Browns Mills, NJ - Allen Cheng, MD, was appointed the new Chair of Surgery at Deborah Heart and Lung Center.  Dr. Cheng joined Deborah in October from the Sands-Constellation Heart Institute of Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, New York, where he served as Surgical Director of Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Circulatory Support. Additionally, he served as Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation at the University of Louisville Medical Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

A graduate of Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Dr. Cheng completed his residency in general surgery at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Cheng completed his cardiac surgery postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center and a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.  He also had specialty training at the University of Rochester Medical Center in mechanical circulatory support, transplantation and minimally invasive heart surgery.

Board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Cheng’s expertise includes: minimally invasive heart valve surgery (aortic, mitral and tricuspid repair and replacement), complex mitral repair, advanced heart failure and mechanical circulatory support, including left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), pulmonary embolism, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), atrial fibrillation ablation (MAZE and Convergent), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (septal myectomy), as well as transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR/TMVR).

“We are excited to have Dr. Cheng join our medical leadership team at Deborah,” said Aaron Kugelmass, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Deborah Heart and Lung Center. “In addition to his surgical expertise, his leadership experience makes him an impeccable fit to lead our surgery department.”

He has received numerous awards for his work, including: Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education Research Fellowship Award, Society of Heart Valve Disease C. Walton Lillehei Research Award, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship Award.  Dr. Cheng has published numerous articles in major international cardiovascular journals including: Circulation, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and has served as a peer reviewer for these journals. 

About Deborah Heart and Lung Center

Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey, is a teaching hospital in the prevention, diagnosis, research and treatment of heart, lung and vascular diseases. Founded in 1922, Deborah has treated more than 2.3 million hearts from every corner of the United States and 87 countries. From performing the first adult and pediatric open-heart surgeries in New Jersey, to one of the highest-volume left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) implant programs in the nation, Deborah is consistently recognized as a leader overall and in patient care from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It is ranked among the top hospitals in New Jersey for patient satisfaction; holds a top-tier Society of Thoracic Surgeons rating which places Deborah among the best cardiac surgery programs in North America; and is rated High Performing in five specialties, Heart Attack, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, COPD and TAVR by U.S. News & World Report. Deborah is an Alliance member of the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.

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