Randolph Chitwood
Encyclopedia
Walter Randolph "Randy" Chitwood, Jr. is a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
located in Greenville, North Carolina
.
Chitwood recognized as the first heart surgeon to perform robot-assisted heart valve surgery in North America. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Sr. Vice Chancellor at East Carolina University
.
and a naturalized North Carolinian. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and received his medical degree from the University of Virginia
. He obtained all of his surgical training at Duke University
Medical Center under Dr. David C. Sabiston, where he spent 10 years training in general and cardiothoracic surgery, as well as basic science research.
He was the first house staff member at Duke to be selected to Alpha Omega Alpha
. After his chief residency at Duke in 1984, he was selected to develop and head the new cardiac surgery program at the East Carolina University School of Medicine. His initial appointment was as a full Professor of Surgery. Except for a two-year hiatus as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky
, he has spent his entire career at ECU, where was Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1995 to 2003. Most recently he was made Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of the Health Sciences Division for Cardiovascular Diseases and is in charge of the development of a new specialty hospital and research institute - The North Carolina Cardiovascular Institute. He founded the current University Medical Center Heart Center, which now performs over 1200 cardiac surgical, 3000 interventional, and 5000 diagnostic catheter-based procedures yearly. The center's research laboratories have been responsible for training residents and supporting established investigators alike. Currently, Dr. Chitwood's research activities relate to myocardial preservation, and angiogenesis, as well as endoscopic and robotic tele-manipulation in cardiac surgery. He has been the principal investigator of the FDA robotic mitral valve trials that led to approval for this use in the United States.
He is a member of 25 professional societies which include the American College of Surgeons
, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the American Surgical Association
, the American College of Cardiology, and the Cardiac Surgery Biology Club. He is on numerous committees in these societies. He has been President of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, The Society for Heart Valve Disease, and the North Carolina Chapter of the American Heart Association. He serves the editorial boards of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, the Journal of Heart Valve Disease, the Asian Annals of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, CTS Net, the Heart Surgery Forum, Chest, and the American Heart Journal. In the past he has authored over 150 peer reviewed scientific and clinical articles, as well as many book chapters and several monographs. He is a busy, active cardiac surgeon and has special expertise in complex valvular surgery, including mitral repair and endoscopic mitral valve surgery. Recently, he has written widely and lectured internationally on innovative techniques in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery. In 2003 he was elected to Fellowship in the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of England, an honor for which few Americans are selected. His lifelong avocations have been photography, amateur radio, and antiquarian medical bibliophilia. He recently returned from a most productive photographic expedition to Tibet
and Nepal
.
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
located in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
.
Chitwood recognized as the first heart surgeon to perform robot-assisted heart valve surgery in North America. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Sr. Vice Chancellor at East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
.
Biography
Dr. Randolph Chitwood is both a native of VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and a naturalized North Carolinian. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and received his medical degree from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. He obtained all of his surgical training at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
Medical Center under Dr. David C. Sabiston, where he spent 10 years training in general and cardiothoracic surgery, as well as basic science research.
He was the first house staff member at Duke to be selected to Alpha Omega Alpha
Alpha Omega Alpha
The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, commonly called Alpha Omega Alpha and abbreviated ΑΩΑ or AOA, is a national honor society for medical students, residents, scientists and physicians in the United States and Canada.-History:...
. After his chief residency at Duke in 1984, he was selected to develop and head the new cardiac surgery program at the East Carolina University School of Medicine. His initial appointment was as a full Professor of Surgery. Except for a two-year hiatus as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, he has spent his entire career at ECU, where was Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1995 to 2003. Most recently he was made Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of the Health Sciences Division for Cardiovascular Diseases and is in charge of the development of a new specialty hospital and research institute - The North Carolina Cardiovascular Institute. He founded the current University Medical Center Heart Center, which now performs over 1200 cardiac surgical, 3000 interventional, and 5000 diagnostic catheter-based procedures yearly. The center's research laboratories have been responsible for training residents and supporting established investigators alike. Currently, Dr. Chitwood's research activities relate to myocardial preservation, and angiogenesis, as well as endoscopic and robotic tele-manipulation in cardiac surgery. He has been the principal investigator of the FDA robotic mitral valve trials that led to approval for this use in the United States.
He is a member of 25 professional societies which include the American College of Surgeons
American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the American Surgical Association
American Surgical Association
The American Surgical Association is the nation's "oldest and most prestigious surgical organization".-History:It was founded in 1880. Their publication, Annals of Surgery, was started in 1885.- Heads :*Edward Mott Moore...
, the American College of Cardiology, and the Cardiac Surgery Biology Club. He is on numerous committees in these societies. He has been President of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, The Society for Heart Valve Disease, and the North Carolina Chapter of the American Heart Association. He serves the editorial boards of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, the Journal of Heart Valve Disease, the Asian Annals of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, CTS Net, the Heart Surgery Forum, Chest, and the American Heart Journal. In the past he has authored over 150 peer reviewed scientific and clinical articles, as well as many book chapters and several monographs. He is a busy, active cardiac surgeon and has special expertise in complex valvular surgery, including mitral repair and endoscopic mitral valve surgery. Recently, he has written widely and lectured internationally on innovative techniques in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery. In 2003 he was elected to Fellowship in the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of England, an honor for which few Americans are selected. His lifelong avocations have been photography, amateur radio, and antiquarian medical bibliophilia. He recently returned from a most productive photographic expedition to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.