The Duke Department of Surgery are pleased to share that Jacob N. Schroder, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, has been named Surgical Director for Advanced Heart Failure of Duke Health’s Heart and Vascular Service line and the Duke Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Schroder earned his Medical Degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed both his general and cardiothoracic surgery residencies, as well as thoracic transplant surgery fellowship, at Duke University. He then joined the Duke Department of Surgery faculty in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2012.
Since then, Dr. Schroder has helped lead transplant growth and innovation within the Duke Heart program while maintaining a deep passion for the care of advanced heart failure patients. In 2017, he accepted the role of surgical director of cardiac transplantation and has led the program to marked volume growth while maintaining outstanding survival outcomes. In 2023, Duke completed 161 heart transplants, which is the greatest annual number at any institution worldwide. In addition, the program has surpassed 2,000 total heart transplants, which has only been achieved by a handful of other programs in the U.S.
In his new role as Surgical Director for Advanced Heart Failure, he will not only oversee heart transplantation but will also oversee the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program, the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) program, and the Total Artificial Heart program at Duke. Additionally, Dr. Schroder will oversee conventional cardiac surgery procedures in patients with severely reduced left ventricular function. As part of his new role he will assemble a team of surgeons and multidisciplinary team members to deliver these therapies, oversee research efforts throughout these areas, and continue to drive innovation.
Dr. Schroder has been a leader in perfusion storage and was the first surgeon in North America to perform an adult heart transplant utilizing a donation after cardiac death (DCD) donor. He led the U.S. Organ Care System DCD Heart Trial, which was published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Importantly, the strategy of utilizing DCD donors has served to expand the donor pool by as much as 30% at adopting centers. He has also reinvigorated the combined heart – lung transplant program and facilitated increased volume in other combined heart-kidney and heart-liver transplant procedures.
Dr. Schroder has also served as co-director of the 7West Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU), creating an environment of enhanced patient care with collaborative surgical and intensivist oversight. He has led the application of mechanical circulatory support at Duke and performed the first successful CARMAT total artificial heart implant in North America in 2021.
In summary, he has displayed incredible dedication and passion for heart failure care and has worked tirelessly to expand Duke’s footprint in the treatment of these patients.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Schroder as our Surgical Director for Advanced Heart Failure.