The Duke Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that George C. "Chad" Hughes, MD, Professor of Surgery, has been appointed the inaugural Chief of the Section of Aortic Surgery, a new section housed jointly within the Divisions of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.
Dr. Hughes will also serve as co-director for the Duke Center for Aortic Disease, along with Chandler Long, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery in vascular and endovascular surgery.
Dr. Hughes completed his undergraduate training at Wake Forest University and medical school at Duke University. He subsequently completed his training in both general surgery and cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Duke.
In 2005, Dr. Hughes completed an aortic surgery fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania under the instruction of Dr. Joseph Bavaria, a renowned leader in aortic surgery. Dr. Hughes then joined the faculty at Duke as an assistant professor of surgery, and was promoted to professor of surgery in 2020.
Dr. Hughes has developed one of the largest practices of aortic surgery in the country, with national and regional referrals. At Duke, he started the transcatheter aortic valve replacement program with Dr. Kevin Harrison. Additionally, along with Dr. Richard McCann, he developed stent grafting for aortic pathology.
Dr. Hughes has served as a model of the academic surgeon with over 250 peer-reviewed publications, multiple national speaking engagements, and a prominent role as an associate editor for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. He has driven innovation of care for aortic pathology at a national level.
This divisional reorganization is focused on enabling further collaboration between CT surgery, vascular surgery and cardiology. In this new role, Dr. Hughes will focus on further expansion of aortic surgery, innovation around aortic pathology, and mentoring younger faculty and trainees in aortic surgery.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Hughes to this new role.