanted to learn how to fix the broken human body.
The first live surgery I saw was an aortic valve replacement when I was a second-year med student. That was an epiphany, and I instantly knew that heart surgery was my calling.
What do you love about your job?
Heart surgery is a clean and esthetic surgery, which is highly standardized and is one of the safest big surgeries with low risk and mortality when performed on elective patients. Heart surgery is not just focused on the heart, it is very interdisciplinary and evolves very fast: At present, minimally invasive valve surgery performed through a small intercostal incision or avoiding the heart-lung machine in bypass surgery is the best practice in my job.
You own the “Largest Collection of Hearts” according to the Guinness World Records. Where did the idea of collecting heart-shaped objects come from?
That started in med school when everybody knew I wanted to become a heart surgeon. I received more and more “hearty” presents and suddenly I thought: Why not apply to get a Guinness World Record title? In 2010 I received the certificate for the largest collection of hearts with 775 items. I held the record for 14 years until a lady from the US broke it with 1,560 items in 2024. However, I currently have more than 2,100 items in my collection, and I will submit my second attempt this year to the Guinness World Records to get my title back.
What did you gain from your studies at Semmelweis University?
First of all, it was one of the most exciting experiences in my life to return to the roots of my parents: Budapest. The city is phenomenal, and it was great to get to know so many fellow students from around the world and the excellent teachers at Semmelweis University. I believe that the biggest advantage of this university was regular assessment. At the end of each semester, there were difficult exams that forced everybody to study hard. The other big advantage was the practical courses in each subject. They allowed the students to get to know each medical specialty to be capable of choosing after med school.
What are your fondest memories from the time you studied here?
The teachers who were keen on teaching us every day, the student life in Budapest, and the historical buildings of Semmelweis University made me feel as if Semmelweis himself would come around the corner any time. I love period architecture because it has a personality and makes me feel that it was a privilege to study in that historically famous environment.
Could you describe how your career evolved after your university years?
I remember that my fellow female students were jealous that I would return to Switzerland and become a cardiac surgeon. They said that they would never be invited for a job interview in a surgical specialty because they were female. That was the first time I realized what my job choice meant for me as a woman. But fortunately, things were a bit different in Switzerland (but just a bit, as you will see later), because I immediately got a two-year contract for my basic general surgery residency in my hometown in Lucerne, where I rotated in visceral and trauma surgery, in the ER and in vascular, thoracic and cardiac surgery. I was allowed to harvest veins, open and close the chest, and even be the first assistant in all major open-heart and lung surgeries. After that, I applied to the biggest university hospital of Switzerland in Zurich. I soon rotated to the OR, where I was assisting all heart surgeries day and night. After two years a new chief came and many of the staff left, which made me senior and chief resident. Although the new chief was known to be “non-female friendly,” I got my surgeries and soon became eligible for the European board exam, which I passed without any effort. Back then, I did not realize that I was just my chief’s “alibi-woman”.
And then, after successfully passing my exam, my promotion was blocked. This happened even though my outcomes were excellent with low complication rates and mortality (much lower than all other fellow residents and junior attending surgeons). There were vacant positions, and I was eligible clinically and academically, but the chief never considered me and instead hired male colleagues. He even suggested that I should leave. I became very depressed and was about to quit, but destiny wanted it otherwise: The blocking chief left and a senior attending surgeon became the new chief. Because most of the staff had left, I suddenly got promoted (out of lack of hands) and the following four years were amazing. I had never operated more in my life: day and night, emergencies and complex surgeries, minimally invasive surgeries, and transplants. Meanwhile, I advanced my academic career and became the first Privatdozentin (PD) in cardiac surgery at the University of Zurich (second in Switzerland).
But then the hospital decided to appoint a co-chief and along with him came a highly toxic work environment: Everybody spied on everybody, except me and one of my colleagues. Therefore, we soon became personae non gratae. Although I had long reached the requirements to be eligible for being appointed as the first female senior attending heart surgeon in Switzerland, this was now impossible because of the toxic co-chief. Therefore, I quit and left without a job in sight. But again, destiny wanted it otherwise: My former mentor, who worked in private practice, needed a surgeon. That’s how five years ago I landed in the biggest private hospital in Switzerland, performing heart surgery without stress, having enough time for my patients, my students, and myself.
What would you name as your proudest achievement in your career so far?
First of all, I managed to prove most of my former male colleagues wrong and have become a successful heart surgeon in the biggest private hospital in Switzerland.
Secondly, raising awareness of a lack of coordinated training in heart surgery in Switzerland and developing an official schedule was another important achievement.
Then I became the first female Privatdozentin in cardiac surgery at the University of Zurich.
I have also managed to become a successful minimally invasive heart surgeon with an elective mortality rate of less than 1 percent, with many thankful patients.
And lastly, I have managed to become the first woman who has ever been granted the title of Professor of Cardiac Surgery at a Swiss university.
Now you see, although women get the chance for a job interview in the surgical field in Switzerland, the glass ceiling is everywhere, and it is still difficult to reach higher achievements.
You became the first female Professor of Cardiac Surgery in Switzerland. Would you mind sharing how you achieved this inspiring accomplishment?
It was rather out of necessity because my blocking chief said that in order to get surgeries to become eligible for the exam, I would also have to do research. Therefore, I decided to go the whole academic way because sadly even if you have 20 years of experience in heart surgery, you will never be looked at as an experienced surgeon if you are a woman without a title, but you will rather be mistaken for a nurse.
This title is the warranty for competence in my specialty, and retrospectively I am very grateful to my blocking chief. However, even with the title, there are many male fellow doctors who will never be willing to show respect for my achievement.
Can you give us more insight into your experience as the chair-member and co-founder of the Young Swiss Cardiac Surgeons Club?
Cardiac surgery training was not standardized in Switzerland, and this was the reason why we founded the Young Swiss Cardiac Surgeons Club (YSCSC) in 2011. Our club was supported by the Swiss Society of Cardiac Surgery (SGHC/SSCC), which made it possible to initiate a nationwide network for young surgeons. As chairwoman until 2016, I was in contact with all national departments, chiefs, and trainees, and we tried to improve training in the whole country. Until then, there was no official training schedule available for cardiac surgery and therefore we developed one, which was accredited some years ago by the national training society, the Schweizerisches Institut für ärztliche Weiter- und Fortbildung (SIWF).
Throughout your career, you joined multiple institutions that vouched for women’s rights in the medical field. Can you tell us more about your work there?
Gender equality in medicine, especially in surgery, is very far from being reached, not even in most Western countries. There is still a lot of work to be done to change the role models in our societies, but work has already started:
I am a board member of Medical Women of Switzerland (MWS). This assembly aims to improve the working conditions and career opportunities of female doctors. We organize advanced education and training for our members and interested non-members and raise political and public awareness of the ongoing gender inequality in our profession.
Last year, I was elected a board member of the Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Committee (WiCTS) of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). With this committee, we aim to improve training, visibility, and career chances for women in Europe.
I never thought it was possible to become a pioneer in our modern times. But I hope that this will motivate future female surgeons to choose the same path if they really want it.
Hanna Szekeres, Alumni Directorate
Image credit: Diana Reser, Universität Zürich
