Assistant Professor
Surgical Director, Pediatric Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support
Associate Program Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency
Surgical Director of Pediatric Heart Transplant, Children's Hospital of Alabama

Areas of Interest
complex congenital heart disease, neonatal cardiac surgery, single ventricle palliation, heart transplantation, pediatric mechanical circulatory support, adult congenital heart disease, valve repair, pediatric cardiac critical care, surgical outcomes research

Biography

Dr. Robert A. Sorabella is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery within the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and his medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was nominated to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, as well as the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

He went on to complete an integrated residency in cardiothoracic surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. He then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he completed a fellowship in pediatric cardiac surgery at the University of Michigan/C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. He specializes in the surgical management of infants, children and adults with congenital heart disease, as well as heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.

Dr. Sorabella currently serves as the Surgical Director of Pediatric Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Children’s of Alabama.

Selected Publications

Sorabella RA, Gray WH, Dabal RJ, Padilla LA, Hock K, Clark MG, O’Meara C, Hawkins J, Richter RP, Borasino S, Byrnes JW. Central Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Following Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose in Children. ASAIO J 2024;70(1):e92-e96

St Louis JD, Bhat A, Carey JC, Lin AE, Mann PC, Smith LM, Wilfond BS, Kosiv KV, Sorabella RA, Alsoufi B. The American Association for Thoracic Surgery 2023 Expert Consensus Document: Recommendation for the care of children with trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 and a congenital heart defect. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2024;167(5):1519-1532.

Gray WH, Sorabella RA, Moellinger AB, Zaccagni H, Padilla LA, Borasino S, Sindelar M, Dabal RJ. Standardization of the Norwood Procedure Improves Outcomes in a Medium-Sized Volume Center. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2024;15(6):738-745.

Sorabella RA. “Put me in coach”: The psychological benefits of personalized surgical performance coaching on surgery residents. Am J Surg 2024, online ahead of print.

Education

Medical School
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Residency
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University
Cardiothoracic Surgery

Fellowship
University of Michigan, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
Congenital Cardiac Surgery

Contact

Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions: 205-934-2419
Academic Office: 205-934-2419

Email
rsorabella@uabmc.edu