A photo of James S. Tweddell.

Executive Co-Director, Heart Institute

Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart Institute

Professor, UC Department of Surgery

513-803-8824

Board Certified

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My Biography & Research

Biography

Dr. Tweddell leads the Heart Institute’s surgical team providing unparalleled surgical care and innovation for our patients and their families. Over the last 20 years, he built the pediatric cardiothoracic surgery program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he held the S. Bert Litwin Chair for Cardiothoracic Surgery position, served as medical director of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and professor and chief for the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Tweddell has an extensive list of vital research contributions, having authored more than 125 peer reviewed articles, published numerous books, chapters, invited reviews and editorials, and serving on multiple editorial boards and national committees.

Dr. Tweddell is the elite surgeon of his generation and has earned a worldwide reputation for outstanding clinical results based on team contributions to his outcomes. He decreased mortality following the Norwood procedure through the use of venous saturation monitoring and afterload reduction. In addition, Dr. Tweddell reduced interstage mortality of a single ventricle patient through the development of a home monitoring program.

Clinical Interests

Surgical emphases include congenital heart surgery in neonates, infants, children, teenagers and adults. Heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.

Research Interests

Developing reliable and reproducible evidence-based perioperative management strategies to improve survival and developmental outcomes; novel monitoring techniques such as continuous venous oximetry and near infrared spectroscopy. 

Academic Affiliation

Professor, UC Department of Surgery

Clinical Divisions

Heart, Heart Failure, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lung Transplant, Fetal Heart Program

Research Divisions

Heart, Cardiothoracic Surgery



Blog Posts

A New Kind of Clot Blocker

Heart and Lung

A New Kind of Clot Blocker

James S. Tweddell, MD, Joseph S. Palumbo, MD6/30/2019

My Locations

My Education

MD: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 1985.

Residency: Intern and Second Year Resident in General Surgery, New York Medical Center, New York, NY, 1987.

Residency: Research Fellow in Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO, 1989.

Residency: Senior Resident and Chief Resident in General Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO, 1991.

Residency: Resident in Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO, 1993.

Fellowship: Fellow in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO, 1993.

My Publications

Comparison of Patch Materials for Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction. Ebert, N; McGinnis, M; Johnson, W; Kuhn, EM; Mitchell, ME; Tweddell, JS; Woods, RK. Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2021; 33:459-465.

The Externally-Supported Ross Procedure with Konno Aortoventriculoplasty Surgical Technique. Tweddell, JS; O'Donnell, AP. Operative Techniques in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2021.

Neonatal Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuit Blood Prime Quality Analysis. Hendrix, BB; Reagor, JA; Tweddell, JS. Journal of Extra-Corporeal Technology. 2021; 53:140-145.

Commentary: Time for a new maxim. Winlaw, DS; Opotowsky, AR; Tweddell, JS. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2021.

Caution Required Contextualizing Recommendations for Infants and Neonates in a Pediatric Experience of Mitral Valve Replacement. Wells, D; Lehenbauer, D; Tweddell, JS; Winlaw, DS. World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery. 2021; 12:375-376.

Current Status of Training and Certification for Congenital Heart Surgery Around the World: Proceedings of the Meetings of the Global Council on Education for Congenital Heart Surgery of the World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. Tchervenkov, CI; Herbst, C; Jacobs, JP; Al-Halees, Z; Edwin, F; Dearani, JA; Finucane, K; Sandoval, N; Sarris, GE; Fragata, J; et al. World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery. 2021; 12:394-405.

Interventions Associated With Treatment of Low Cardiac Output After Stage 1 Norwood Palliation. Hoffman, GM; Niebler, RA; Scott, JP; Bertrandt, RA; Wakeham, MK; Thompson, NE; Ghanayem, NS; Stuth, EA; Mitchell, ME; Woods, RK; et al. (2021) 111:1620-1627.

Widening our Focus: Characterizing Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities in Congenital Heart Disease. Karamlou, T; Hawke, JL; Zafar, F; Kafle, M; Tweddell, JS; Najm, HK; Frebis, JR; Bryant, RG. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2021.

Invited Commentary: Updating an Empirically Based Tool for Analyzing Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality: STAT 2020. Backer, CL; Tweddell, JS. World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery. 2021; 12:282-283.

Tracheal surgery for airway anomalies associated with increased mortality in pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery: Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database analysis. Riggs, KW; Zafar, F; Jacobs, ML; Jacobs, JP; Thibault, D; Guleserian, KJ; Chiswell, K; Andersen, N; Hill, KD; Morales, DL S; et al. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2021; 161:1112-1121.e7.