Pediatric cardiac surgeon retires after 10,000+ operations
It was originally meant to be just one year. In 1998, Prof. Martin Kostelka came to the Leipzig Heart Center from San Francisco, initially planning to work there for twelve months. That one year turned into 28. “I found an outstanding team here. That’s why I stayed,” the pediatric cardiac surgeon says, looking back.
Training the next generation was just as important to him as his own work in the operating room. He assisted young colleagues in 1,762 operations, guided them through surgical procedures, and passed on his experience: “What makes me happiest is the outstanding young colleagues I have had the privilege of training. During 1,762 operations, I mentored young surgeons: they performed the procedures while I stood by their side, supporting them and passing on my experience. It was a great pleasure for me to watch them develop and gradually take on more and more responsibility. My surgical legacy lives on through them. Over the past few years, I have increasingly been able to share responsibility with them. That is why I am now fully confident in entrusting pediatric cardiac surgery to Marcel Vollroth. I know that the department is in excellent hands with him and the team.”
Now, after a total of 42 years in medicine, his remarkable professional career is coming to an end. At the end of September, Prof. Kostelka will hand over responsibility to his long-standing colleague and successor, PD Dr. Marcel Vollroth.
Matthias Hirsekorn, Director of the Leipzig Heart Center, comments on the professor’s retirement:
“Prof. Kostelka has played a key role in shaping and advancing pediatric cardiac surgery at the Leipzig Heart Center over several decades. I would like to thank him for his outstanding contribution and wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter in his life.”
A journey in medicine
Martin Kostelka studied medicine at a university in Prague. He completed his specialist training in general surgery as well as cardiac and thoracic surgery in Prague and Dresden before specializing in cardiac surgery. His professional career also took him to London, among other places. In addition, he completed training in pediatric cardiac surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston and at universities in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
His decision to study medicine was inspired by a formative experience during his youth. “When I was 16, I was at my uncle’s wedding when the bride’s father suddenly collapsed and died before our eyes. I felt incredibly helpless and never wanted to experience that feeling again. I realized: I wanted to help people who urgently needed medical care. I chose cardiac surgery because it gives us the opportunity to reconstruct and repair,” prof. Kostelka explains. He adds about his work:
“We don’t just repair hearts — we make life possible. The responsibility is enormous. When the heart, the body’s engine, does not function properly, it has an immediate impact on every aspect of the lives of these children and their families. That is why maximum precision is essential. Congenital heart defects are also extraordinarily diverse. Some children have several diagnoses at the same time, and not every situation can be treated according to a standard approach. That is precisely what has made my work so challenging, but also so fascinating, over all these years. At the operating table, there is no room for doubt — neither in yourself nor in front of your team. Of course, there is a certain degree of tension. But you trust your skills and your experience. Over the years, I have encountered and successfully managed many difficult situations and complications. Those experiences are something you can draw on. You mentally go through the possible solutions, choose the best one — and then every move has to be precise.”
Looking back, Prof. Kostelka remembers many patients whose stories have stayed with him to this day: “Recently, a young man came to visit me whom I had operated on 16 years ago, when he was a small child weighing just three kilograms. At the time, it was a very complex and difficult operation. Now he stood before me, taller than I am, completely healthy and about to graduate from high school. He asked me to sign my book for him. That touched me deeply. Seeing that a child who was once so seriously ill can now lead a completely normal life — moments like these have always been incredibly important to me. They gave me the courage and strength to overcome difficult situations and cope with setbacks.”
Time for family and hobbies
After commuting more than a million kilometers between Leipzig and Prague, the renowned pediatric cardiac surgeon now plans to devote his retirement entirely to his family and personal life. “I have given 101 percent to my profession throughout all these years. My patients and the hospital always came first. That also meant that my work shaped a very large part of my life. Now I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family. I want to travel, pursue my hobbies, and attend more cultural events again,” says Kostelka.
After 28 years at the Leipzig Heart Center, an important chapter in pediatric cardiac surgery is coming to an end. Prof. Kostelka leaves behind not only a record of more than 10,000 operations, but above all the many patients whose lives he has changed through his work — as well as a new generation of cardiac surgeons to whom he has passed on his knowledge and experience.
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