Accepting new patients

Howard K. Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Accepting new patients

  • Professor and Head of Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, School of Medicine

Specialty

  • Cardiology
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery

Clinical focus

  • Aortic Surgery
  • Heart Surgery
  • Heart Transplant
  • Heart Valve

Locations and contact

I see patients at

About me

Dr. Howard Song is a professor of surgery and Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Song performs surgery for patients with all types of adult cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, heart failure and aortic aneurysms. He has special expertise in aortic and mitral valve repair and replacement, including minimally invasive and transcatheter approaches, as well as more complex procedures such as heart transplantation.

He is a strong patient advocate and believes in spending ample time with patients and their families to discuss the patient’s cardiovascular condition. He explains treatment options to help patients and families make the best choice for each patient.

He also does both clinical and basic science research on cardiovascular disease. His research focuses on biomedical and tissue engineering, genetically triggered thoracic aortic aneurysms and patient outcomes following cardiovascular surgery.

Dr. Song earned his M.D. at Stanford University. He completed a residency in surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta. He also earned a Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Languages spoken

  • English

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 1989, Yale University
    • M.D., 1994, Stanford University School of Medicine
    • Ph.D., 2001, University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Graduate Studies
  • Residency

    • General Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2001
  • Fellowship

    • Cardiothoracic Surgery, Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, Atlanta, GA, 2004
  • Certifications

    • American Board of Thoracic Surgery, 2005; recertified 2015
    • American Board of Surgery, 2002; recertified 2013

Memberships and associations:

  • American Association of Thoracic Surgery
  • Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Read faculty profile

Insurance

Before scheduling an appointment

  1. Check your network. If you have health insurance,  call your company to find out if the OHSU Health location or provider you plan to visit is part of your network.
  2. Ask what you will pay. Your insurance company can tell you what your costs are likely to be.

If you schedule an appointment and your health insurance does not include OHSU Health, you may have to pay more than if you go to a provider in your insurance network. 

Visit our billing and insurance page for more information.

Ratings and reviews

Overall: 4.9 out of 5 (138 Ratings, 44 Reviews)

The patient ratings score is an average of all responses to the question "How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends (on a scale of 0 to 10)" on our nationally-recognized NRC patient surveys.

  1. Very positive experience. Knowledgeable and willing to explain clearly.

  2. Great

  3. Not a bad thing to say. Excellent bed side manner and very attentive to issues

  4. Explained everything clearly, honestly and compassionately. Calm and comforting demeanor

  5. Everyone I dealt with was absolutely awesome!

  6. Dr. Song put me completely at ease about my surgery. His quiet confidence fed my confidence. He even scheduled me HIMSELF right then and there. Amazing.

  7. Very friendly, knowledgeable, helpful answered my questions couldn't have been better

  8. Very friendly and caring. Answered my questions appropriately.

  9. The PA and Dr. Song were nice, explained what needed to be done. Very likeable, both of them.

  10. VERY GOOD!

  11. Very in formative

  12. I felt very comfortable and confident!!

  13. Every person we dealt with was extremely competent

  14. They were in my eyes for me because of my personality very sweet and professional

  15. Very friiendly; knowledgeable .9

  16. Our experience was very good. We felt Dr Song answered all our questions.

  17. I was treated in warm, caring & efficient manner!

  18. Everyone I dealt with did a great job.

  19. They were very up front about my condition and what could or couldn't be done to help my condition.

  20. Very thorough explanation of my condition and course of treatment. Very reassuring.

  21. Despite the glitch in getting records of recent angiography done by Tx md on our end, Dr Song was able to develop an acceptable treatment plan with me.

  22. Profesional and informative

  23. Awesome

  24. Friendly, great ability to ensure all questions were answered and technical questions were completely explained.

  25. Explained my condition to me clearly.

  26. Great person

  27. Very impressed. Clinician and staff goal centered and made me feel important.

  28. They went over my upcoming procedure and answered my questions. I have very detailed paperwork about the procedure as well.

  29. We are very lucky to have OHSU in Oregon.

  30. Wonderful. Very patient in answering questions