Dr. Shin will lead the continued development of an integrated congenital heart program spanning fetal diagnosis through childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Shin working across the Smidt Heart Institute, Guerin Children’s and our multidisciplinary programs,” said Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, executive director of the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH, chair of the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, said Dr. Shin will “advance clinical excellence, programmatic growth, research and education while strengthening the connections and continuum of care for all our patients affected by fetal, pediatric or adult congenital heart disease.”

Dr. Shin joins Cedars-Sinai from Stanford University, where he is clinical professor of Pediatrics. As a Stanford faculty member, he spent nearly two decades building programs at the intersection of pediatric and adult congenital heart care. Dr. Shin served as executive medical director for Innovations and Clinical Effectiveness, medical director for Quality and Outcomes in the Moore Children’s Heart Center, and medical director of Systems Utilization Research.

“Dr. Shin is widely respected by colleagues across the field not only for his academic and clinical accomplishments but also for his generous and thoughtful mentorship of students, medical trainees and faculty,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Guerin Children’s and executive vice dean of Children’s Health. “We are eager for him to lead the next chapter of our growth and impact in congenital heart care.”

Beyond his prominent roles at Stanford, Dr. Shin also is recognized nationally for his leadership as an investigator, educator and innovator in congenital heart disease.

He has led a multicenter consortium of hospitals across North America investigating interventions aimed at reducing variation in hospital length of stay. His scholarship has addressed outcomes following congenital heart surgery, pediatric cardiac critical care, clinical decision support, and the use of mathematical modeling and systems engineering to address complex challenges in healthcare delivery.

Dr. Shin earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and completed his pediatrics residency, chief residency and fellowship training in pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

“I look forward to partnering with Cedars-Sinai leadership to develop a vanguard integrated, lifespan model of congenital heart care,” Dr. Shin said.

Dr. Shin said the Cedars-Sinai program will accelerate the translation of innovation into better patient outcomes by integrating exceptional clinical care with data science, advanced analytics and emerging technologies.

The program will draw on the broader capabilities of the Smidt Heart Institute, Guerin Children’s and Cedars-Sinai to create a comprehensive approach to congenital cardiovascular disease across the lifespan.

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“Dr. Pruetz is known for exemplary treatment and care in the high-tech, high-risk world of fetal and pediatric cardiology,” said Evan Zahn, MD, director of the Pediatric Congenital Heart Program at Guerin Children’s and in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute. “In welcoming Dr. Pruetz, we give more families the opportunity to benefit from the latest innovations in fetal and pediatric heart interventions at Cedars-Sinai.”

Pruetz is an expert in using prenatal ultrasound to diagnose congenital heart defects in the fetus. He has also advocated for the use of risk stratification systems to create individualized care plans for babies born with a heart defect. He created a classification system known as Emergent Neonatal Cardiac Intervention for newborns with congenital heart disease diagnosed as critical.

In addition to his clinical work, Pruetz studies devices and procedures to treat life-threatening heart conditions in the womb. He was part of a multidisciplinary team that in 2015 developed the first pacemaker for fetuses with congenital complete heart block, a defect that affects the heart rate. This device is implanted in utero on the outer surface of the heart. In 2016, Pruetz helped perform the first fetal heart intervention in Southern California, which involved the successful opening of a blocked heart valve. He continues to study ways to improve the success of these fetal interventions.

Pruetz also studies disparities in the detection and care of congenital heart disease to uncover the social determinants that might account for these differences. He aims to increase the detection rate of congenital heart disease in the community.

“We’re thrilled to leverage Dr. Pruetz’s expertise, reputation and leadership in treating the most complex heart abnormalities in fetuses and newborns,” said Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Guerin Children’s. “This allows us to expand state-of-the-art treatments for babies with congenital heart defects before they are born and well into childhood.”

Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, Pruetz was medical director of the Fetal Cardiology Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He was also a pediatric cardiologist at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, Adventist Health in Glendale, and Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, in Pasadena.  

“Dr. Pruetz is a superb addition to the experienced pediatrics and cardiology teams at Cedars-Sinai,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Guerin Children’s and the David and Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children’s Health. “I’m confident that the research efforts he is undertaking are going to lead to breakthroughs that further improve the lives of children born with heart abnormalities.” 

Pruetz earned a bachelor of science in microbiology and molecular genetics from UCLA. He earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed his pediatric internship and residency in pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai. He completed his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Pruetz is a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Association, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, Society of Pediatric Echocardiography, and Fetal Heart Society, and he has received multiple medical awards. His research findings have been published and cited in more than 40 peer-reviewed medical journals, and he has presented his work at various national conferences, scientific sessions and symposiums.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: How Congenital Heart Patients Can Move From Pediatric to Adult Care

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“Dr. Epstein’s appointment demonstrates our commitment to recruiting physicians who combine knowledge and talent with compassionate care,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and the David and Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children’s Health. 

Epstein—working with colleagues in both Cedars-Sinai’s Guerin Children’s and the Smidt Heart Institute—will direct intensive care and collaborate with cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, interventionists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, and other healthcare professionals who specialize in caring for children born with a heart condition.

“As a leading institution committed to obtaining the best possible clinical outcomes, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Epstein’s wealth of experience and focus on providing both the highest quality cardiac care and best patient experience for our youngest patients,” said Richard Kim, MD, director of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery and surgical director of the Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program in the Smidt Heart Institute.

Epstein joins Cedars-Sinai from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he was a staff physician in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine. Previously, Epstein was assistant clinical professor of Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine of USC and assistant clinical professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Epstein has conducted research on healthcare disparities and how parents make medical decisions when their children are being cared for in an intensive care unit. He was the principal investigator of a study reporting that children of Latino ethnicity living in lower median income neighborhoods and on government insurance are more likely than other children to be admitted to an intensive care unit with a higher severity of illness.

“My goal is to create an environment where families are informed and feel comfortable asking questions during an emotional and overwhelming time for them,” Epstein said.

After earning his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, Epstein completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Phoenix Children’s Hospital/Maricopa County Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“Dr. Epstein’s track record of providing family-focused acute medical care, in addition to his research and educational work, make him a tremendous addition to the Guerin Children’s team,” said Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, MBA, associate director of Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Faces of Cedars-Sinai: Pediatric Plastic Surgeon Victor Chien

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Dizzy, lightheaded and having trouble breathing, Dominguez rushed to her neighborhood hospital. There she was given a diuretic for fluid retention and sent home—a pattern that continued for five months as Dominguez grew increasingly worried and frustrated. On her fourth visit, an echocardiogram revealed that she needed heart valve replacement—which meant open-heart surgery.

“Immediately, I knew I needed the very best heart hospital,” Dominguez said. “And that was Cedars-Sinai.”

Cedars-Sinai is ranked #1 in California for Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery by U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2023-2024.”

Dominguez, 40, had two open-heart surgeries as a child. She was born with transposition of the great arteries, which means the heart’s ventricles—and their functions—are reversed. The weaker right ventricle must pump blood to the entire body, while the stronger left ventricle is charged only with pumping blood to the lungs. This rare condition affects less than 1% of congenital heart patients, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Growing up, Dominguez’s heart condition hadn’t interfered in her very active lifestyle—she was a runner, enjoyed weightlifting and boxing, and prioritized daily workouts. She was closely monitored by a cardiologist and passed every stress test. One day she might need an intervention, they’d say, but not yet. 

Even her pregnancy, though it was deemed high-risk, seemed to go smoothly.

That all changed after childbirth.

Once Dominguez transferred to Cedars-Sinai for her heart care, she began seeing Rose Tompkins, MD, director of the Adult Congenital Heart Program in the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute. Tompkins diagnosed Dominguez with decompensated heart failure—a serious condition that meant she needed urgent, high-risk surgery to save her life.

“Pregnancy is the No. 1 stressor on the heart,” Tompkins said. “While Marisa got through pregnancy relatively unscathed, after delivery she went into heart failure. In addition to the heart muscle being weak, her valves weren’t working well and her pump could no longer keep up with her body’s needs.”

Tompkins turned to her Smidt Heart Institute colleagues, including cardiothoracic surgeons Richard Kim, MD, and Dominic Emerson, MD, to discuss the best treatment options for Dominguez. The multidisciplinary team, including adult congenital heart cardiologist Prashanth Venkatesh, MD, recommended a complex open-heart surgery to replace the valves and improve her heart’s efficiency. If it failed to work, a heart transplant would be next.

“Despite my fears of having a complex surgery, when Dr. Tompkins entered my room, it was like a light had walked through the door,” Dominguez said. “She was knowledgeable and caring and talked to my husband and me like friends. She answered every question—none too small—and took time to introduce me to every physician on my care team. I knew that she would advocate for me. I knew I was not going to die.”

An Accredited Congenital Heart Program

According to the Adult Congenital Heart Association, nearly 2 million adults in the U.S. have congenital heart disease—making it the most common birth defect. 

The accredited Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program treats patients from before birth to older adulthood; research shows that patients have better outcomes when they are treated at an accredited center by physicians specialized in the disease. The Smidt Heart Institute takes it one step further, pioneering a unified cardiac team concept that does not require awkward handoffs in care as children become adults. Cedars-Sinai’s adult congenital heart experts are embedded within a larger comprehensive program.

“Adult congenital heart is a relatively new, and growing, specialty,” said Christine Albert, MD, MPH, professor, chair of the Department of Cardiology and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Distinguished Chair in Cardiology. “People with congenital heart disease may not have been evaluated by a congenital heart specialist as adults. This can present challenges, especially for women considering pregnancy.”

Dominguez felt great. She exercised every day. She thought there was little reason for concern. But pregnancy was the tipping point.

A Special Doctor Inspires

Dominguez was at Cedars-Sinai for nearly a month post-surgery, as she recovered, rehabilitated and regained strength.

She left the hospital on Oct. 31, 2022—Halloween—eager to get home to her baby and to catch up on the milestones she had missed.  

“Dr. Tompkins and the entire team that cared for me came into my room, and I told them that they were the reason I was able to go home and raise my daughter,” Dominguez said. “We were all crying. I couldn’t thank them enough.”

Dominguez’s husband added that he hoped their daughter, Pastel, would grow up to be just like Tompkins.

As it turns out, the timing of her release from the hospital sparked an idea. Halloween offered the perfect opportunity to honor and thank Dominguez’s knowledgeable, caring, “light” of a doctor.

The couple dressed up little Pastel for her first Halloween as Tompkins—complete with long dark hair, a Cedars-Sinai hospital badge and clear-rimmed glasses like Tompkins wears.

“It was the biggest compliment I’ve ever received,” Tompkins said. “Marisa said she worked very hard to find the glasses and get the right look, and it was amazing. I was so touched.”

Tompkins keeps a Halloween photo of her “mini-me” in her office as a reminder of her purpose.

“Marisa represents why we go into this field,” Tompkins said. “She has been so positive and vibrant through an incredibly difficult time, and she is not squandering the opportunity to live life and be the best mom and wife she can be. Patients like Marisa fulfill us, making what we do 100% worth it.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: How Congenital Heart Patients Can Move from Pediatric to Adult Care