ReachMD

Dr. Karla Christian is the associate chief of pediatric cardiac surgery and director of pediatric cardiac surgical education at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University.

She came to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1988 to complete her general surgery training, and continued in the cardiothoracic residency, completing this training in 1994. Dr. Christian joined the Vanderbilt faculty as an assistant professor in 1994, and was promoted to associate professor in 2002. She specializes in complex congenital heart surgery, and also performs pediatric and adult heart transplants. She is active in adult cardiac surgery as well. She enjoys participating in resident and medical student education, and collaborates in research projects, primarily related to children's cardiac surgery.

Dr. Christian received a BS cum laude in mathematics from the University of Washington in 1981. She subsequently obtained her medical degree with honors from the University of Washington in 1985.

She is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.