Professor
Chief, Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Director, Fourth Year Medical Student Clerkship
A.D. Pacifico, M.D., Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery

Areas of Interest
pediatric cardiac surgery, quality improvement and outcomes research

Biography

Dr. Dabal is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Chief of the Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. His major research interests are in the areas of quality improvement and clinical outcomes research including improving surgical care to decrease morbidity following neonatal cardiac surgery. Dr. Dabal is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Jefferson County Medical Society and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.

Selected Publications

Bast RC Jr, Boyer CM, Xu FJ, Wiener J, Dabal R, Woolas R, et al. Molecular approaches to presentation and detection of epithelial ovarian cancer. J Cell Biochem Suppl 1995, 23: 219-22.

Dabal R, Edwards NM. Cardiac transplantation and other therapeutic options in the treatment of end-stage heart disease. Compr Ther 2000 Summer, 26(2): 109-13.

Dabal R, Goss R, Maynard C, and Aldea GS. The effect of left internal mammary utilization on short-term outcomes after coronary revascularization. Ann Thorac Surg. 2003 Aug; 76(2): 464-70.

Krishnadasan B, Hampton CR, Ennis JM, Dabal R, and Verrier ED. Molecular mechanisms of neurologic injury following cardiopulmonary bypass. Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. March 2002. 6(1): 43-53.

Alten JA, Borasino S, Pearce FB, Dabal RJ, Kirklin JK. Surfactant treatment for congenital heart disease patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Congenit Heart Dis 2010 Nov; 5(6):624-8.

Pearce FB, Litovsky SH, Dabal RJ, Robin N, Dure LJ, George JF, Kirklin JK. Pathologic features of dilated cardiomyopathy with localized noncompaction in a child with deletion 1p36 syndrome. Congenit Heart Dis 2011 Apr 14. [Epub ahead of print]. 2012 Jan-Feb:7(1): 59-61.

Timpa JG, O'Meara C, McILwain RB, Dabal RJ, Alten JA. Massive systemic air embolism during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support of a neonate with acute respiratory distress syndrome after cardiac surgery. J Extra Corpor Technol. 2011 Jun;43(2):86-8.

Alten JA, Borasino S, Toms R, Law MA, Moellinger A, Dabal RJ. Early initiation of arginine vasopressin infusion in neonates after complex cardiac surgery. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]. 2012 May;13(3):300-4.

Kirklin JK, Pearce FB, Dabal RJ, Carlo W Jr, and McGiffin DC. Cardiac transplantation and mechanical support for functional single ventricle. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2012 Apr 1;3(2): 183-93.

Sasser WC, Robert SM, Carlo WF, Borasino S, Dabal RJ, Kirklin JK, and Alten JA. Postoperative serum cortisol concentration and adrenal insufficiency in neonates undergoing open-heart surgery. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2012 Apr 1;3(2): 214-20.

Alten JA, Borasino S, Gurley WQ, Law MA, Toms R and Dabal RJ. Ultrasound-guided femoral vein catheterization in neonates with cardiac disease. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2012 Nov; 13(6):654-9.

Sasser WC, Dabal RJ, Askenazi DJ, Borasino S, Moellinger AB, Kirklin J, and Alten JA. Prophylactic peritoneal dialysis following cardiopulmonary bypass in children is associated with decreased inflammation and improved clinical outcomes. Congenit Heart Dis. 2013 May 7 [Epub ahead of print]. 2014 Mar-Apr;9(2): 106-15.

Dabal RJ, Rhodes LA, Borasino S, Law MA, Robert SM, and Alten JA. Inferior vena cava oxygen saturation monitoring after the Norwood procedure. Ann Thorac Surg. 2013 Jun;95(6): 2114-20; discussion 2120-1.

Rhodes LA, Robert SM, Atkinson TP, Dabal RJ, Mahdi AM, and Alten JA. Hypogammaglobulinemia after cardiopulmonary bypass in infants. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2013 Sep 12 [Epub ahead of print]. 2014 May; 147(5): 1587-1593.

Kirklin JK, Pearce FB, Dabal RJ, and Carlo, WF. Mechanical circulatory support: Strategies and outcomes in pediatric congenital heart disease. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Pediatr Card Surg Annu. 2014; 17(1): 62-8.

Borasino S, Diaz F, El Masri K, Dabal RJ, and Alten JA. Central venous lines are a risk factor for chylothorax in infants after cardiac surgery. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2014 Oct; 5(4): 522-6.

Dabal R, Kirklin J, Kukreja M, Brown R, Cleveland D, Eddins M, and Lau Y. The Modern Fontan Operation Shows No Increase in Mortality Out to 20 Years: A New Paradigm. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. Dec; 148(6): 2517-23.

Toms R, Borasino S, Dabal R, Reebals C,, and Alten JA. Preoperative trophic feeds in neonates with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Congenit Heart Dis. 2015 Jan-Feb;10(1): 36-42.

Litovsky SH, Kelly DR, Law MA, Dabal RJ, Daniel RL, Cleveland DS, and Pearce FB. Shone variant with large eustachian valve: Implication for repair and heart transplantation. Cardiovasc Pathol. 2015 Mar-Apr; 24(2): 124-7.

Pearce FB, Carlo WF, Zaccagni HJ, Dabal RJ, and Kirklin JK. Repair of early posttransplant endomyocardial biopsy-related tricuspid regurgitation in a child. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2015 Apr; 6(2): 295-7.

Robert SM, Borasino S, Dabal RJ, Cleveland DC, Hock KM, and Alten JA. Postoperative hydrocortisone infusion reduces the prevalence of low cardiac output syndrome after neonatal cardiopulmonary bypass. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2015 Apr 21 (Epub ahead of print).

Education

Medical School
Duke University

Residency
New York Presbyterian-Columbia

Residency
University of Washington

Fellowship
The Children’s Hospital Denver

Fellowship
Children’s Hospital Boston

Contact Information

Campus Address
9100 Women and Infants Center

Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions: 205-934-2419
Academic Office: 205-934-2419

Email
rdabal@uabmc.edu