Dr. Isaac George, MD joined NewYork Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in the Department of Surgery in July of 2001 as a resident in general surgery following his graduation from Duke University School of Medicine. Prior to receiving his MD, Dr. George completed a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997. Dr. George also completed a fellowship program in cardiothoracic surgery in 2011 as well as a fellowship program in interventional cardiology in 2012. In July, 2012 Dr. George became an Assistant Professor of Surgery and later an Assistant Professor of Medicine. In 2019, Dr. George was promoted to Associate Professor of Surgery.

Dr. George is board certified in thoracic surgery and general surgery. He performs all types of open complex adult cardiac surgery (aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve surgery, aortic aneurysm surgery, coronary bypass grafting, robotic surgery) and specializes in complex valvular and aortic disease. He annually performs 200+ open heart surgeries a year and is one of the few physicians in the world trained in both cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology. Dr. George is currently the Surgical Director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center at Columbia University Medical Center. His surgical outcomes remain some of the best in the state despite taking on the highest risk cases (surgical mortality rate by year: 2013: 3.5%, 2014: 2.5%, 2015: 4%, 2016: 2.5%, 2017: 1.5%, 2018: 1.5%, 2019: 1.5%).

Dr. George is focused on integrating new technology and innovation into his clinical practice. He is trained in the most current and cutting-edge procedures including Transcatheter Valve Replacement (TAVR, TMVR), transcatheter valvular repair, percutaneous coronary stenting, and aortic stent grafting. He performs almost 600 transcatheter valve procedures a year, in addition to his busy open surgical practice and has personally done over 5000 TAVR procedures. Because he is trained in multiple disciplines, he is able to combine strategies to create a treatment plan for each individual patient that is both unbiased and personalized. As Primary Investigator of a national TAVR trial and with involvement in numerous other clinical trials, he has extensive clinical research trial experience.

Dr. George is involved in both benchtop and clinical research as well. His primary scientific goals involve the regulatory mechanisms of myostatin (a negative regulator of muscle growth) to insulin-like growth factor-1 and its role in cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyopathy. Specifically, his group is the first to report the importance of myostatin activation in heart failure. As director of the cardiac surgery research laboratory, he oversees surgical fellows, post-doctoral students, masters students, and research assistants in both scientific projects and clinical outcomes in cardiac surgery and TAVR. His projects reflect the translational nature of the lab as well as his clinical interests. His clinical practice allows him to be uniquely positioned to advance this research with a clinical endpoint and potential therapeutic intervention as the goal.

Watch: Meet Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Isaac George

Watch: Dr. Isaac George Discusses Advancements in Heart Valve Surgery

Dr. George hosts Taking it to Heart, the Columbia Heart Valve team's podcast. In each episode, Dr. George and the Columbia Heart Valve team discuss a new topic related to valvuar disease. Subscribe to Taking It to Heart.

Click here for a full list and description of ongoing trials from Dr. George.

Click here for a complete list of publications from Dr. George.

Disclosures: Dr. George is a medical consultant for Atricure, MitreMedical, cardioMech, VDyne, Valcare Medical.