Stephanie Fuller, MD

Stephanie Fuller, MD, is an attending surgeon in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She is board certified in general surgery, thoracic surgery and congenital cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Fuller performs the full range of reconstructive congenital operations, as well as cardiothoracic transplantation. She is the holder of the Thomas L. Spray, MD Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at CHOP.

In addition to her pediatric patients, Dr. Fuller also operates on adult patients at Penn Medicine’s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital (both in Philadelphia). She is on the staff of the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, a joint program of CHOP and Penn Medicine for adult survivors. “Survivors of congenital heart defects need follow-up care for the rest of their lives, and unfortunately, occasionally they need heart surgery,” she says. “It should be performed by someone who is expertly trained in congenital heart surgery and who knows the unique physiology of these patients.”

Like the entire Cardiac Center staff, Dr. Fuller is committed to lifelong care for survivors. “It’s a privilege to follow our patients through childhood and adolescence and into adulthood,” she says. “We’re here for the long haul for any of their needs. It’s very rewarding to see them thriving, having their own families and fulfilling dreams they never thought would be possible.”

Dr. Fuller lectures around the world and has published numerous articles in such journals as The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and The Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery. She has authored and co-authored chapters for textbooks for medical students and doctors.

Dr. Fuller earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, and then underwent nine years of training before she was appointed a surgeon at CHOP, including a residency in general surgery at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, and residencies in cardiothoracic surgery at George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia. She completed her training with a fellowship in congenital cardiothoracic surgery at CHOP.

Her research interests include neurodevelopmental outcomes and other quality of life outcomes after heart surgery; genetic factors in heart defects; and quality of life into adolescence and young adulthood in patients with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum.

Dr. Fuller earned a bachelor of arts in chemistry and French literature from Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Md., and a master of science in chemistry from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.