Charles Huddleston, MD
Cardiothoracic Surgeon
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Professor of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine
- Dr. Huddleston is a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and served in Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm
- He is a member of American College of Surgeons, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and American Association of Thoracic Surgeons
Notable Quotes
Dr. Huddleston on what he enjoys most about his role as cardiothoracic surgeon:
“I’d say the most rewarding part of my job is when I get either a Christmas card back years after I’ve taken care of a child or they come back to the office for some reason and I see that they’re now growing - they’re pretty much a normal child participating in all the activities that normal children participate in, going to school, playing sports, what have you.”
Dr. Huddleston on communicating with his young patients:
“What I learn from the Children that I take care of is that they’re smarter than we give them credit for, they know more about what’s going on than we appreciate so when I talk to them I talk to them as if they’re virtually an adult. They know what’s going on and they want things to be explained to them just as if we were explaining it to their parents”
Dr. Huddleston on the future of cardiothoracic surgery:
“There is a major push toward doing fewer operations and more procedures in a cardiac catheterization setting so that children can avoid the trauma of a major operation, particularly small babies. We are fortunate to have a very talented staff in pediatric cardiology that conduct the interventional cardiac catheterization procedures that will enable us to take those small steps in the future. One of those goals is to gradually reduce the importance of my job as a surgeon.”