Leonard Octavius Barrett, MD, FACS

Westbury, NY — Leonard Octavius Barrett, MD, FACS, is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as an Exceptional Healthcare Professional for his professional excellence as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center.

With nearly 40 years of experience in medicine, Dr Barrett is a respected cardiothoracic surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) in East Meadow, NY, where he currently serves as Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Director of Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Barrett provides routine cardiothoracic surgery and focuses on trauma to the heart from stabbings and gunshot wounds. He specializes in all chest traumas, mediastinoscopy, pulmonary decortication, lung resection, VATS, mediastinal tumors, pericardial windows, Swan Ganz catheters, central venous lines, dialysis catheters, and surgical critical care. As the Director of Critical Care Surgery, he also oversees the ICU for two weeks per month

Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax. Cardiothoracic surgeons are medical doctors who specialize in surgical procedures inside the thorax which may involve the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other organs in the chest. Alongside performing surgery they also diagnose and treat diseases of these organs.

NUMC is a 530-bed tertiary-care teaching hospital that has been the primary source of medical care for millions of Nassau County residents since 1935. It is also the heart of NuHealth, a Long Island-based health system committed to delivering coordinated medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life.

After serving in the Vietnam era and receiving an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps, Dr. Barrett graduated from Iona College in New Rochelle with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry. He earned his medical degree from SUNY Downstate Health Science Center in 1983 and completed his residency in general surgery in 1989 at SUNY Stony Brook, where he remained an additional year to complete a fellowship in surgical critical care. He undertook additional fellowship training in cardiothoracic medicine completed at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY. Finally, he completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center.

In 1993 he began his assignment at NUMC as a thoracic surgery attending physician and as a Director of Surgical Critical Care. Due to his outstanding performance, he was appointed as Chief of Thoracic Surgery in 1995. Additionally, he served as acting medical director for the Nassau Health Care Corporation from 2003 to 2005.

Recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), the doctor is board-certified in thoracic and cardiac surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, an American surgical organization devoted to surgery of the chest. He is also board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care by the American Board of Surgery (ABS).

On a professional level, Dr. Barrett is an active member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of General Surgeons, the American Society of Thoracic Surgery, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Biographical Institute; Deputy Director for the International Biographical Institute in Cambridge, UK; and included in the American Registry of Outstanding Professionals.

As a testament to his success, Dr. Barrett has received numerous awards, including multiple Teacher of the Year awards by the surgical residents, the American Medal of Honor, and the American Biographical Institute and Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently, he received first prize in the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinic Day poster presentation. He has also been included in Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors for the last 10 years and has been the recipient of the Recognition of Lifetime Achievements from the International Biographical Center in England, the Gage Award from the National Association of Public Hospitals, named one of America’s Top Surgeons in Consumers Research Council of America, and named as America’s Top Doctor in U.S. News and World Report.

Outside of his primary roles, Dr. Barrett is a Quality Improvement Contributor to the National Trauma Database (National Standards), and President and CEO of the Louise Grant Holding Corporation, providing urban renewal and low-cost housing in the Bronx. The doctor also teaches surgery to medical students and surgical residents.

On a personal note, Dr. Barrett currently resides in Westbury, NY.

In light of this recognition, Dr. Barrett wishes to acknowledge his colleague, George Angus, MD, FACS, Chief of General Surgery at Nassau University Medical Center, and his mentor, Harry Soroff, MD, FACS.

For more information, visit www.www.numc.edu.