Karen Meekyong Kim MD

Summary

• Dr. Karen Kim is a board-certified adult cardiac surgeon located in Austin, TX. She completed general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, which included advanced fellowship training in open and endovascular aortic repair and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery at UT Health Austin, Dell Medical School and also works in the Institute for Cardiovascular Health, a clinical partnership between Ascension Seton and UT Health Austin. She specializes in adult cardiac surgery, including the treatment of coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, endocarditis, and arrhythmias, with a specialty practice in advanced techniques for aortic valve repair and replacement; surgical treatment of proximal aortic, aortic arch, and descending thoracic aortic aneurysms; repair of aortic dissection; thoracic endovascular aortic repair; and the multidisciplinary evaluation and transcatheter treatment of structural heart disease. Dr. Kim served as a writing committee member for the 2022 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Aortic Disease and for the 2024 EACTS/STS Guideline for Diagnosing and Treating Acute and Chronic Syndromes of the Aortic Organ. She is active in The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the largest international professional society for cardiothoracic surgeons and allied health professionals, serving on various workforces and task forces, including as Chair of the Workforce on Annual Meeting 2024-25, and was elected a Director-at-Large in 2024.