Stephanie Fuller, MD

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Stephanie Fuller, MD, is an attending surgeon in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Locations: Main Hospital
Phone: 215-590-4040

Background

Stephanie Fuller, MD, is an attending surgeon in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She is board certified in general surgery, thoracic surgery and congenital cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Fuller performs the full range of reconstructive congenital operations, as well as cardiothoracic transplantation. She is the holder of the Thomas L. Spray, MD Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at CHOP.

In addition to her pediatric patients, Dr. Fuller also operates on adult patients at Penn Medicine’s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital (both in Philadelphia). She is on the staff of the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, a joint program of CHOP and Penn Medicine for adult survivors. “Survivors of congenital heart defects need follow-up care for the rest of their lives, and unfortunately, occasionally they need heart surgery,” she says. “It should be performed by someone who is expertly trained in congenital heart surgery and who knows the unique physiology of these patients.”

Like the entire Cardiac Center staff, Dr. Fuller is committed to lifelong care for survivors. “It’s a privilege to follow our patients through childhood and adolescence and into adulthood,” she says. “We’re here for the long haul for any of their needs. It’s very rewarding to see them thriving, having their own families and fulfilling dreams they never thought would be possible.”

Dr. Fuller lectures around the world and has published numerous articles in such journals as The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and The Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery. She has authored and co-authored chapters for textbooks for medical students and doctors.

Dr. Fuller earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, and then underwent nine years of training before she was appointed a surgeon at CHOP, including a residency in general surgery at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, and residencies in cardiothoracic surgery at George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia. She completed her training with a fellowship in congenital cardiothoracic surgery at CHOP.

Her research interests include neurodevelopmental outcomes and other quality of life outcomes after heart surgery; genetic factors in heart defects; and quality of life into adolescence and young adulthood in patients with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum.

Dr. Fuller earned a bachelor of arts in chemistry and French literature from Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Md., and a master of science in chemistry from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.

Education and Training

Medical School

MD - Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA

Internship

General Surgery - Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA

Residency

Cardiothoracic Surgery - Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Fellowship

Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Board Certification

Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery – American Board of Thoracic Surgery

Titles and Academic Titles

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

Thomas L. Spray, MD Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

Surgical Director, Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center

Professor of Clinical Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Conditions Treated

Departments and Services

Publications

Papers

2020

Naim MY, Putt M, Abend NS, Mastropietro CW, Frank DU, Chen JM, Fuller S, Gangemi JJ, Gaynor JW, Heinan K, Licht DJ, Mascio CE, Massey S, Roeser ME, Smith CJ, Kimmel SE.  Development and Validation of a Seizure Prediction Model in Neonats Following Cardiac Surgery.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Jul 29 (Epub ahead of print.)

Outcomes for the Superior Cavopulmonary Connection in Children With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A 30-year Experience. Hunt ML, Ittenbach RF, Kaplinski K, Ravishankar C, Rychik J, Steven JM, Fuller SM, Nicolson SC, Spray TL, Gaynor JW, Mascio CE. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2020 Jun 23;ezaa117. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezaa117. Online ahead of print. Read more here.

2019

Zielonka B, Snarr BS, Liu MY, Zhang X, Mascio CE, Fuller S, Gaynor JW, Spray TL, Rychik J. Resource utilization for prenatally diagnosed single-ventricle cardiac defects: A Philadelphia fetus-to-Fontan cohort study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(11):e011284.

2010

Fuller S, Rajagopalan R, Jarvik GP, Gerdes M, Bernbaum J, Wernovsky G, et al. J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Paper for congenital heart surgery. Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest does not impair neurodevelopmental outcome in school-age children after infant cardiac surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2010 Dec;90(6):1985-94. Cited in PubMed; PMID 21095350.

Goldfarb SB, Gaynor JW, Fuller S, Kreindler J, Montenegro LM, Fynn-Thompson F, et al. Induction therapy with antithymocyte globulin before reperfusion. Ann Thorac Surg. 2010 Oct;90(4):1110-4; discussion 1114-5. Cited in PubMed; PMID 20868797.

2009

Fuller S, Spray TL. How I manage mitral stenosis in the neonate and infant. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Pediatr Card Surg Annu. 2009:87-93. Cited in Pub Med; PMID 19349020.

Fuller S, Nord AS, Gerdes M, Wernovsky G, Jarvik GP, Bernbaum J, et al. Predictors of impaired neurodevelopmental outcomes at one year of age after infant cardiac surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Jul;36(1)40-7. Epub 2009 Apr 25. Cited in PubMed; PMID 19394849.

Books

Chapters

2015

Srivastava A, Harrison M, Fuller S. Vascular Rings and Pulmonary Artery Slings. In: Sobol S, Lioy J, ed. Disorders of the Neonatal Airway. New York: Springer; 2015. p. 113-119.

 

Posters and Presentations

2020

Jegatheeswaran A, Cohen MS, Gaynor JW, Mascio CE, Spray TL, Fuller S.  Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a novel management strategy for interventricular septal hematoma following ventricular septal defect repair.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020;159(5):1936-40.

Wertz A, Fuller SM, Mascio C, Sobol SE, Jacobs IN, Javia L.  Slide tracheoplasty: predictors of outcomes and literature review.  Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2020;130.109814.

Ho DY, Katcoff H, Griffis HM, Mercer-Rosa L, Fuller SM, Cohen MS.  Left valvar morphology is associated with late regurgitation in atrioventricular canal defect,  Ann Thorac Surg. 2020;110(3):969-978

Fuller S, Vaporciyan A, Dearani JA, Stulak JM, Romano JC.  COVID-19 Disruption in Cardiothoracic Surgical training: An Opportunity to Enhance Education.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 June 1 ((Epub ahead of print).

Hunt ML, Ittenbach RF, Kaplinski M, Ravishankar C, Rychik J, Steven JM, Fuller SM, Nicolson SC, Spray TL, Gaynor JW, Mascio CE.  Outcomes for the superior cavopulmonary connection in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome: a 30-year experience.  Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2020 Jun 23. (Epub ahead of print.)

Naim MY, Putt M, Abend NS, Mastropietro CW, Frank DU, Chen JM, Fuller S, Gangemi JJ, Gaynor JW, Heinan K, Licht DJ, Mascio CE, Massey S, Roeser ME, Smith CJ, Kimmel SE.  Development and Validation of a Seizure Prediction Model in Neonats Following Cardiac Surgery.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Jul 29 (Epub ahead of print.)

2019

Forfia P, DiSouza B, Fuller S, Toyoda Y, Kim Y.  Use of selective pulmonary vasodilators to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension prior to successful surgical closure of atrial level shunts.  IJC Heart and Vasculature 2019.  Accepted for publication.

Deng LX, Gleason LP, Awh K, Khan AM, Drajpuch D, Fuller S, Goldberg LA, Mascio CE, Partington SL, Tobin L, Kovacs AH, Kim YY.  Too little too late?  Communication with patients with congenital heart disease about challenges of adult life.  Congenit Heart Dis 2019 May 4.  Epub ahead of print.

Gardner MM, Mercer-Rosa L, Faerber J, DiLorenzo MP, Bates KE, Stagg A, Natarajan SS, Szwast A, Fuller S, Mascio CE, Fleck D, Torowicz DL, Giglia TM, Rome JJ, Ravishankar C.  Association of a Home Monitoring Program with Interstage and Stage 2 Outcomes.  J Am Heart Assoc. 2019; 8(10):e010783. DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.118.010783.

Zielonka B, Snarr BS, Liu MUY, Zhang X, Mascio CE, Fuller S, Gaynor JW, Spray Tl, Rychik J.  Resource Utilization for Prenatally Diagnosed Single-Ventricle Cardiac Defects: A Philadelphia Fetus-to-Fontan Cohort Study.  J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8:e011284.

Mascio CE, Irons ML, Ittenbach RF, Gaynor JW, Fuller SM, Kaplinski M, Kennedy AT, Steven JM, Nicolson SC, Spray TL.  Thirty years and 1663 consecutive Norwood procedures: Has survival plateaued? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019;158:220-9.

Jegatheeswaran A, Devlin PJ, DeCampli WM, Wlke KF, Williams WG, Blackstone EH, Fuller S, Jacobs ML, Mussatto KA, Woods RK, McCrindle BW.  Longitudinal functional health status in young adults with repaired dextro-transposition of the great arteries: A Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society study.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019;S0022-5223(19)31610-1.

Milewski RK, Habertheuer A, Bavaria JE, Fuller S, Desai ND, Szeto WY, Korutla V, Vallavhajosyula P.  Selection of prosthetic aortic valve and root replacement in patients younger than 30 years.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  2019;157(2):714-725.

Gleason LP, Deng LX, Khan AM, Drajpuch D, Fuller S, Ludmir J, Mascio CE, Partington SL, Tobin L, Kim YY, Kovacs AH.  Psychological distress in adults with congenital heart disease: Focus beyond depression.  Cardiol Young. 2019;Jan 30:1-5. 

Kim YY, Awh K, Acker M, Atluri P, Bermudez C, Crespo M, Diamond JM, Drajpuch D, Forde-Mclean R, Fuller S, Goldberg L, Mazurek J, Mascio C, Menachem JN, Rame E, Ruckdeshel E, Tobin L, Ward J.  Pulmonary arterial hypertension in adults with systemic right ventricles referred for cardiac transplantation.  Clin Transplant. 2019;Feb 15 e13496. (Epub ahead of print)

Fuller S, Ramachandran A, Awh K, Faerber JA, Patel PA, Nicolson SC, O’Byrne ML, Mascio CE, Kim YY.  Comparison of Outcomes of Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Adult vs. Pediatric Hospitals: Institutional Influence.  Eur J Cardiothor Surg. 2019 Apr 8 (Epub ahead of print).

2018

Menachem JN, Birati EY, Zamani P, Owens AT, Atluri P, Bermudez CA, Drajpuch D, Fuller S, Kim YY, Mascio CE, Palanivel V, Rame JE, Wald J, Acker MA, Mazurek JA.  Pulmonary hypertension: Barrier or just a bump in the road in transplanting adults with congenital heart disease.  Congenit Heart Dis. 2018;13(4):492-498.

O’Connor MJ, Glatz AC, Rossano JW, Shaddy RE, Ryan R, Ravishankar C, Fuller S, Mascio CE, Gaynor JW, Lin KY.  Cumulative effector of preoperative risk factors on mortality after pediatric heart transplantation.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2018;106(2):561-566.

Stout KK, Daniels CJ, Aboulhosn JA, Bozkurt B, Broberg CS, Colman JM, Crumb SR, Dearani JA, Fuller S, Gurvitz M, Khairy P, Landzberg MJ, Saidi A, Valente AM, Van Hare GF.  2018 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Aug 10. Pii:S0735-1097(18)36845-1. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.08.1028.

Stout KK, Daniels CJ, Aboulhosn JA, Bozkurt B, Broberg CS, Colman JM, Crumb SR, Dearani JA, Fuller S, Gurvitz M, Khairy P, Landzberg MJ, Saidi A, Valente AM, Van Hare GF.  2018 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Aug 10. Pii:S0735-1097(18)36846-3. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.08.1029.

Achuff B, Elias MD, Ittenbach RF, Ravishankar C, Nicolson SC, Spray TL, Fuller S, Gaynor JW, O’Connor MJ.  Risk factors for mortality in paediatric cardiac ICU patients managed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.  Cardiol Young 2018; 29(1):1-8.

Editorial and Academic Positions

Editorial positions

Reviewer

2018-present, Manuscript Reviewer, Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal

Leadership and Memberships

National

2019-Present, American Association of Thoracic Surgery

2019-Present, AATS Education Committee Subgroup – Congenital

2019-Present, Congenital Heart Public Health Consortium (CHSS Representative)

2020-Present, Chair, Congenital Cardiac Fellowship, Thoracic Surgery Directors Association Executive Committee

Scientific Committees

2019-Present, Congenital Heart Public Health Consortium (CHSS Representative)

2020-Present, Chair, Congenital Cardiac Fellowship, Thoracic Surgery Directors Association Executive Committee