A Legacy of Saving Lives
Gulshan K. Sethi, MD Endowment Ensures Future Impact
By Valerie Vinyard
“He saved my life.”
Bill Petrella, a retired hotelier, said those words about Dr. Gulshan Sethi, whose family recently established the Gulshan K. Sethi, MD Endowed Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
In December 2009, Banner − University Medical Center doctors found an aneurysm in Petrella’s aortic root. Petrella described it as “the largest surgery they do other than a heart transplant.”
The surgery, performed by Gulshan, worked, but there were complications.
“Dr. Sethi wound up sleeping in my hospital room,” said Petrella, who was general manager of the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa at the time. “The guy is incredible, second to none. He’s so caring, his bedside manner. He’s one of the top heart surgeons and here he is, sleeping in my room.”
“The establishment of the Gulshan Sethi, MD Endowed Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery will ensure that his legacy continues through future innovators, educators and leaders in cardiothoracic care,” according to the endowment’s web site. Sethi’s son, Dev, set up the endowed professorship, which reached its funding goal in February.
It will support the recruitment and retention of nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeons who will advance research, elevate patient care and mentor trainees. Funding will help drive progress in transformative heart and lung research; interdisciplinary clinical innovation; early-stage discovery with national funding potential; simulation training and medical education; and support for residents, fellows and future leaders.
“My dad has this passion for being a doctor, and it motivates everything about him,” said Dev, a partner at Schmidt, Sethi and Akmajian law firm. “I try to bring a lot of the bedside manner and warmth to my clients as he did to his patients.”
Gulshan has shaped more than three decades of innovation, mentorship and compassionate care at the University of Arizona. He was the first surgeon to perform both a heart transplant and a lung transplant in the state.
“My dad has spent his life saving lives,” Dev recently wrote. “For years, I could not go a day without someone stopping me to ask if I was related to Dr. Sethi because he operated on their (someone they loved!). Those were always the best interactions, and I was always happy to trade on his good name.
“He’s slowed down, but I still get stopped with a beautiful story pretty regularly. This week, the leading interventional cardiology society named its Lifetime Achievement Award – ‘The Gulshan K. Sethi Lifetime Achievement Award!’ What do you call it when the lifetime achievement award is named after you? Generational impact? Not sure, but it’s very cool. And I am a very proud son.”
Gulshan said he’s blessed to have trained hundreds of residents and thousands of medical students over the years.
“When the UA told me they had established the honor in my name, I felt deeply honored and humbled,” he said. “It’s something I never imagined.
“Your legacy isn’t how much money you’ve got, how many operations you’ve done, how many scientific papers you’ve published,” Gulshan added. “It’s how many people you’ve trained that can carry on to do what you’ve done.”
Photo courtesy The University of Arizona College of Medicine
