Frederick Y. Chen, MD, PhD Accepting New Patients

Meet Frederick Y. Chen, MD, PhD

Title(s)

Chief, Cardiac Surgery; Professor of Surgery, Tufts University School of Medicine

Department + Services

Surgery, CardioVascular Center, Cardiac Surgery

Clinical Focus Areas

Surgical treatment of acquired heart disease, surgical repair of valvular heart disease, minimally invasive surgery, arrhythmia surgery, heart transplantation, circulatory assist devices, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)

Research Focus Areas

Applying engineering principles to cardiac surgery with an emphasis on heart failure

Seeing Patients In

Boston, 617-636-5590

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Programs + Specialties	CardioVascular Center
Training + Education	Harvard Medical School ; Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts General Hospital; Children's Hospital, Boston
Board Certifications	Thoracic Surgery
NPI #	1649244898
Gender	Male
Accepted Insurances	View Accepted Insurances at Tufts Medical Center

Tufts Medical Center
South Building, 6th Floor
860 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02111
Phone #: 617-636-5590
Fax #: 617-636-6410

Map It

2017, "Top Doctor," Boston Magazine
2017, Beset of Boston Physicians
2014, McGoon Award Recipient, American Association for Thoracic Surgery
2013, HMS Mentoring Excellence Nominee, Brigham and Women's Hospital
2013, McGoon Award Nominee, American Association for Thoracic Surgery
2012, McGoon Award Nominee, American Association for Thoracic Surgery
2011, Educate the Educator Course, Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education
2011, McGoon Award Nominee, Brigham and Women's Hospital
2010, McGoon Award Nominee, Brigham and Women's Hospital
2008, Harvard Medical School Faculty Leadership Course, Harvard Medical School
2005, Second Andrew G. Morrow Research Scholar, American Association for Thoracic Surgery
2004, Russek Travel Award, American College of Cardiology
2002, Laparoscopic "Top Gun" Award, Brigham and Women's Hospital
1998, Intern of the Year, Brigham and Women's Hospital
1995, American Society for Artificial Internal Organs Fellowship
1992, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Fellow, Harvard Medical School

I am an adult cardiac surgeon with significant professional activity in clinical care, laboratory research, resident teaching, and administration. With a full load of 200 surgeries annually, I am known for outstanding patient care in all New England. I am an extramurally (NIH and AHA) funded surgeon scientist. Previously, I was the Director of the Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory at BWH. My research interest is applying engineering principles to cardiac surgery with an emphasis on heart failure. I estimate my clinical effort as 50%
research 25%
teaching 15%
and administration as 10%.

My Area of Excellence is Clinical Expertise and Innovation. I perform a full and complete spectrum of adult cardiac surgery, including valvular, coronary, and aortic surgery. I am known for meticulous patient care in the operating room and floor. I have promulgated selective antegrade cerebral perfusion at BWH, a technique for minimizing stroke risk during aortic surgery. I was RO1 funded and am currently AHA funded. I supervise typically 2-3 postdoctoral research fellows, a medical student, and a full time laboratory manager. There are probably less than five fully clinically active, extramurally funded cardiac surgeons nationally. I am investigating ventricular restraint, a new treatment for heart failure where the heart is wrapped with prosthetic material. I invented a method to apply restraint in an adjustable, measurable way. This work has resulted in the most comprehensive understanding of ventricular restraint. I am internationally known for this research. There is a patent pending on this methodology. My work is published in Circulation and Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the most important journals in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. I have an interest in right heart failure and have recently been funded by the AHA for this work. I have an interest in functional, ischemic mitral regurgitation. I was the site PI (BWH) for the NIH funded cardiothoracic surgical trials in mitral regurgitation.

I have significant contributions in Teaching and Education. I have always mentored at least two postdoctoral fellows at any one time. I strive to produce the academic surgeon who operates and performs research. My post-doctoral research fellows have won numerous research awards from the American College of Surgeons as well as prestigious national fellowships from the AHA, NIH, and Heart Failure Society. At BWH, all new cardiothoracic fellows in the BWH Thoracic Surgery Residency were trained by me as the first surgeon to teach them cardiac surgery. The ACGME residents have named this “Chen School,” and have nominated me for five years straight for the McGoon Award, a prestigious annual national teaching award given to a single cardiothoracic surgeon educator who has finished training less than ten years ago. I won the McGoon Award this year and am nationally known for my teaching.

I also have significant Administrative contributions. I contributed to cardiac surgical medical coding at BWH
have served on NIH study sections
and am the senior thoracic surgeon on the American College of Surgeons Committee on Fundamental Surgical Problems. I have served on the Surgery Research Committee overseeing all surgical research at BWH and serve on the Animal Use Committee of HMS, overseeing all animal research in the Longwood Area.

I was the Program Director for the BWH/Children's Hospital Thoracic Surgery Residency overseeing all ACGME thoracic surgery residents and I also manage all senior fellows as well. As Program Director, I successively led BWH to be approved by the Thoracic Surgery RRC of the ACGME for an Integrated 6 Year Thoracic Surgery Residency where residents are matched directly out of medical school.

In summary, I have strived to be a multidimensional academic cardiac surgeon with significant and deep contributions in all areas of academic cardiac surgery. My contributions span the traditional “triple threat surgeon,” with significant achievement clinically, in the laboratory, research, and education.

Society of Thoracic Surgeons
American College of Chest Physicians
International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
Association for Academic Surgery
American College of Surgeons
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
Society of University Surgeons
Cardiac Surgery Biology Club, American Association for Thoracic Surgery