Charles Fraser (surgeon)

Charles D Fraser, Jr. is the medical director and surgeon of the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease at Dell Children's Medical Center. Formerly, Fraser was chief of congenital heart surgery and cardiac surgeon-in-charge at Texas Children's Hospital, the nation's largest pediatric hospital, served as chief of the Congenital Heart Surgery Division at Baylor College of Medicine, and director of the Adult Congenital Heart Surgery Program at the Texas Heart Institute.

Career

Following his graduation from Midland High School in Midland, Texas, Fraser received his bachelor's degree cum laude in mathematics from the University of Texas in 1980.[1][2] After completing his medical degree at University of Texas Medical Branch, Fraser studied as a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he specialized in general, cardiothoracic and thoracic transplant surgery.[1] Fraser has completed three fellowships: pediatric cardiac surgery at the Royal Children's Hospital, cardiac transplant research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and cardiovascular surgery at the Texas Heart Institute.[1]

In 1995, Fraser was recruited by Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine to establish their then-new congenital heart surgery unit.[1]

In 2011, he was appointed surgeon-in-chief of Texas Children's Hospital.[3][4]

In 2018, Fraser joined UT Health Austin, as the medical director and surgeon for the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. He is professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of Texas, Dell Medical School and chief, Section of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, Texas.

Accomplishments

In 2002, Fraser's team developed the first pediatric lung transplant program in the Southwest United States, which has grown to become the largest in the nation. In March 2004, Fraser implanted the world's first pediatric ventricular assist device.[1][5] In 2005, he performed the first successful pediatric heart/lung transplant in the Southwest. Fraser has published over 100 journal articles, chapters, and textbooks in medical literature, and has performed over 10,000 congenital cardiac repair surgeries in children.[1]

Fraser served as the national principal investigator of a pediatric ventricular assist device trial to assess the safety and benefit of the Berlin Heart Pediatric EXCOR ventricular assist device. This device was subsequently approved in December 2011 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical use – the first device to be approved specifically for small babies.[6]

In 2011, Fraser's heart failure team implanted the first total artificial heart at a children's hospital.[7]

Awards
  • 1999 University of Texas Outstanding Young Alumnus Award[1]
  • 2002 American Heart Association Medical Honoree[1]
  • 2004 Baylor College of Medicine Michael E. DeBakey Distinguished Service Award[1]
  • 2017 the Texas Children's Heart Center, which Fraser co-directed, achieved the #1 ranking for pediatric heart programs as noted by U.S. News & World Report.

Fraser was featured in the Discovery Channel Series Surgery Saved My Life, where in the episode "Train Wreck Heart", he performed a transposition of the great arteries correction procedure on a five-day-old newborn.[8] Charles Fraser, Jr., MD, leads Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease at Dell Children's Medical Center

References
  1. Texas Children's Heart Center: Charles D. Fraser Jr., M.D. Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Proud Products of Texas Public Schools: Charles D. Fraser Jr. Archived September 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. The Heal Sick Children Blog: Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr. Named Surgeon-in-Chief
  4. TCH News: Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., Renowned Congenital Heart Surgeon, Named Surgeon-in-Chief at Texas Children's Hospital Archived June 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Texas Children's Hospital implants first MicroMed/DeBakey child ventricular assist device
  6. "Berlin Heart Inc. EXCOR Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device" (PDF). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  7. "Texas Children's Hospital is First Pediatric Hospital in the Nation to Implant Artificial Heart". PR Newswire. Texas Children's Hospital. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. Discovery Channel: Surgery Saved My Life Episode Guide Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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