A^- A A⁺

Find a Doctor

Search Doctors

Prof Theodoros Kofidis

Email:

contactus@nuhs.edu.sg

URL:

https://www.nuhcs.com.sg

Designations:

Head & Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore
Professor, Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Group Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, National University Health System

Qualifications:

MD, FRCS, FAMS

Specialties:

Cardiothoracic Surgery (Heart)

Sub-Specialties:

Adult Cardiac Surgery, Aortic Surgery, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

Special Interests:

Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, Adult Cardiac Surgery, Robotic and Hybrid Cardiac Surgery, Arrhythmia Surgery, Surgical Research and Development

Make an Appointment

Biosketch

Professor Theodoros Kofidis is the Head of Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) and Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS). He is a renowned Cardiac surgeon and an expert in Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery. As one of the only very few AATS members in SE Asia, he is also an Ambassador/Steering Committee of the World Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery for the same region. Over the last 12 years in Singapore, Prof Kofidis has established the most complete, pioneering and advanced Minimally Invasive and Endoscopic Heart Surgery program in the region and set up the most advanced hemodynamic research laboratory and Cardiovascular Surgical Research Group in Singapore. He is an avid researcher and strongly sought-for proctor and surgical teacher around the world. He is also a Professor with the Department of Surgery, at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

With more than 17 years of experience in Europe and Singapore as a Specialist Cardiothorasic Surgeon, Prof Kofidis' mission is to help patients with heart conditions and disease in Singapore and around the world through less traumatic heart treatments and procedures. His clinical expertise encompasses an extensive range of traditional and less invasive, small-incision and keyhole access surgical procedures for bypass and heart valve surgery, including less invasive and hybrid heart surgery, heart failure surgery and off-pump procedures.

Prof Kofidis is the Chairman of I.R.I.S (Initiative for Research and Innovation in Surgery) and has introduced numerous new technologies in his field of practice regionally, and launched new types of less invasive surgery that include the first Same-stop-Hybrid Bypass procedure, Sutureless heart valves, automated knot-tying devices, and the first 3D-guided Minimally Invasive surgery. He also pioneered and invented NUHCS' own minimally invasive procedure, called SIMICS (Single Incision minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery). All these are now being featured in international medical professional forums, peer-reviewed journals and online portals such as Web of Science and Scopus. He has made outstanding contributions to heart-related research; and his innovations, discoveries and medical patents in heart surgery have earned him awards including the NHIC/SMART/SPRING I-2-Start Grant as well as the prestigious NRF/CGF grant for the Avatar - a personalised, first-in-the-world human-like-designed Heart Valve prosthesis which has displayed clear superiority in preclinical trials, compared to anything currently available in the market. Prof Kofidis was also awarded the NUS-TAP Fund for a novel, suspended retractor and endoscopic camera system for Minimally Invasive Surgery.

He has trained in some of the world's leading institutions such as the Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester, New York, USA), the Texas Heart Institute (Houston, USA), the Hannover Medical School (Germany) and Stanford University Medical School (California, USA). He is decorated with various international Awards and carries various offices and commitments internationally. Prof Kofidis was also given the honor of being an invited lecturer at the Bill Gates Research Centre, the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States of America (USA) between 2003-2004.

As an academic teacher, proctor and consultant in the field-related industry, Prof Kofidis is often invited to train doctors and nurses in minimally invasive heart surgeries, and conduct cardiac surgical workshops around the world. He founded the Initiative to promote Research and Innovative technology in Surgery (I.R.I.S) which has helped more than 150 students and postgraduates kick-start their academic career in this field. He is also an editor and reviewer for various other scientific bodies, and has published more than 150 articles in international journals, including Nature, Circulation, New England Journal of Medicine, Biomaterials, European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and etc.

Prof Kofidis is a Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and also an elected member of the prestigious American Association of Thoracic Surgery. He is married to Persephone, an architect and they have a daughter, Danai. His hobbies include aviation (piloting planes), photography, working-out and reading.

Awards

2021 The SIMICTS-ISMICS Life Time Achievement Award
2019 The NUS Medicine Special Recognition Award
2018 Award by the Hellenic CT Surgery Society and the ISMICS-Winter conference
2017 Award by the International Olympic Academy
2015 The Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, without examination.
2015 The MOH AMDA Award
2012 The Lifetime achievement/contribution Award by the Hellenic Cardiology Society.
2006 The Lillehei-Caster Award of the European Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stockholm, Sweden.
2005 Funding Award of the Brauckmann Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
2004 The Rockefeller Brothers Fund/Culpeper Bioscience Award, NY, USA.
2002 The German Research Society Grant Award.
2001 Award of the European Transplant Society for the best scientific work, Basel, Switzerland.
2000 Award for the best oral presentation of the Onassis Institute at the International Congress of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Onassis Heart Center, Athens, Greece.
1992 Scholarship of the State of Bavaria for outstanding performance.

Journals & Publications

Selected Publications:

1. Haematopoietic stem cells adopt mature haematopoietic fates in ischaemic myocardium. Balsam LB, Wagers AJ, Christensen JL, Kofidis T, Weissman IL, Robbins RC. Nature. 2004 Apr 8;428(6983):668-73.

2. Maron DJ, Hochman JS, Reynolds HR, Bangalore S, O'Brien SM, Boden WE, Chaitman BR, Senior R, López-Sendón J, Alexander KP, Lopes RD, Shaw LJ, Berger JS, Newman JD, Sidhu MS, Goodman SG, Ruzyllo W, Gosselin G, Maggioni AP, White HD, Bhargava B, Min JK, Mancini GBJ, Berman DS, Picard MH, Kwong RY, Ali ZA, Mark DB, Spertus JA, Krishnan MN, Elghamaz A, Moorthy N, Hueb WA, Demkow M, Mavromatis K, BockeriaO, Peteiro J, Miller TD, Szwed H, Doerr R, Keltai M, Selvanayagam JB, Steg PG,Held C, Kohsaka S, Mavromichalis S, Kirby R, Jeffries NO, Harrell FE Jr, RockholdFW, Broderick S, Ferguson TB Jr, Williams DO, Harrington RA, Stone GW, Rosenberg Y; ISCHEMIA Research Group. Initial Invasive or Conservative Strategy for Stable Coronary Disease. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382(15):1395-1407.

3. Spertus JA, Jones PG, Maron DJ, Mark DB, O'Brien SM, Fleg JL, Reynolds HR, Stone GW, Sidhu MS, Chaitman BR, Chertow GM, Hochman JS, Bangalore S; ISCHEMIA-CKD Research Group. Health Status after Invasive or Conservative Care in Coronary and Advanced Kidney Disease. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 23;382(17):1619-1628.

4. Spertus JA, Jones PG, Maron DJ, O'Brien SM, Reynolds HR, Rosenberg Y, Stone GW, Harrell FE Jr, Boden WE, Weintraub WS, Baloch K, Mavromatis K, Diaz A, Gosselin G, Newman JD, Mavromichalis S, Alexander KP, Cohen DJ, Bangalore S, Hochman JS, Mark DB; ISCHEMIA Research Group. Health-Status Outcomes with Invasive or Conservative Care in Coronary Disease. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382(15):1408-1419.

5. Novel injectable bioartificial tissue facilitates targeted, less invasive, large-scale tissue restoration on the beating heart after myocardial injury. Kofidis T, Lebl DR, Martinez EC, Hoyt G, Tanaka M, Robbins RC. Circulation. 2005 Aug 30;112(9 Suppl):I173-7.

6. Stimulation of paracrine pathways with growth factors enhances embryonic stem cell engraftment and host-specific differentiation in the heart after ischemic myocardial injury. Kofidis T, de Bruin JL, Yamane T, Tanaka M, Lebl DR, Swijnenburg RJ, Weissman IL, Robbins RC. Circulation. 2005 May 17;111(19):2486-93.

7. An autologous platelet-rich plasma hydrogel compound restores left ventricular structure, function and ameliorates adverse remodeling in a minimally invasive large animal myocardial restoration model: a translational approach: Vu and Pal "Myocardial Repair: PRP, Hydrogel and Supplements". Vu TD, Pal SN, Ti LK, Martinez EC, Rufaihah AJ, Ling LH, Lee CN, Richards AM, Kofidis T. Biomaterials. 2015 Mar;45:27-35.

8. They are not stealthy in the heart: embryonic stem cells trigger cell infiltration, humoral and T-lymphocyte-based host immune response. Kofidis T, deBruin JL, Tanaka M, Zwierzchoniewska M, Weissman I, Fedoseyeva E, Haverich A, Robbins RC. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2005 Sep;28(3):461-6

9. Injectable bioartificial myocardial tissue for large-scale intramural cell transfer and functional recovery of injured heart muscle. Kofidis T, de Bruin JL, Hoyt G, Lebl DR, Tanaka M, Yamane T, Chang CP, Robbins RC. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004 Oct;128(4):571-8.

10. Establishment of a minimally invasive cardiac surgery programme in Singapore. Kofidis T, Chang GH, Lee CN. Singapore Med J. 2017 Oct;58(10):576-579.

For more of his publications, read here.

Professional Memberships

2023 – Singapore Cardiac Society – Chairman of Surgical Section
2021 – Asian Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (ASCVTS) – Chairman of the Educational Committee and Councilor
2021 – Singapore JCST Accreditation Program for Cardiothoracic Surgery – Chairman
2021 – Singapore Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) - Member
2020 – Cape Town University Heart Institute – Board Member
2016 – Ministry of Health Cardiovascular Disease Research Group
2015 – Journal of the Heart and Lung Transplantation – Editorial Team
2015 – American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) in SE Asia – Fellow
2015 – Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh – Fellow
2014 – National Medical Research Council, Singapore – Appointed Reviewer
2014 – The Swiss Healthcare Concierge – Official Surgeon, Asia
2013 – Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Asia – Member, Organising Committee
2012 – Member of the Steering Committee of the World Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Representative for Far East
2008 – Hellenic Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery – Member
2007 – Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals – Editorial Board
2007 – Asian Society for Cardiac, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery (ASCVTS) – Member, Scientific, Organising Committee
2006 – Cardiothoracic Surgery Network – Member
2006 – Society of Thoracic Surgeons – Member
2006 – International Society of Minimal Invasive Cardiac Surgery – Member, Reviewer, Scientific Abstract Committee
2003 – International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation – Member, Reviewer, Organising Co-Chair
2002 – American Heart Association – Scientific Councils, Reviewer, Abstract Grader, Premium Professional Member
2001 – European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery – Reviewer, Member
2000 – German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Member

Best viewed with IE 11, Chrome 79.0, Firefox 61.0, Safari 11

2022/04/22