did a urology rotation, I realized that was
not atall for me.
After completing a long cardiothoracic
surgery rotation,she opted instead to
pursue that specialty, despite its gruelingdemands and the years of additional
training required. She alsoknew that, as
a woman, she would be somewhat ofa
rarity in her chosen field.
In medical school,it is almost a 50-50
split of men andwomen, she says. But
only about 13 percent ofall surgeons in
the United States are female. Few womenchoose surgery, in general, and even fewer
choose cardiothoracic surgery.Why such disparity? Fanous says the
lifestyle of a surgeontends to be incompatible
with raising a family, thus turningmany women away. In addition, she
says, the proverbial glass ceiling keeps
others from pursuing a male-dominated
specialty.Even so, she encourages young women
interested in becoming surgeonsto
persevere.
There will always be someone to
discourageyou, and at times you may be
your only cheerleader,but thats okay, she
says. Sometimes there is ahigh price to
pay, but the level of life satisfactionwill
ultimately be great.
Fanous academic and career path hastaken her all over the United States, from
medical schoolat Howard University in
Washington, D.C., to a generalsurgery
internship at Tulane University, then a
general surgery residencyand surgical
critical care fellowship at Henry Ford
Hospital inDetroit. Before coming to
Baton Rouge, she spent four yearsin Indianapolis
on a cardiothoracic fellowship
at Indiana University anda subspecialty
fellowship in aortic surgery with Clarian
Cardiovascular Surgeons.It was a relationship forged during her
time at Tulanethat eventually led Fanous
to her current position with Cardiovascularand Thoracic Specialists, a division
of Vascular Specialty Associates basedin
Baton Rouge. Dr. Antoine Keller, who
served as herchief resident in New Orleans,
recruited her to partner withhim
and a team of vascular surgeons in the
localpractice.
Having worked with him before, I
knew thathe would be a great partner and
that I couldtrust him on both professional
and personal levels, Fanous says.A typical day in the operating room
for this surgeonmost often involves a
coronary bypass surgery, valve surgery oraortic surgery.
Every case is different, she says,
addingthat some are more challenging
than others based on thecondition of
the heart, the patients anatomy or the
amountof calcium found in the patients
arteries.
I wantmy patients to benefit from
the results of heart surgery,which should
be long-lasting and uncomplicated, she
says. The true goal is to improve patients
quality of lifeafter open-heart surgery
and to prolong their life expectancy.Incidentally, the patient in that
groundbreaking September surgery in
BatonRouge was also a woman. She
suffered from a 70-percent blockage in
her main coronary artery until Fanous
conductedthe triple-bypass operation.
After surgery, the patient was givena
favorable prognosis, an outcome Fanous
doesnt ever take forgranted.
My routine when Im scrubbing in
always involvesa prayer, Fanous says. I
ask God to guidemy hands and that His
will be done. And likewise,once done,
I thank him for His guidance and graceand for bringing the patient through the
surgery. Sometimes Istill cant believe
that God has blessed me with sucha
gift.
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