Dr. Salazar was born in San Francisco, California. Dr. Salazar is Professor and Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He is board certified in Thoracic and Congenital Cardiac Surgery. After receiving a BS in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dr. Salazar received his MD at the School of Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Salazar trained in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He subsequently spent a year of sub-specialized training in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the University of California in San Francisco before joining the faculty at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio as Director and became Chief of Congenital Heart Surgery. Dr. Salazar was then recruited to Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. He was then recruited to be the Chief of the Division of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. In 2013 he became the Division Chief for both adult and pediatric cardiac surgery. Dr. Salazar was then recruited to Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, were he specialized in complex congenital heart surgery and the development of international heart programs.
Dr. Salazar’s area of clinical expertise is to offer solutions for the most challenging heart defects. He specializes in the care of:
- Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) and other Complex Single Ventricle Patients
- Heterotaxy Syndrome patients
- Aortic Arch Reconstruction and Coarctation Repairs without Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest
- Biventricular Conversions and Repairs for Single Ventricle Patients
- Pulmonary Vein Stenosis (PVS) and Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connections (TAPVC)
- Neonatal complete repairs of:
- Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
- Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD) including Muscular and Apical VSDs
- Pulmonary Atresia
- Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) including Taussig-Bing
- MAPCAS
- Truncus Arteriosus
- Transposition of the Great Arteries
- Anomalous Coronary Arteries including ALCAPA, ARCAPA and AAOCA
- Shone’s, Williams, and DiGeorge patients
- Valve-sparing Aortic root surgery
- Aortic Surgery for Connective Tissue Disorders such as Marfan, Loey-Dietz, and Ehler Danlos
- Sub Aortic Membrane and stenosis with aortic valve repair and resuscitation
- Mitral valve, Tricuspid valve, and Aortic valve repairs
- Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
- Adult Congenital Heart Surgery
- Heart Transplantation and Ventricular Assistance Devices (VAD)
National and International Referrals
Dr. Salazar receives referrals and second-opinion requests from patients and families all over the world seeking solutions for the most challenging congenital heart problems. He is committed to finding hope for all patients.
Care Philosophy
“I love what I do because my patients, especially children, have so much potential. They are our future and our most worthwhile investment. Being a parent myself, I always strive to deliver the very best outcome to my patients as I would for my own family, with the least amount of risk. I feel very fortunate that my work enables me to help the children and adults I care for overcome even the most challenging heart problems, and thus achieve their full potential.”