Joseph Chirichella, President and CEO of Deborah Heart and Lung Center, announces that Charles M. Geller, MD, has joined the hospital’s medical staff and will serve as Chair, Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Geller previously worked at Crozer Health in Delaware County, Pennsylvania where he served as Associate Chairman of Surgery and system Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery since 2014. Dr. Geller is a highly-experienced surgeon, having completed over 5,000 open heart surgery cases over the course of his career. In addition to bringing his surgical skills to Deborah, Dr. Geller will add to Deborah’s medical leadership with his focus on continued improvements in surgical quality through process improvement.
Prior to his employment in Pennsylvania, Dr. Geller practiced in Manhattan at Lenox Hill Hospital and Mount Sinai Beth Israel where he was Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care Unit.

Dr. Geller graduated summa cum laude with his BA and MD degrees from the six-year medical education program at Boston University School of Medicine; completed a general surgical residency at Westchester Medical Center – New York Medical College; and a cardiothoracic surgery residency at Montefiore Medical Center – Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Geller is board-certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, and the American College of Chest Physicians. He is also a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, where he participates in their workforce on critical care; Society of Critical Care Medicine, American Heart Association, Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgery Society, New York Society of Thoracic Surgery and Delaware Valley Society of Thoracic Surgery.

An active researcher and educator as well as a clinician, Dr. Geller has co-authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications reported in journals such as Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and Journal of American College of Cardiology, and CHEST. He has delivered over 100 presentations at local, regional and national meetings and served as judge, program committee member and conference co-director at numerous cardiac surgery symposia. Dr. Geller currently serves as Clinical Professor of Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine and Clinical Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Surgery at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

A recipient of numerous awards and recognitions over the years, Dr. Geller has been selected as a Top Doctor five times by Castle Connolly, and numerous times by Philadelphia Magazine and Main Line Today magazine over the last eight years. He was named “Best Cardiothoracic Surgeon,” by the Delaware County Daily Times.

“We are excited to have Dr. Geller join our nationally-recognized surgical team” said Chirichella. “He brings a wealth of experience and a history of excellent patient outcomes. As one of the region’s preeminent cardiac surgery centers, Deborah maintains a high volume-high quality program, despite often accepting for care patients that other hospitals find too difficult to treat. Dr. Geller will make an excellent complement to our cardiothoracic surgery department and we look forward to the positive impact he will make.”

Dr. Geller added: “Deborah has a reputation of excellence in cardiovascular surgery. I look forward to joining the program and working with all of the Deborah physicians to advance the work of the hospital and open clinical opportunities for Deborah patients.”

For more information visit www.DemandDeborah.org.