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The Texas Heart Institute/²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú Thoracic Surgery (Independent) Fellowship Program has a pioneering tradition and a continuing spirit of innovation in cardiothoracic surgery. The Thoracic Surgery (Independent) Fellowship is a three-year program, accepting three fellows per year, and is one of the largest in the U.S. In addition, a six-year Thoracic Surgery Integrated Residency Program accepts one resident per year. With core rotations at renowned Texas Medical Center institutions, part of the largest medical center in the world, the fellowship and residency programs provide a diverse and comprehensive experience in all aspects of thoracic surgery under the direction of program director Dr. Ravi K. Ghanta, associate program directors Dr. Shawn S. Groth, and  Dr. Vicente Orozco-Sevilla and assistant program director Dr. Alexander Schutz. As part of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, the training program is able to enjoy further support from department of surgery chair Dr. Todd K. Rosengart.

The program's core values are integrity, respect for the individual, continuous commitment to excellence, dedication to discovery/innovation, and fostering leadership through education and teaching, mirroring values instilled by program founders Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and Dr. Denton A. Cooley.  These values are expressed through a program providing comprehensive training in adult and pediatric thoracic and cardiac surgery in an environment that stresses clinical excellence, clinical and basic research, and teaching as long-term goals for graduates.

Under the leadership of many world-renowned surgeons, ²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú and the Texas Heart Institute have a storied tradition of excellence and innovation in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. Dr. Michael E. DeBakey was professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at ²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú from 1948 to 1993 and is considered by many to be the founding father of cardiovascular surgery. Many of the devices, instruments and techniques that he developed serve as the foundation of modern surgical techniques. 

Contributions attributed to Dr. DeBakey include the first performance of carotid endarterectomy (1953), excision and homograft replacement of an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta (1954), aortocoronary artery bypass (1964), and use of a left ventricular bypass pump (1966). Dr. Denton A. Cooley founded Texas Heart Institute in 1962 and is known for performing the first successful human heart transplant in the United States (1968) as well as the first clinical implants of mechanical circulatory support devices - total artificial hearts (1969 and 1981) and a left ventricular assist device (1978) - as bridges to heart transplantation. He and Dr. DeBakey partnered together in devising and performing many of the key aortic procedures that were innovated at Baylor in the 1950s. Other important contributions of Dr. Cooley include developing techniques for repairing diseased heart valves, congenital cardiac anomalies, and aortic and ventricular aneurysms.   Dr. E. Stanley Crawford advanced many of the Baylor aortic procedures over succeeding decades, a tradition of excellence in the management of aortic pathology that has been continued by Dr. Joseph S. Coselli, who has performed greater than 3500 thoracoabdominal aneurysm repairs - more of these operations than anyone in history.