Pekka Jaakkola

The patients coming to cardiac surgery are often very severely ill. It is rewarding to know that successful operation can give these people prolonged survival and in many instances a remarkably better quality of life. A problem with a single malfunctioning valve can have a profoundly deteriorating effect on the quality of the daily activities including even sleeping. A successful surgery will at its best change this situation dramatically and improve the quality of life crucially in most cases. In this profession one is privileged to see such aspects of human life one otherwise might not get in touch with and learn various confidential- oftentimes very interesting- life histories.

The decision to choose this specialty was to some extent coincidental: when I came here to specialize into general surgery as a young doctor, cardiothoracic surgery was in a phase of rapid growth both in Kuopio and also elsewhere in the country. I had expressed my interest in cardiac surgery quite soon after coming here, but was, however, a bit surprised having been assigned a cardiac surgery residency after one summer vacation and thus found myself to be a member of the then quite small team of four cardiac surgeons.

Speciality: Cardiothoracic surgery
Special skills: Mitral valve Surgery, Aortic valve Surgery