In Memoriam: Rachid F. Idriss (1959-2025)

We are saddened to report that our esteemed colleague, master medical illustrator, Rachid F. Idriss, passed away suddenly on July 8, 2025. We began a lifelong collaboration with Rachid when Dr. Constantine Mavroudis succeeded Rachid's father, Dr. Farouk S. Idriss, as Chief of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. For more than 30 years, we worked with Rachid who illustrated innumerable articles, book chapters, books, lectures, and presentations. He was the principal illustrator for our textbooks, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, third, fourth, and fifth editions, Atlas of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Atlas of Adult Congenital Heart Surgery, and the about to be released text, Complications in Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery.

The founding Editor-in-Chief of The World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, Marshall L. Jacobs, used Rachid's elegant fine ink drawing of the anatomically normal human heart to grace the front cover of the inaugural issue of The World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery in April 2010. Since that time, drawings by Rachid of normal cardiac anatomy and of complex congenital cardiac anomalies have appeared on the cover of many issues of WJPCHS over the life of the Journal.

Rachid earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Medical and Biological Illustration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1995. He often reflected that his education at Michigan taught him to be an artist first, and secondarily a medical illustrator. He created illustrations for scientific publications on a vast array of subjects, but congenital heart disease was his forte. We are certain that this interest came naturally, as Rachid was the son of the late Farouk S. Idriss, a pioneering congenital heart surgeon who was a very early proponent of anatomic repairs.

Rachid was also the curator of the Idriss Cardiac Registry at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The Registry, one of the world's outstanding congenital heart disease educational resources, is home to a collection of more than 2000 preserved and catalogued congenital heart specimens, the majority donated between the early 1940s and 1970s before the development of successful surgical treatments.

Rachid was a true artist who had an amazing (gifted) understanding of human anatomy; he was able to visualize and illustrate even the most complex surgical procedures. We eulogize Rachid Idriss, not only because he was a close friend and artistic collaborator but also because he meant so much to so many surgeons who benefited from his expertise and guidance. His ability to create relevant and informative illustrations was legendary. It was not unusual for us to hear from our colleagues how they reviewed Rachid's drawings before a difficult case. He made frequent visits to the operating room and to our offices to confirm the accuracy of his drawings and make them perfect. When we took our careers far from Chicago, we conducted our collaboration on the telephone through extensive descriptions, during which time, Rachid took notes. We left him to his extensive knowledge of surgical anatomy, his research inquiries, and his intuitive instincts as an artist to create the series of drawings showing the important steps of the operation. The illustrations were accurate and rarely needed revision; he was that good.

Rachid used established artistic techniques to show anatomic structures, human proportionality, and surgical technique. ¹ The sutures were often arranged in a serpiginous fashion to add action to the drawing. The ghost views and hidden anatomy emphasized the anatomical depth of the illustrations, and the inset techniques showed both general and focused views of the procedure in one drawing.

Simply put, without Rachid, we could not have explained operations and new techniques in a timely manner to make a difference for so many children and adults with congenital heart disease. Our publications were greatly enhanced by the illustrations that Rachid provided, and for that, we will be forever indebted to him. The benefits extend to all congenital heart surgeons around the world who view his many beautiful, accurate, and educational drawings. Rachid leaves behind his wife Deborah, his mother Lorraine, and his three brothers, Samir (his twin), Ramze, and Salim.