Thomas Bixler

Now retired, Dr. Thomas Bixler specialized in cardiac surgery through the Straight Surgical Program at The John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He spent more than six years at the institute, one of the finest in the country, completing an internship, a residency, and a fellowship before becoming a Cardiac Surgical Research Fellow. Dr. Thomas Bixler ultimately spent a year as the Resident Director of the Cardiac Surgical Research Lab, during which time he wrote a number of scientific papers and articles on cardiac metabolism, histology, and physiology. He focused his studies on techniques to protect the heart during surgery and presented his findings to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American Heart Association.

Once he finished his training, Dr. Thomas Bixler moved to Kansas and became a member of the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Though he started as Assistant Professor, he quickly progressed to Associate Professor and then Professor and Chairman of the department, earning tenure. During this period, Dr. Thomas Bixler continued his education and gained additional accreditations, including board certification in Surgery and Thoracic Surgery from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Notably, Dr. Bixler also established the first heart transplant program in Kansas. He also trained residents in open-heart surgery, and many of them went on to earn board certifications themselves.

Dr. Thomas Bixler left Kansas for Tallahassee, Florida, where he founded the Heart Surgery Center at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He also opened his own private practice, which he directed until 2010. In 2002, Dr. Bixler developed and directed the cardiothoracic program at the South George Medical Center.

Since retiring, Dr. Bixler spends his leisure time fishing and boating in his boat, Heart 2 Heart.