Raymond H. Schaerf MD

Raymond Schaerf, MD, is a cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in performing delicate procedures to remove wires from old or malfunctioning defibrillators and pacemakers. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Raymond Schaerf, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon, likes to joke that most people pack their cellphones with photos of their smiling children. His cellphone, however, is stocked with pictures of the human heart.

The photos are not Valentines and display the vital human organ in various states of distress and complication—those that can occasionally arise from implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. Schaerf specializes in lead extractions, a delicate procedure performed to remove wires that are old, malfunctioning, infected or causing a patient difficulty. Schaerf, who joined the Smidt Heart Institute less than a year ago, recently sat down with Cedars-Sinai's Newsroom to talk about his work and his life outside of it. Below is an edited version of the conversation.