Originally planning to specialise in orthopaedic surgery, Dr Granger opted for cardiothoracic surgery after graduating from medical school, and now practises at some of Australia’s leading tertiary hospitals, including St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, St Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney, Sydney Adventist Hospital and Norwest Private Hospital.
One of a handful of female cardiac surgeons in Australia (approximately 10 per cent of Australia’s cardiac surgeons are women), Dr Granger has performed more than 1400 general cardiothoracic surgeries, and more than 100 heart and lung transplants.
A passionate advocate for organ donation, and giving her patients a ‘second chance’ at life, Dr Granger was involved in the world’s first successful ‘DCD’ heart transplant in 2014, a procedure that transplants organs donated after circulatory death.
‘This breakthrough procedure allows for the transplantation of hearts that were previously unable to be used for surgery, and provides hope for the thousands of Australians waiting for an organ transplant,’ Dr Granger said.
‘The procedure was the result of combined research between St Vincent’s Hospital and Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, and it has had a transformative effect on transplant surgery in Australia.’
Dr Granger’s accomplishments have featured in numerous publications, and she has appeared in documentary series, Miracle Hospital, in an episode where she performed a lung transplant for a patient who had waited nine years for a lung to become available.
A pioneering surgeon, Dr Granger was a finalist for the 2017 NSW Premier’s Award for Woman of the Year. She is a Conjoint Lecturer with the Clinical Medical School at St Vincent’s Hospital and University of Notre Dame, and an instructor with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
Dr Emily Granger
