John R. Garrett, MD, FACS

John R. Garrett, MD, FACS, Chief of the Department of Cardiac Thoracic & Vascular Surgery, founded the Cardiac Surgery program at VHC Health in 1989. Dr. Garrett is board-certified and his special areas of interest include aortic dissections and aneurysms carotid endarterectomy, coronary artery bypass surgery, valve repair and replacement, minimally invasive thoracic surgery and minimally invasive (endovascular) aneurysm repair. He is certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners, FLEX and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

Dr. Garrett completed his Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Residency at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, where he trained under world-renowned surgeon Denton A. Cooley, MD. A pioneer in American heart surgery, Dr. Cooley performed the first successful heart transplant in the U.S. Dr. Garrett also served as Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. In addition, he has past faculty appointments at Auburn University and Georgetown University Medical Center.

Dr. Garrett is former Chairman of the Board of Directors at VHC Health and a former Chairman of the Hospital's Department of Surgery. He has also been a member of the Arlington Health Foundation Board of Directors and the Columbia Arlington Healthcare System, LLC Board of Governors. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Garrett is a member of the Cooley Hands Society, the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Arlington County Medical Society.

Dr. Garrett received his B.S. in Biology from Emory University in 1972, his M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Alabama in 1975, and his M.D. from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1979. He completed an Internship, Residency and Chief Residency in General Surgery at the University of Alabama Hospitals and Clinics in Birmingham, Alabama.