Howard K. Song, M.D., Ph.D.

  • Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Howard Song is a professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Song performs surgery for patients with all types of adult cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, heart failure and aortic aneurysms. He has special expertise in aortic and mitral valve repair and replacement, including minimally invasive and transcatheter approaches, as well as more complex procedures such as heart transplantation.

He is a strong patient advocate and believes in spending ample time with patients and their families to discuss the patient’s cardiovascular condition. He explains treatment options to help patients and families make the best choice for each patient.

He also does both clinical and basic science research on cardiovascular disease. His research focuses on biomedical and tissue engineering, genetically triggered thoracic aortic aneurysms and patient outcomes following cardiovascular surgery.

Dr. Song earned his M.D. at Stanford University. He completed a residency in surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta. He also earned a Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 1989, Yale University
    • M.D., 1994, Stanford University School of Medicine
    • Ph.D., 2001, University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Graduate Studies

  • Residency

    • General Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2001

  • Fellowship

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery, Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, Atlanta, GA, 2004

  • Certifications

    • American Board of Thoracic Surgery, 2005; recertified 2015
    • American Board of Surgery, 2002; recertified 2013

Memberships and associations:

  • American Association of Thoracic Surgery
  • Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Areas of interest

  • Outcomes of patients undergoing adult cardiac surgery
  • Genetically triggered thoracic aortic aneurysms
  • Recombinant factor replacement following cardiopulmonary bypass to decrease postoperative bleeding
  • Bioengineering of prosthetic materials and blood pumps to improve biocompatibility

Publications

Elsevier pure profile

Publications

  • 3-Year Outcomes From the Evolut Low Risk TAVR Bicuspid Study

    JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. Firas Zahr
    2. Basel Ramlawi
    3. Michael J. Reardon
    4. G. Michael Deeb
    5. Steven J. Yakubov
    6. Howard K. Song
    7. Neal S. Kleiman
    8. Stanley J. Chetcuti
    9. Hemal Gada
    10. Mubashir Mumtaz
    11. Stephane Leung
    12. William Merhi
    13. Joshua D. Rovin
    14. Michael DeFrain
    15. Murali Muppala
    16. James Kauten
    17. Vivek Rajagopal
    18. Jiang Huang
    19. Saki Ito
    20. John K. Forrest

  • Impact of concomitant surgical interventions on outcomes of septal myectomy in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

    International Journal of Cardiology
    1. Ahmed M. Altibi
    2. Abharika Sapru
    3. Fares Ghanem
    4. Yuanzi Zhao
    5. Ahmad Alani
    6. Joaquin Cigarroa
    7. Babak Nazer
    8. Howard Song
    9. Ahmad Masri

  • Midterm Outcomes

    Annals of Thoracic Surgery
    1. Lye Yeng Wong
    2. Ruben Vila
    3. Gurion Lantz
    4. Julie Doberne
    5. Castigliano M. Bhamidipati
    6. Frederick A. Tibayan
    7. Ahmad Masri
    8. Howard K. Song

  • 1-Year Outcomes Following Transfemoral Transseptal Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement

    JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. Firas Zahr
    2. Howard K. Song
    3. Scott Chadderdon
    4. Hemal Gada
    5. Mubashir Mumtaz
    6. Timothy Byrne
    7. Merick Kirshner
    8. Samin Sharma
    9. Susheel Kodali
    10. Isaac George
    11. William Merhi
    12. Leora Yarboro
    13. Paul Sorajja
    14. Vinayak Bapat
    15. Tanvir Bajwa
    16. Eric Weiss
    17. Jeremy J. Thaden
    18. Elizabeth Gearhart
    19. Scott Lim
    20. Michael Reardon
    21. David Adams
    22. Michael Mack
    23. Martin B. Leon

  • 3-Year Outcomes After Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-Risk Patients With Aortic Stenosis

    Journal of the American College of Cardiology
    1. John K. Forrest
    2. G. Michael Deeb
    3. Steven J. Yakubov
    4. Hemal Gada
    5. Mubashir A. Mumtaz
    6. Basel Ramlawi
    7. Tanvir Bajwa
    8. Paul S. Teirstein
    9. Michael DeFrain
    10. Murali Muppala
    11. Bruce J. Rutkin
    12. Atul Chawla
    13. Bart Jenson
    14. Stanley J. Chetcuti
    15. Robert C. Stoler
    16. Marie France Poulin
    17. Kamal Khabbaz
    18. Melissa Levack
    19. Kashish Goel
    20. Didier Tchétché
    21. Ka Yan Lam
    22. Pim A.L. Tonino
    23. Saki Ito
    24. Jae K. Oh
    25. Jian Huang
    26. Jeffrey J. Popma
    27. Neal Kleiman
    28. Michael J. Reardon
    29. Paul Sorajja
    30. Timothy Byrne
    31. Merick Kirshner
    32. John Crouch
    33. Joseph Coselli
    34. Guilherme Silva
    35. Robert Hebeler
    36. Robert Stoler
    37. Ashequl Islam
    38. Anthony Rousou
    39. Mark Bladergroen
    40. Peter Fail
    41. Donald Netherland
    42. W. A.L. Tonino
    43. Arnaud Sudre
    44. Pierre Berthoumieu
    45. Houman Khalili
    46. G. Chad Hughes
    47. J. Kevin Harrison
    48. Ajanta De
    49. Howard Song
    50. Firas Zahr

  • Clinical Predictors of Mortality and Heart Failure Hospitalization in Patients With Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation

    Structural Heart
    1. Kris Kumar
    2. Timothy Byrne
    3. Timothy F. Simpson
    4. Ashraf Samhan
    5. Raj Shah
    6. Jorge Rodriguez
    7. Loren Wagner
    8. Scott M. Chadderdon
    9. Howard K. Song
    10. Harsh Golwala
    11. Firas E. Zahr

  • Hospital Procedural Volume and Clinical Outcomes Following Septal Reduction Therapy in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

    Journal of the American Heart Association
    1. Ahmed M. Altibi
    2. Fares Ghanem
    3. Yuanzi Zhao
    4. Miriam Elman
    5. Joaquin Cigarroa
    6. Babak Nazer
    7. Howard K. Song
    8. Ahmad Masri

  • Intermediate-Term Outcomes Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients with a History of Chest Radiation Therapy

    Journal of Invasive Cardiology
    1. Kris Kumar
    2. Mohammed Osman
    3. Ashraf Samhan
    4. Craig C. Morris
    5. Trisha Chau
    6. Tessa Herman
    7. Gurion Lantz
    8. Scott M. Chadderdon
    9. Howard Song
    10. Firas Zahr
    11. Harsh Golwala

  • Mitral Valve Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair Volumes and Trends

    Journal of Interventional Cardiology
    1. Kris Kumar
    2. Timothy F. Simpson
    3. Harsh Golwala
    4. Adnan K. Chhatriwalla
    5. Scott M. Chadderdon
    6. Robert L. Smith
    7. Howard Song
    8. Ryan R. Reeves
    9. Paul Sorajja
    10. Firas Zahr

  • Propensity-Matched Outcomes Comparing TAVR in Bicuspid vs Surgery in Tricuspid Aortic Valve Stenosis

    Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
    1. G. Michael Deeb
    2. Steven J. Yakubov
    3. Michael J. Reardon
    4. Basel Ramlawi
    5. Stan J. Chetcuti
    6. Neal S. Kleiman
    7. Firas Zahr
    8. Howard K. Song
    9. Hemal Gada
    10. Mubashir Mumtaz
    11. Saki Ito
    12. Jian Huang
    13. John K. Forrest

  • 30-Day Outcomes Following Transfemoral Transseptal Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement

    JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. Firas Zahr
    2. Howard K. Song
    3. Scott M. Chadderdon
    4. Hemal Gada
    5. Mubashir Mumtaz
    6. Timothy Byrne
    7. Merick Kirshner
    8. Tanvir Bajwa
    9. Eric Weiss
    10. Susheel Kodali
    11. Isaac George
    12. John Heiser
    13. William M. Merhi
    14. Jeremy J. Thaden
    15. Angie Zhang
    16. D. Scott Lim
    17. Michael J. Reardon
    18. David H. Adams
    19. Michael J. Mack
    20. Martin B. Leon

  • Cardiovascular Outcomes in Aortopathy

    Journal of the American College of Cardiology
    1. Kathryn W. Holmes
    2. Sheila Markwardt
    3. Kim A. Eagle
    4. Richard B. Devereux
    5. Jonathan W. Weinsaft
    6. Federico M. Asch
    7. Scott A. LeMaire
    8. Cheryl L. Maslen
    9. Howard K. Song
    10. Dianna M. Milewicz
    11. Siddharth K. Prakash
    12. Dongchuan Guo
    13. Shaine A. Morris
    14. Reed E. Pyeritz
    15. Rita C. Milewski
    16. William J. Ravekes
    17. H. C. Dietz
    18. Ralph V. Shohet
    19. Michael Silberbach
    20. Mary J. Roman

  • Contemporary diagnosis and management of severe tricuspid regurgitation

    Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. Firas Zahr
    2. Scott Chadderdon
    3. Howard Song
    4. Edward Sako
    5. Cristina Fuss
    6. Steven R. Bailey
    7. Joaquin Cigarroa

  • Haemolysis resolution after transcatheter valve in valve within a prior mitral annuloplasty ring

    European Heart Journal - Case Reports
    1. Bhaskar Bhardwaj
    2. Harsh Golwala
    3. Howard K. Song
    4. Gurion Lantz
    5. Scott Chadderdon
    6. Firas Zahr

  • Hospital Procedural Volume and Clinical Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

    Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
    1. Ahmed M. Altibi
    2. Fares Ghanem
    3. Scott Chadderdon
    4. Gurion Lantz
    5. Howard K. Song
    6. Joaquin Cigarroa
    7. Firas E. Zahr
    8. Harsh Golwala

  • Propensity-Matched 1-Year Outcomes Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-Risk Bicuspid and Tricuspid Patients

    JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. G. Michael Deeb
    2. Michael J. Reardon
    3. Basel Ramlawi
    4. Steven J. Yakubov
    5. Stan J. Chetcuti
    6. Neal S. Kleiman
    7. Abeel A. Mangi
    8. Firas Zahr
    9. Howard K. Song
    10. Hemal Gada
    11. Mubashir Mumtaz
    12. John Heiser
    13. William Merhi
    14. C. Patrick Murrah
    15. Thomas Noel
    16. Merick Kirshner
    17. Timothy Byrne
    18. Saki Ito
    19. Jian Huang
    20. John K. Forrest

  • Septal Myectomy for Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in the Elderly

    Annals of Thoracic Surgery
    1. Lye Yeng Wong
    2. Naima Alver
    3. Elizabeth N. Dewey
    4. Castigliano Bhamidipati
    5. Gurion Lantz
    6. Frederick A. Tibayan
    7. Stephen Heitner
    8. Ahmad Masri
    9. Howard K. Song

  • Severe MR With Prior Alfieri Stitch Treated With Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair and a Vascular Plug

    JACC: Case Reports
    1. Katherine Rajotte
    2. Evan Shalen
    3. Howard K. Song
    4. Harsh Golwala
    5. Joaquin Cigarroa
    6. Grant Burch
    7. Firas Zahr
    8. Scott M. Chadderdon

  • TAVR operator volumes, trends, and geographic variations amongst Medicare beneficiaries in the United States

    Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions
    1. Timothy F. Simpson
    2. Babikir Kheiri
    3. Scott Chadderdon
    4. Howard K. Song
    5. Gurion Lantz
    6. Joaquin Cigarroa
    7. Firas Zahr
    8. Harsh Golwala

  • The prevalence, operations, and outcomes of carcinoid heart disease

    American journal of surgery
    1. Rebekah Macfie
    2. Belinda H. McCully
    3. Anna N. Ratzlaff
    4. James Lim
    5. Howard K. Song
    6. Elizabeth N. Dewey
    7. Su Ellen J. Pommier
    8. Castigliano M. Bhamidipati
    9. Rodney F. Pommier