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Dr. Randolph Chitwood is a native of Virginia and a naturalized North Carolinian. He is the son and grandson of “Southwestern Virginia mountain doctors”, who set the guidelines for his professional life. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and received his MD from UVA. After medical school, he completed surgical residency at Duke University Medical Center under Dr. David C. Sabiston, the most influential surgical educator of the era. At Duke he spent 10 years training in general and cardiothoracic surgery, as well as science research. He was the first staff member at Duke to be selected to Alpha Omega Alpha. After chief residency at Duke in 1984, he was selected to begin and head the new cardiac surgery program at the East Carolina University School of Medicine. Because of his prolific publication record as a resident and clinical acumen, his initial appointment was as full Professor of Surgery. Except for a two-year hiatus as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UK, Chitwood has spent his entire career at ECU, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1995 to 2003. In July 2003, he was promoted to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences in charge of the development of a new specialty hospital and research institute – The East Carolina Heart Institute. This Institute has come to fruition and includes an integrated Department of Cardiovascular Sciences as well as a 200 million dollar heart hospital, outpatient, research, and education center. The heart institute performs over 1000 cardiac surgical, 2500 interventional, and 4000 diagnostic catheter-based procedures yearly. Dr. Chitwood is a leading international pioneer in minimally invasive and robotic heart surgery. The Robotic Surgical Center at ECU has trained over 350 surgeons worldwide. He personally performed the first robotic heart surgery in ten countries. His current research relates to myocardial preservation and, simulation, and endoscopic-robotic cardiac surgery. He was the principle investigator of FDA robotic mitral valve trials that led to approval in the US.
Chitwood is a member of 25 professional societies and has been on most important committees in each of these. He is current President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the largest cardiothoracic professional organization in the world. He is Past-President and founding member of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery as well as past-president of the Society for Heart Valve Disease, the NC Chapter of the AHA, and past VP of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association.
He has served on 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, the American Heart Journal, and the Journal of Robotic Surgery. Currently, he is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cardio-thoracic and Vascular Surgery. He also reviews for Circulation, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. In the past, he has authored over 175 peer reviewed scientific and clinical articles, as well as book chapters and monographs. He is in the process of writing a book entitled, Atlas of Robotic Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Chitwood is an active cardiac surgeon with special expertise in complex valvular surgery, mitral repair as well as aortic valve and cardiac rhythm surgery. He writes and lectures internationally on innovative techniques in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery. He has given 50 visiting professor and invited lectures. He is the world’s leader in robotic mitral valve surgery.
In 2003, Chitwood was elected to Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of England, an honor to which few Americans are selected. In 2004, he received the O. Max Gardner Award from the UNC Board of Governors that recognizes a faculty member of the 16 system institutions, who during the scholastic year, made the greatest contribution to the “welfare of the human race.” It is the only statewide honor given to faculty members by the UNC Board of Governors. In 2005 he received the national Mended Hearts - Harken Award, which recognizes excellence in the field of cardiovascular medicine. In the same year he received the National Phi Kappa Phi Scholar Award for outstanding teaching, research, practice, and service.
Chitwood's lifelong avocations have been photography, amateur radio, trout fishing, and antiquarian medical bibliophilia. He has made productive photographic expeditions to fascinating places including Tibet, Nepal, Syria, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, and South Africa. Many images from these trips have been shown publicly through his salon photographic exhibitions. He has been married for forty years to Tamara Chitwood. They have two children, Anne and Randolph. Recently, he became a grandfather to a young man who he calls “Curious Keller” – he says he will be the new generation of inquisitive and innovative thinkers. |
