Charles Fraser, MD, surgeon-in-chief with Texas Children's Hospital and co-director of its heart program, will step down after 23 years with the institution and stop treating patients this spring, according to the Houston Chronicle.
News of Dr. Fraser's resignation from the Houston-based hospital took many by surprise, according to the Chronicle. A hospital news release said the surgeon is leaving to pursue new professional opportunities.
A Texas Children's spokesperson said the surgeon is on vacation this week and was unable to provide additional information about his future plans or what prompted his decision to step down from the heart program, which U.S. News & World Report ranked as No. 1 in the specialty of pediatric cardiology in 2017.
Dr. Fraser, 59, is widely seen as successor to elite Houston heart surgeons Michael DeBakey, MD, and Denton Cooley, MD, the latter of whom he was especially close to.
In the internal news release, Texas Children's President and CEO Mark A. Wallace said Dr. Fraser "helped build a leading transplant program and a state-of-the-art cardiovascular surgical program that has performed more than 16,000 congenital cardiac repairs."
The release also included a quote from Dr. Fraser, according to the Chronicle:
"I am extremely proud of the work I have been able to accomplish at Texas Children's with the help of talented physician, nursing and administrative colleagues. I am grateful to the patients and families who I have been permitted to serve and look forward to continuing to provide high-quality patient care in my next chapter."