Michael Zhen-Yu Tong, MD

Michael Zhen-Yu Tong, MD, MBA, FRCSC, is Director of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support and a staff cardiac surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.

Specialty interests: Complex cardiac disease, Ventricular assist devices, Heart transplantation, Aortic surgery, Aortic root and valve sparing root operations, Complex valvular disease, Coronary artery disease including total arterial revascularization, Surgical cardiomyopathy, Complex redo operations, Minimally invasive cardiac operations, Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), Pulmonary embolism, Pericardial disease and Cardiac tumors.

Number of Procedures Performed: Cleveland Clinic performs more than 4,000 heart surgeries each year. Dr. Tong performs around 350 cardiac cases annually including over 25 heart transplants, 30 ventricular assist devices, 60 aortic operations, 30 pulmonary endarterectomies and over 100 redo operations

Success rates: As one of the nation's highest-volume cardiac surgical centers, Cleveland Clinic treats highly complex and critically ill patients, performing procedures that only a handful of surgeons across the country can do. You can view success rates for specific procedures at http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/about-heart-vascular-institute/treatment-outcomes.aspx

Education and Training: Dr. Tong received his doctorate in medicine from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served his residency in cardiac surgery at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, and was Chief Resident in his final year of training. During his residency he also completed a Master’s of Business Administration within the health sector stream at the Richard Ivey School of Business, London, Ontario. Dr. Tong completed his postdoctoral training as a Clinical Associate at Cleveland Clinic in surgical heart failure and aortic surgery. He was named to the Cleveland Clinic staff in 2014.

Publications and Speaking: Dr. Tong has authored or coauthored articles in peer-reviewed cardiovascular surgery journals and has coauthored a medical textbook with Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute surgeon Lars Svensson, MD, PhD. Dr. Tong has delivered numerous lectures and poster presentations at cardiovascular surgery conferences in the United States, Canada and internationally.

Dr. Tong is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: Cardiac Surgery. His other professional memberships include the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.

About Dr. Tong: I love cardiac surgery because of the tremendous positive impact I can make in the lives of patients. There is no greater personal joy and satisfaction than being able to help patients in their journey from crippling symptoms to health. I recognize that no two patients are alike and believe in delivering personalized care to each and every patient.

In addition to English, Dr. Tong is fluent in French and Mandarin Chinese.

Leisure Activities: In his leisure time he enjoys skiing, baseball, travel, golf and photography.