Harmik Soukiasian, MD
Esophageal and Thoracic Surgeon
Harmik J. Soukiasian, MD is an esophageal and thoracic surgeon in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Cedars-Sinai Esophageal Program. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Soukiasian is trained in both open and minimally invasive approaches to esophageal cancer as well as benign esophageal and foregut diseases, such as reflux, hiatal hernia, and achalasia. Additionally he is also trained in thoracic oncology and benign thoracic disease.
Dr. Soukiasian's research interests include esophageal cancer, Barrett's esophagus, reflux, and the surgical and medical interventions to help cure them. He is also a co-investigator in the ongoing clinical trial of the use of transoral gastroplasty (TOGA), a minimally invasive procedure, for the treatment of morbid obesity. Dr. Soukiasian has also done research and published in stem cell harvesting and transplantation as well.
Dr. Soukiasian has written numerous chapters on the topic of esophageal diseases, including minimally invasive esophagectomy. Additionally, he has co-authored two books, Surgery on Call 4th Edition and Cirugia on Call Spanish Edition.
Dr. Soukiasian has been a guest editor for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Surgical Endoscopy. He also is the author of more than 20 articles in peer reviewed publications such as Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Circulation, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, the Journal of the Japan Surgical Society, Annals of Surgical Oncology, and American Surgeon. A much sought after speaker, Dr. Soukiasian has lectured and presented at more than 35 national and international scientific and surgical conferences.
Dr. Soukiasian is a member of numerous medical societies, including the Association for Academic Surgery, the American Medical Association, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and as an associate member of the American College of Surgeons and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons.
Dr. Soukiasian earned his medical degree from the University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine. He then went on to complete a general surgery residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. During this training, he took time off to be a research fellow in cardiothoracic surgery, dedicating an entire year to focus on research. Following this year of research, he returned to the clinical realm and completed his general surgery training. Dr. Soukiasian then went on to further training in cardio-thoracic surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles.
After completing cardiothoracic training, Dr. Soukiasian wanted further specialized training. To build expertise in the field of esophageal and foregut surgery, Dr. Soukiasian trained with Dr. Luketich, one of the pioneers of minimally invasive esophageal surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, Heart Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute, where he completed a minimally invasive esophageal and thoracic fellowship, concentrating on minimally invasive treatment of both esophageal oncology as well as benign esophageal disease, including training in minimally invasive esophagectomy.
For further specialized training in the field of thoracic surgery, Dr. Soukiasian went on to complete a second fellowship in minimally invasive thoracic surgery with Dr. Robert McKenna at Cedars-Sinai's Division of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) as a treatment for both thoracic oncology and benign thoracic disease.
