David Bichell, MD, has stepped down as chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and co-director of the Pediatric Heart Institute at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Bichell led the pediatric heart program since 2006 before stepping down Oct. 7 and will continue to see patients and perform his surgical duties, according to an Oct. 15 news release from VUMC.
Carlos Mery, MD, is stepping into the role, having previously served as associate chief of pediatric and congenital cardiothoracic surgery at Austin-based Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease.
VUMC's pediatric heart transplant program was ranked eighth in the U.S. for pediatric heart transplant center volumes in 2023 under Dr. Bichell's leadership, the release said.