After 201 transplants, this surgeon feels most at home in the OR

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

It might come as a surprise to some that Dr. Mark Turrentine is not super-human.

A superhero, yes, to many people, but even the renowned cardiac surgeon falls ill occasionally.

That was the case this week when the flu caught up with him, forcing him to take it easy for a day or two.

Just two weeks ago, “Dr. T” was celebrated on the Heart Center at Riley Hospital for Children, as his 200^th heart transplant patient, 7-month-old Emmaus Christian McCollum, was discharged.

Never one for the spotlight, the surgeon insisted that the transplant team be on hand to be recognized as well. That includes surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, transplant coordinators and more.

“If this (celebration) was going to happen, I wanted it to be about the team.”

The number of transplants attached to him is not important, he said.

“The richness of the program here is what we were celebrating, not one individual. The fact that you have one of the most highly regarded pediatric transplant programs in the country as part of the overall transplant program at IU Health, I’m not sure people understand the historical significance of this program.

“It may be 200 transplants here, but you’ve got a program here at IU Health (Methodist and Riley) that’s just north of 950 heart transplants,” he added, noting that patients have ranged in age from 4 days to just shy of 70 years old.

FIRST BERLIN HEART

The development of mechanical support devices for infants and young children as a bridge to transplant was critical to improving outcomes.

“Mark was instrumental in bringing the VAD (ventricular assist device) program to Riley,” Dr. John Brown said. “He put in the first Berlin heart. He has shepherded that program.”

Dr. Brown was among those present at the celebration earlier this month. He helped develop the heart transplant program at Riley in 1986 with cardiologist Dr. Randall Caldwell, now retired.

“Mark is an excellent cardiac surgeon,” Dr. Brown said of the man he mentored and worked side by side with for more than three decades. “He doesn’t like to talk about himself, but in the operating room, he’s very good in everything he does.”

In fact, the OR is where he feels most at home, Dr. Turrentine acknowledged during a phone conversation Wednesday.

“That’s where I am most comfortable,” he said. “John Brown and I, we’re both old farm boys.” (Dr. Brown grew up on a farm in Indiana, while the younger surgeon grew up in rural Kansas.)

“We had that farmwork ethic, and we had a lot of similarities, but we had enough differences that it made for an interesting relationship.”

Dr. Brown formally retired at the end of 2020, but he has returned to Riley on occasion to assist in the operating room.

Also on hand for the celebration was Dr. Jeremy Herrmann, who trained under both Dr. Brown and Dr. Turrentine. And while Dr. Turrentine is not one to dispense unsolicited advice, his “tremendous integrity” speaks for itself, Dr. Herrmann said.

“He is always willing to do the right thing for a patient, no matter how difficult. I’ve seen that consistently over eight years. He is widely respected for that reason.”

And contrary to what some might think, he knows how to have fun.

It’s been rumored that he has the occasional water gun fight with a patient. When asked, he replies dryly: “Very old accusations. Not documented.”

Transplant coordinator Debbie Murphy said she admires his dedication to the children that come into the program for care.

“Parents never forget that he saved their child’s life, and they love him for what he does. He takes time to know these patients and enjoys hearing about their lives many years later.”

TEXAS WAS CALLING

Dr. Turrentine, who earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and completed his residency in general surgery there, thought he would end up at Texas Medical Center in Houston. But he came to Indiana to interview for a fellowship in 1988 on the advice of a colleague and decided this was the place for him. He went on to do a second residency in cardiothoracic surgery here, loved it and never left.

Lucky for Indiana, his colleagues and patients would say, but he says it was lucky for him. The opportunity to be part of a cutting-edge program surrounded by stellar people has been gratifying.

“I’ve gotten a lot more back from it than I gave to it, I think,” he said.

“This has always been a very quiet, understated program,” said the surgeon, who performed the first infant heart transplant at Riley. “People are very modest here … we became one of the top 3 pediatric heart transplant centers in the country in the early ’90s, and credit to everyone here that was forward-looking and not risk-averse but out there pushing the envelope. And that’s been the history on this campus for the last half-millennium.”

“If you go back and look at the history of cardiac surgery and in particular congenital, it’s a pretty phenomenal history and legacy for our founders,” Dr. Turrentine added, pointing to Dr. Harold King and Dr. Brown.

“The professional marriage I had with John Brown, I don’t know that it’s been matched by anybody in our specialty in the country,” he said.

BELOVED BY FAMILIES

The dynamic duo, who have performed more transplants than anyone in the program on an individual basis, are beloved by generations of Riley families, who regularly comment on any content that features one or the other on Riley’s social media pages, just as they did two weeks ago when photos of the transplant team were published.

“Amazing surgeon,” Riley echocardiogram technician Susan Gude wrote about Dr. Turrentine. “Trained under the best, Dr. Brown.”

“My family and I are on the forever grateful list,” writes Franzetta Jackson. “Dr. Turrentine performed my second open-heart surgery in 2010. I will always remember his quiet and humble spirit.”

“An amazing achievement,” said Jennifer Gray. “Fabulous surgeon and gifted man. Forever grateful my son was one of the 200 transplants he performed.”

"Dr. Turrentine and Dr. Brown performed my son’s transplant 29 years ago,” said Tonya Glaspie. “We are so blessed by them and the others on the transplant team. My son will be celebrating his 30^th birthday in May.”

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our boy was one of the 200 just last year. You changed our lives, Dr. T.” – Josue Yako Hernandez

Dr. Turrentine is not one for individual accolades. He would rather celebrate the richness of the program and its people.

“There are very few places in the country that can offer what we can offer here at IU Health, not just Riley,” he said. “One thing I’m really proud of is that no one has a better outcome in single ventricle transplantation than we have here. No one has reported better outcomes. That’s pretty phenomenal, and that’s because of the quality of the people we have here.”

IN THE ZONE

His love for his work is undeniable, Dr. Brown said of his friend and longtime colleague.

“He is passionate about transplant. His technical skills are excellent. He is conscientious, and he holds everybody to high standards,” the senior surgeon said. “He and I had a great time working together. He has a dry sense of humor, and he’s actually much more animated in the operating room than he is outside of it. It’s his comfort zone.”

It’s business in the OR, of course, but Dr. Turrentine likes to keep the atmosphere light-hearted up to a point.

“Everybody knows there’s a point where you’re going to be really focused and quiet,” he said. “It’s not chaotic. Dr. Brown likes to call it a symphony, where everybody knows when to come in to play their part.”

That’s reassuring for Carley McCollum, whose son was transplanted Feb. 7 (officially No. 200). She is still amazed at the whirlwind journey she and Emmaus have been on since the little boy was rushed to Riley by LifeLine helicopter from Frankfort, Indiana last summer.

It was later determined that he was suffering from undiagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy.

Emmaus received an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) to take the stress off his heart in late September 2024, then was listed for transplant in October. He received his hero heart four months later.

“He’s such a happy, thriving baby,” McCollum said. “It feels like a dream that this happened.”

But one thing is clear, she said. The entire Riley team was amazing. She gives thanks to God for that.

“I want people to know that only by the grace of God have we gotten through this. He is taking care of us.”

201 TRANSPLANTS

Since Emmaus’ transplant, Dr. Turrentine has assisted Dr. Jeremy Herrmann on one more transplant – 12-year-old Ja’Karr Ashley, who has been inpatient since November.

That brings the transplant total to 201, not that Dr. Turrentine is counting.

He’s actually hoping to wind down a bit, letting younger surgeons pick up the mantle. That would give him more time for the medical mission trips that he takes several times a year to operate on sick children in the Middle East who have little access to medical care. It’s the closest thing to the pure practice of medicine, he said.

Having completed 40 trips (he has another trip to Jordan planned in April), he and the Heart Center team who accompany him have operated on about 600 children, he said, most who would otherwise not have received lifesaving care. That’s what keeps him going back.

“The people there honestly become like family. It’s always good to see them. Some of them have really had it rough, and it’s nice to be a part of something good in somebody’s life.”

It’s also eye-opening for medical residents and others who travel with him. They come back with a better understanding of the privilege they enjoy in the U.S., he said.

“It’s a nice extension of Riley and IU Health, giving something back to those less fortunate in other parts of the world,” Dr. Turrentine said. “You learn a lot from that.”

He’s not ready to retire yet, but he is reflective as he considers his career. And he is grateful.

“I can’t imagine having had a more rewarding professional life than what I’ve had here,” he said, taking into account the inevitable highs and lows. “Fortunately, there are more highs, but the lows are tough.”

Still, he said, “There’s nothing else I can imagine ever having wanted to do more than this and feel like maybe I did something to impact somebody’s life for the better. I think when you have that opportunity, you can’t help but feel blessed.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org