Rami Akhrass, MD
Cardiac Surgery
Highlights
Age Groups Seen
- Adult
Languages
- Arabic
- English
Gender
MaleAbout Rami Akhrass
Biography
Rami Akhrass, MD, is a Staff Cardiothoracic Surgeon with Cleveland Clinic. He is the Regional Medical Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Program. Dr. Akhrass specializes in the surgical treatment of adult acquired heart disease, including coronary revascularization, valve repair and replacement, and aortic and pulmonary surgery. He is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of General Surgery.
A native of California with roots in Syria, Dr. Akhrass received his medical degree from Damascus University in Damascus, Syria. He did his internship in general surgery at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu prior to completing residencies in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In 1997, Cleveland Clinic's Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery awarded him a fellowship in adult cardiac surgery. Dr. Akhrass was appointed to Cleveland Clinic as a Staff Cardiothoracic Surgeon in 1998.
Dr. Akhrass has been an invited lecturer at international conferences on cardiothoracic surgical topics such as mitral valve repair, the durability of combined aortic and mitral valve repair, thoracic trauma and off-pump coronary revascularization. He is a Co-Investigator on a multicenter study of the safety of the EMBOL-X arterial cannula and filter system in patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. He has published in professional journals such as the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, PACE and American Surgeon.
Dr. Akhrass is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the College of Chest Physicians and a member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.
Education & Board Certifications
Education
- Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic, 1997
- Fellowship: University Hospitals of Cleveland, 1997
- Residency: University Hospitals of Cleveland, 1995
- Internship: University of Hawaii, 1990
- Medical Education: Damascus University, 1987
- Undergraduate: Damascus University, 1983
Board Certifications
- Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery: American Board of Thoracic Surgery, 1998
Professional Memberships
Research & Publications
See publications for this provider. (Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Industry Relationships
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As of 2026-04-16, Dr. Akhrass has reported no financial relationship with industry that is applicable to this listing.
In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.
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