In 2014, The Lester & Sue Smith Foundation established the Lester and Sue Smith Endowed Chair in Surgery to permanently support a faculty member in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery who worked collaboratively with The Lung Institute. Today, Kenneth Liao, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, holds the chair and has been appointed to this prestigious position since he joined Baylor College of Medicine in 2019.
With the resources provided by this endowment, Dr. Liao has saved hundreds of patients’ lives by performing more than 600 robotic heart surgeries. He is one of only a small group of highly experienced robotic cardiac surgeons in the U.S. and the only cardiac surgeon in the Texas Medical Center using the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System to treat valve and coronary disease. His robotic cardiac surgery program is ranked among the best in the U.S. These truly pioneering advancements in heart surgery are flourishing at Baylor thanks to the Smith family and the Foundation’s generosity. We hope you enjoy this video featuring Dr. Liao and Department Chair Todd Rosengart, M.D., FACS, as they share exciting new updates with you and express their gratitude for your support.
