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Vaughn Starnes, MD, Thoracic Surgery, Los Angeles, CA, Keck Hospital of USC

VaughnA.StarnesMD

Thoracic Surgery • Los Angeles, CA

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery

Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Co-Director, Heart Institute H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, Executive Director, Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC Surgeon-in-Chief, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital

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Summary

  • Vaughn A. Starnes, MD, is Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair and Executive Director of the CardioVascular Thoracic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

    He earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and did his general surgery training at Vanderbilt University, where he also completed two years of research in cardiothoracic physiology and pharmacology.

    Dr. Starnes completed two years at Stanford University as a resident in cardiovascular surgery, and one year as chief resident in cardiac transplantation. He accepted a fellowship in pediatric cardiovascular surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in London. When he returned to Stanford, he was appointed director of Stanford's heart-lung transplantation program. In 1990, Dr. Starnes performed the world's first lobar transplant using a lung segment from a living donor. Three years later, he performed the first live-donor, double-lobar lung transplant on a patient with cystic fibrosis. The operation involved taking lung tissue from each parent and transplanting it into their child.

    He joined USC in July 1992 and was appointed Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1997. Dr. Starnes has an ongoing interest in congenital heart disease, heart, lung, heart-lung and living related lung transplantation, coronary bypass grafting, and repair and replacement of the valves of the heart. He is also involved in research, helping develop gene therapy techniques to address the problem of restenosis following balloon angioplasty.

Education & Training

  • Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University
    Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford UniversityResidency, Thoracic Surgery - Integrated, 1984 - 1987
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    Vanderbilt University Medical CenterResidency, Surgery, 1980 - 1984
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    Vanderbilt University Medical CenterResidency, Surgery, 1977 - 1979
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of MedicineClass of 1977

Certifications & Licensure

  • CA State Medical License
    CA State Medical License 1985 - 2025
  • NC State Medical License
    NC State Medical License 1977 - 1986
  • TN State Medical License
    TN State Medical License 1979 - 1985
  • American Board of Thoracic Surgery Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
  • American Board of Thoracic Surgery Congenital Cardiac Surgery

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • America's Top Doctors Castle Connolly, 2002-2014
  • Top Doctors:LA Area Castle Connolly, 2013
  • Top Doctors:Southern California Castle Connolly, 2012
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Clinical Trials

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • Successful Rescue Therapy with Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Re-Expansion Pulmonary Oedema in a Patient with One Lung  
    Vaughn A Starnes, Amy E Hackmann, European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery

Press Mentions

  • From Severe Ebstein Anomaly to a Normal Heart
    From Severe Ebstein Anomaly to a Normal HeartNovember 25th, 2022
  • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Experts Present on the Latest in Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Diseases at 25th Annual Cardiology 2022 Conference
    Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Experts Present on the Latest in Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Diseases at 25th Annual Cardiology 2022 ConferenceAugust 22nd, 2022
  • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Performs World’s First Implant of a Novel Stent for Babies
    Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Performs World’s First Implant of a Novel Stent for BabiesFebruary 25th, 2022
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Professional Memberships

Hospital Affiliations

Dr. Vaughn Starnes, Dr. Vaughn Starnes, MD, Dr. V Starnes, Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes