Gert Diederick Victor Pretorius, MD

Victor Pretorius, MBChB, FRCSC completed medical school at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and went on to complete a cardiac surgery residency at the University of Alberta, Canada, where he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He then pursued dedicated training in pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) and right heart failure management at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Following this advanced training, he joined the UCSD faculty, ultimately serving as Professor of Clinical Surgery and Surgical Director of the Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs.

Over the past 15 years at UCSD, Dr. Pretorius participated in more than 3,000 adult and pediatric cardiac operations, including heart and lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and adult congenital cardiac surgery. He has performed more than 1,250 PTE surgeries and is internationally recognized for his expertise in complex pulmonary vascular and advanced heart failure surgery.

Under his leadership, the UCSD heart transplant program grew into one of the largest and most progressive in the nation. In 2024 alone, the program performed 93 heart transplants, ranking as the largest program in San Diego and third largest in California. According to SRTR reports, UCSD consistently achieved one-year patient survival rates above the national averages. Additionally, UCSD was the first West Coast center to successfully perform heart transplantation from a donor after circulatory death (DCD), significantly broadening donor availability and improving patient access to transplant.

Dr. Pretorius has authored and presented extensively on advanced surgical therapies, transplantation, and pulmonary vascular disease at international conferences, contributing to innovation and clinical excellence in cardiothoracic surgery.

Dr. Pretorius joins Emory University School of Medicine as Surgical Director of the Heart Transplant and Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (PTE) Programs, where he will lead multidisciplinary efforts to expand advanced surgical therapies for end-stage cardiac and pulmonary vascular disease, furthering Emory’s mission of delivering world-class cardiovascular care to patients across the Southeast.

To provide the highest quality of care, interpreter services may be utilized to ensure proper communication of medical information for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-English speaking patients or family members.