Mavroudis C, Backer CL. In Memoriam: Rachid F. Idriss (1959-2025). World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. 2025;17(1):133-134. doi:10.1177/21501351251390456
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.
