New surgeon leader for Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute plans major expansion

From its humble beginnings in 1987 in two small rooms tucked behind the Baptist Hospital Emergency Center to developing technologies and treatments that have changed the course of cardiovascular medicine worldwide, Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute is primed for its next move to expand and elevate cardiovascular services.

Spearheading the ambitious growth initiative is the Institute’s new leader, Tom C. Nguyen, M.D., FACS, FACC. In his role as chief medical executive and Barry T. Katzen Endowed Chair of Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, where he is also the director of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery, Dr. Nguyen plans to focus on research and innovation with patient-centered care at the Institute’s core.

Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, whose experts have pioneered many innovative and less invasive cardiovascular procedures, recently opened a new cardiovascular care office that includes a dedicated arrhythmia center, the first of its kind in South Florida and one of the few in the U.S. Building upon the Institute’s strong foundation, Dr. Nguyen will continue to strengthen teams that will enable the launch of other new programs such as robotic heart surgery.

“To best serve the needs of the community and make Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute the crown jewel of South Florida and beyond, we will be exploring new services and recruiting the best cardiothoracic surgeons and other specialists from around the world,” he says.

With a passion for minimally invasive surgery and for treating valvular heart disease, Dr. Nguyen has spent more than 20 years researching the mitral valve and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. He comes to South Florida from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he was chief of cardiothoracic surgery and the Charles Schwab Distinguished Professor of Surgery. While at UCSF, he transformed the cardiothoracic surgery program as co-director of its Heart and Vascular Center.

Growing up, Dr. Nguyen never imagined he’d be an internationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon. A political refugee whose family fled Vietnam when he was only 4, he believes life is about opportunities, second chances and paying it forward. His experience left him vowing to always fight for the underdog and the sickest of the sick, particularly when patients are told that they have no options left.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” he says. “When my dad and older sister and I came to Houston, we spoke no English. We were very poor and lived on rice, eggs and soy sauce,” he recalls.

His father, who was always his role model, had been in the military and was also an engineer in Vietnam. “In the U.S., he took whatever job he could find. He worked as a welder. He worked at a convenience store.”

One day while working at the store, Dr. Nguyen’s father was shot in the shoulder during a robbery. He survived and eventually established a large nonprofit organization that assists other immigrants, a job that Dr. Nguyen’s brother embraced when their father later died.

At a young age, Dr. Nguyen realized that their close-knit community cared deeply for each other. Neighborhood “nannies” stepped in to watch children while parents worked. Helping hands were never far away. From this, he became aware that his success was not his own doing but was the result of support systems, luck and many mentors.

Dr. Nguyen graduated from Rice University with honors in economics and then attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency at Stanford University, a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian and a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) fellowship at Emory University. As an innovative heart surgeon, he has performed many first-in-man operations.

“I had the chance to go back to Vietnam for the first time after I completed medical school,” he says. “One morning at the crack of dawn, I saw a young man working tirelessly on a shrimping boat. We were about the same age. I wasn’t stronger or smarter. I was just luckier.”

Because of its complexities and challenges, cardiac surgery was of particular interest to Dr. Nguyen. “I can zone out and get laser-focused,” he explains. “There are at least 100 critical steps in heart surgery with small margins of error. You need to be composed in the most chaotic environment. Everyone has a role, and every person is vital to the team. You can’t be duplicating efforts. If we work together as a team, we are unstoppable.”

He and his wife, interventional radiologist Gina Landinez, M.D., are the parents of two young girls. As someone who is keenly aware of women’s contributions to society, he is an active advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The stories of hardship and the obstacles overcome by many immigrants and marginalized people resonate with Dr. Nguyen and give him a special reason to appreciate the diversity of South Florida and that of his patients and their families.

“My experience shaped me as a doctor,” he says. “It’s a privilege and an honor to care for patients who have put all of their trust in you. When a patient comes back to me and says, ‘I’ve gone fishing again,’ or ‘Here’s a picture of me hiking,’ that is amazing. Getting them back to their families is magical.”