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David B. Rekhtman, MD

David Rekhtman
Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Undergraduate: University of Maryland, College Park

About Dr. Rekhtman

David Rekhtman is a general surgery resident at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland with a dual degree in Biochemistry and Biology. He subsequently obtained his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded Alpha Omega Alpha. David plans to pursue a career in academic surgery. His current interests include health systems science research and medical education.

Education

2021 - 2025
MD - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

2017 - 2021
BS - University of Maryland, College Park

Societies

  • International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
  • American College of Surgeons
  • Alpha Omega Alpha
  • Gold Humanism Honor Society
  • Phi Beta Kappa

Awards

  • Dr. I.S. Ravdin Prize for Surgical Studies
  • Dr. Freddy Stark Award for Gross Anatomy
  • George W. Householder, III Memorial Prize for Cardiovascular Research
  • American Association of Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Member for a Day Scholarship
  • Joseph Woo, MD Fellowship in Cardiovascular Surgery

Research

David has utilized institutional and national datasets to study clinical outcomes for patients with end-stage heart failure under the mentorship of Dr. Pavan Atluri and Dr. Marisa Cevasco. Specifically, he has explored outcomes of the Impella 5.5 device as well as assessed heart transplant policy on post-operative survival. David is also interested in exploring health systems science and has worked with Dr. Rachel Kelz to recently publish his work in the Annals of Surgical Oncology regarding referral practices for parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Publications

  1. Yuno A, Lee MJ, Lee S, Tomita Y, Rekhtman D, Moore B, Trepel JB. Clinical evaluation and biomarker profiling of Hsp90 inhibitors. Methods in Mol Bio. 2018;1809:423-441.
  2. Shin M, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Kelly J, Song C, Rekhtman D, Cevasco M. Modern outcomes of heart-lung transplantation: assessing the impact of the updated United States allocation system. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2022;63(1):ezac559.
  3. Weingarten N, Iyengar A, Herbst DA, Helmers M, Rekhtman D, Song C, Kim S, Atluri P. Heart-kidney transplant versus heart transplant in the obese: a propensity-matched analysis. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2022;63(1):ezac563.
  4. Shin M, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Patrick W, Cohen W, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Song C, Atluri P, Cevasco M. Use of extended criteria donor hearts in combined heart-kidney transplant confers greater risk of mortality. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2023;42(7):943-952.
  5. Cohen W, Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Shin M, Ibrahim M, Bermudez C, Cevasco M, Wald J. Extended support with the Impella 5.5: transplant, ECMO, and complications. ASAIO J. 2023;69(7):642-648.
  6. Iyengar A, Song C, Weingarten D, Rekhtman D, Herbst DA, Shin M, Helmers M, Atluri P. Prosthesis choice in dialysis patients undergoing mitral valve replacement. Ann Thorac Surg. 2023;S0003-4975(23)00509-X.
  7. Cevasco M, Shin M, Cohen W, Helmers M, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Wald J, Iyengar A. Impella 5.5 as a bridge to heart transplantation: waitlist outcomes in the United States. Clin Transplant. 2023:e15066.
  8. Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Song C, Patel M, Atluri P. Aortic valve replacement for moderate aortic stenosis during mitral surgery improves survival free from severe stenosis. Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann. 2023;31(6):475-482.
  9. Iyengar A, Rekhtman D, Weingarten N, Song C, Shin M, Helmers M, Kelly J, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Comparison of intra-aortic balloon pump and Impella 5.5 as bridging strategies to heart transplantation in the United States. Ann Thorac Surg. 2023;116(4):811-817.
  10. Kim S, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Song C, Shin M, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Outcomes of COVID-19 positive donor heart transplantation in the United States. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023;12(14):e029178.
  11. Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Song C, Weingarten N, Shin M, Patel M, Herbst DA, Helmers M, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Emerging racial differences in heart transplant waitlist outcomes for patients on temporary mechanical circulatory support. Am J Cardiol. 2023;204:234-241.
  12. Shin M, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Weingarten N, Patrick W, Rekhtman D, Song C, Kelly J, Cevasco M. Decreased survival of simultaneous heart-kidney transplant recipients in the new allocation era. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2023;S1053-2498(23)01966-6.
  13. Kim S, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Song C, Shin M, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Heart retransplantation under the 2018 adult heart allocation policy. Ann Thorac Surg. 2023:S0003-4975(23)00933-5.
  14. Shin M, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Song C, Rekhtman D, Kelly J, Weingarten N, Patrick W, Cevasco M. Non-inferior outcomes in lower urgency patients transplanted with extended criteria donor hearts. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2024;43(2):263-271.
  15. Rekhtman D, Bermudez F, Vervoort D, Kaze L, Patton-Bolman C, Swain J. A global systematic review of open-heart valvular surgery in resource-limited settings. Ann Thorac Surg. 2024;117(3):652-660.
  16. Weingarten N, Iyengar A, Song C, Rekhtman D, Ganjoo N, Karimanasseri C, Helmers M, Patel M, Herbst D, Kelly J, Atluri P. Tricuspid surgery at time of mitral surgery improves survival free from severe tricuspid regurgitation but not quality of life. JTCVS Open. 2023;16:250-262.
  17. Song C, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Patel M, Herbst DA, Helmers M, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Center volume predicts improved early outcomes in multiorgan heart transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2024;56(1):135-144.
  18. Iyengar A, Weingarten N, Rekhtman D, Song C, Shin M, Helmers M, Kelly J, Atluri P. Outcomes and quality of life in patients receiving mitral surgery for asymptomatic disease. JTCVS Open. 2024;18:43-51.
  19. Atluri P, Iyengar A, Rekhtman D. Risks and Benefits of Concomitant Tricuspid Surgery at the Time of Mitral Intervention. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024;83(17):1669-1670.
  20. Song C, Kim S, Iyengar A, Rekhtman D, Weingarten N, Shin M, Jiang J, Asher M, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Temporary mechanical circulatory support as a bridge to transplant in peripartum cardiomyopathy. JHLT Open. 2024;6:100126.
  21. Iyengar A, Weingarten N, Song C, Rekhtman D, Shin M, Helmers M, Wald J, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Outcomes and quality of life in patients receiving durable left ventricular assist device with biventricular support. Artif Organs. 2024;48(12):1476-1483.
  22. Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Ganjoo N, Song C, Weingarten N, Shin M, Asher M, DePaolo J, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Clinical course of patients relisted for orthotopic heart transplantation: a national study. JHLT Open. 2024;7:100173.
  23. Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Han J, Shad R, Cevasco M, Szeto W, Brown C. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement explant in the setting of a porcelain aorta. JACC Case Rep. 2024;29(22):102732. 
  24. Asher M, Iyengar A, Rekhtman D, Jiang J, Song C, Weingarten N, Shin M, Nitsche L, Mavroudis C. Goodnight moon, the (not so) mystical effect of folklore and superstitions on cardiac transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2025;44(5):750-759.
  25. Rekhtman D, Asher M, Iyengar A, Song C, Weingarten N, Shin M, DePaolo J, Kim S, Cevasco M, Atluri P. Predictors of nonutilization of ex vivo perfused donor heart allografts. ASAIO J. 2025.
  26. Iyengar A, Feinman J, Jiang J, Song C, Kim S, Mathew A, Golec S, Rao A, Radakrishnan A, Asher M, Rekhtman D, DePaolo J, Moss N, Itagaki S, Anyanwu A, Wald J, Cevasco M, Parikh A. Epidemiology and impact of device-specific infections on patients receiving left ventricular assist devices. JHLT Open. 2025;8:100208.
  27. Rekhtman D, Lee S, Iyengar A, Song C, Weingarten N, Shin M, Asher M, Jiang J, Cevasco M, Atluri P. The effect of donor distance on post-transplant mortality in the modern era. JTCVS Open. 2025.
  28. Rekhtman D, Iyengar A, Han J, Shad R, Cevasco M, Szeto W, Ibrahim M. Utilization of Impella 5.5 for preoperative optimization in the setting of a ruptured papillary muscle. TCS Reports. 2025 May, 14(01): e14-e16. doi.org/10.1055/a-2603-9367.
  29. Asher M, Iyengar A, Rekhtman D, Helmers M, Weingarten N, Song C, DePaolo J, Shin M, Brown A, Wald J, Cevasco M. Acute hemodynamic and echocardiographic consequences of Impella 5.5 placement in patients with advanced cardiogenic shock. ASAIO J. 2025.
  30. Szeto J, Kelly J, Huang L, Rekhtman D, Brown C, Usman A, Szeto W. Supra-aortic vessel anastomosis in arch reconstruction: An overview of existing techniques and report on a novel anastomotic device. Ann Thorac Surg Short Rep. 2025.
  31. Rekhtman D, Asher M, Song C, Iyengar A, Cevasco M, Maeda K, Mavroudis C. Prolonged Impella 5.5 support in a pediatric patient with genetic cardiomyopathy. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2025.
  32. Rekhtman D, Brown D, Hwang J, Sharpe J, Rosenthal JW, Finn C, Fraker D, Kelz R. Data-driven surgical referrals for primary hyperparathyroidism and associated surgical outcomes: A simulation study. Ann Surg Onc. 2025.
  33. Shin M, Toubat O, Catalano M, Iyengar A, Helmers M, Asher M, Rekhtman D, Song C, Biscotti M, Cevasco M. Superior waitlist outcomes among patients listed for donation after circulatory death heart transplantation. JACC Heart Fail. 2025.
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