Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Inductee - Dr. David Theodoro
2013 Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Recipient
Dr. David Theodoro
David A. Theodoro, M.D. was born on November 7, 1960. He is a 1979 graduate of Festus High School and a 1984 graduate from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He earned his M.D. in 1988 from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Theodoro’s post-graduate studies included Washington University School of Medicine, and Barnes Hospital, where he was an intern and resident in General Surgery. During this time, he was involved in the research of computer-aided electro physiologic mapping and surgical correction of ventricular arrhythmias in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. At Washington University he was also a Plastic Surgery Resident where he researched biochemical properties of the galea aponeurotica in immediate scalp expansion and scare capsule formation on the biochemical properties of expanded skin. Dr. Theodoro was the Assistant Chief and Chief Resident in the Department of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also served as a Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota. He received his medical licensure from the State of Missouri in 2000.
Dr. Theodoro has received certifications from: Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Diplomat of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He is a member of the American Heart Association, the Society of Thoracic Surgery, and American College of Surgeons.
Awards Dr. Theodoro has received include: O.T. Clagett Travel Award in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery from the Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota; the Leonard J. Perloff Chief Resident Teaching Ward; and Top Ranking General Surgery Resident Teaching Award from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Surgery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also made numerous presentations and has been published regarding surgical treatments related to heart disease and cardiac operations. A highlight of his career is being one of twenty surgeons in the nation to use a robotic surgery technique which is a minimally invasive process for valvular heart surgery.
Presently, Dr. Theodoro is President of SSM Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Inc, where he leads the SSM Heart Institute, which includes 4-6 surgeons and 40 cardiologists. He is on staff at DePaul Hospital, St. Clare Health Center, St. Mary’s Health Center and St. Joseph’s Health Center. In his spare time he is an avid game bird hunter and raises German Shepard and Labrador dogs for competition.
Dr. Theodoro has been married to his wife Candis for 31 years and they have two children, Nicholas and Megan.