Surgical Resident Scholarship in Cardiothoracic Surgery
American Association for Thoracic Surgery · Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Founder & CEO · Cardiothoracic surgeon
Rahul R. Handa, MD
Dr. Handa is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon and the Founder & CEO of WHITEGLOVEMD. His clinical training includes general surgery at Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital and cardiothoracic surgery at UCLA.
He created WHITEGLOVEMD to give people facing heart surgery a careful, independent review of the complete record before they make a decision.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
The clinical training behind the review.
ACTIVE MEDICAL LICENSENevada license 26404 · ActiveNPI 1164872024Verify license
- Undergraduate
Wake Forest University
Summa Cum Laude
Bachelor of Arts (Economics)
- Medical School
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
- Residency
Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Department of Surgery | General Surgery
- Fellowship
University of California - Los Angeles
Cardiothoracic Surgery
WHAT DR. HANDA BRINGS TO THE REVIEW
A surgeon’s perspective on the decision in front of you.
Within the dual-physician review, Dr. Handa focuses on the surgical recommendation: why it was made, what the record supports, which tradeoffs deserve attention, and what the patient should ask next.
- 01
Why surgery was recommended
The clinical findings and decision points that led to the proposed operation, organized into a coherent picture.
- 02
Whether the proposed path fits
How the operation and its timing align with the available records, imaging, and documented risk information.
- 03
Alternatives worth asking about
Reasonable procedural or nonprocedural questions to discuss with the treating team when the record supports them.
- 04
Risk, recovery, and next questions
The tradeoffs that matter most—and a practical set of questions to bring back to the physicians providing care.
A SECOND SET OF EXPERT EYES
Your decision deserves the complete picture.
Start with the records you already have. We’ll show you what is still needed and keep the next step clear.
SELECTED RECOGNITION
Clinical scholarship and professional recognition.
Surgical Resident Scholarship in Cardiothoracic Surgery
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Medical Student Scholarship in Cardiothoracic Surgery
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
View additional honors
- Lebsche Award in Acute and Critical Care SurgeryWashington University
- Alchemist Accelerator for Startups and Enterprises
- 3rd Place Seed Funding, Demo DaySling Health Biotechnology Incubator
- Gold Humanism Honor SocietyArnold P. Gold Foundation
- Phi Beta Kappa DistinctionWake Forest University
- Dr. Hugo C. Lane Award of Alpha Epsilon Delta
- Thomas E. & Ruth Mullen Educational Merit-Based Scholarship
- Dean's List (8 semesters)Wake Forest University
NBC · NEWS 3 LAS VEGASAs seen on NBC · News 3 Las Vegas
What patients should ask before heart surgery.
Rahul R. Handa, MD joined Ed Bernstein to discuss second opinions, the Heart Team model, and the questions patients can ask before a major heart decision.
Watch the full conversationSELECTED WORK
Published work and clinical contributions.
Selected peer-reviewed publications and educational contributions. External links open the source record.
01Routine chest radiography after thoracostomy tube removal and during postoperative follow-up is not necessary after lung resection.Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery · 2024 · PMID 3723660002Surgeon specialty does not influence outcomes of hiatal hernia repair.Surgery · 2022 · PMID 3559556503Multi-Disciplinary Trauma Evaluation and Management Simulation (MD-TEAMS) training for emergency medicine and general surgery residents.American Journal of Surgery · 2021 · PMID 32958156
View more published work
04Sex-Related Differences in Aortic Dissection in Marfan SyndromeJournal of Vascular Surgery · 201905Vasoactive properties of keratin-derived compounds.Microcirculation · 2011 · PMID 2197794806Permanent Dual Chamber ICD and Biventricular/CRT-ICD Implantation (Book Chapter)Operative Dictations in Cardiothoracic Surgery, 2nd Edition · Springer · 2023 07Loop Recorder Implantation (Book Chapter)Operative Dictations in Cardiothoracic Surgery, 2nd Edition · Springer · 2023 08The Washington Manual of Surgery (Book Chapter, contributing author)The Washington Manual of Surgery · Lippincott Williams & Wilkins · 2020
NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN?
Send us a message about your case.
Tell us where you are in the decision. We’ll help make the next step clear and, when timing and case fit allow, connect you with a surgeon or cardiologist the same day.