Dr. Edward Bove, a world-renowned pediatric cardiac surgeon, was appointed chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery following action by the Board of Regents at its Jan. 19 meeting.
Bove is the Helen F. and Marvin M. Kirsh professor of cardiac surgery and will be the first chair of the newly created Department of Cardiac Surgery.
The Medical School launched the new department this month, elevating it from its former status as a section in the Department of Surgery. The new department is expected to build upon and enhance U-M’s expertise and reputation in cardiac surgery.
Heart programs at the Cardiovascular Center and the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital consistently are ranked among the best in the nation. Mott is ranked No. 3 in the nation for heart care and heart surgery for children.
“Dr. Bove is internationally renowned for his contributions to cardiac surgery,” says Dr. James Woolliscroft, dean of the Medical School and Lyle C. Roll professor of medicine.
“His innovations and skill have enhanced the lives of thousands of patients and their families, and his ability to teach and mentor has developed a new generation of highly skilled cardiac surgeons who are also leaders in the field,” Woolliscroft says.
Bove and the pediatric surgical team at the Congenital Heart Center have revolutionized surgical approaches to congenital heart defects.
During his 26-year career at the U-M, Bove has performed nearly 10,000 congenital heart operations. His patients primarily are children, born with severe heart malfunctions, but increasingly he cares for adults who survived their heart defects and require monitoring as adults.
Bove, of New York City, earned his medical degree at Albany College in New York. He completed a general surgery residency at the U-M Medical School in 1976 and another in thoracic surgery in 1977. He also completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in London, England.
He joined the U-M faculty as associate professor of surgery and associate professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases in 1985. Today U-M performs more than 2,000 heart operations a year.
