Gary Wayne Raff, M.D.

Specialties

Surgery - Thoracic

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Pediatric Surgery

Surgery - Cardiothoracic

Department

Surgery

Title

Co-Chair, Children's Hospital Multidisciplinary Continuous Quality Assurance Committee
Surgical Director, Pediatric Heart Center
Chief, Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor of Clinical Surgery

Reviews

To see if Gary Wayne Raff is accepting new patients, or for assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).

Location, Directions and Contact Info

Glassrock Building

2521 Stockton Blvd., Suite 3200
Sacramento, CA 95817
Driving Directions

Primary Phone:

Additional Phone Numbers

Clinic Phone: 916-734-3456
Clinic Phone: 916-734-2680
Clinic Fax: 916-734-0424
Physician Referrals: 800-4-UCDAVIS (800-482-3284)

Philosophy of Care

I provide the type of care for my patients that I expect to have for my own children. My goal is to treat patients in a safe and cost effective way that allows them to grow and thrive.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Raff is a senior pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon with over 20 years of experience. He has had special interest in treating patients with complex congenital heart disease, especially those with complex newborn lesions. Dr. Raff has also been active in developing self sustaining congenital heart surgery programs in other countries including in Russia and Mexico. Dr. Raff also has special expertise in chest wall anomalies and their treatments, both surgical and non-surgical.

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Raff has had an interest in factors that lead to pulmonary hypertension and the mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension in children with and without congenital heart disease. He has been actively involved in research in this area for almost 20 years. He has a special interest in unusual congenital heart condition and long term neurologic outcomes in patients after congenital heart surgery. Dr. Raff also is keenly interested in using strategies to reduce pain and limit narcotic use. He is a national expert on the use of cryoanalgesia therapy in the thorax.

Division

Cardiothoracic Surgery
Pediatric Surgery

Center/Program Affiliation

Cardiovascular Services
Pediatric Heart Center
UC Davis Children's Hospital

Education

M.D., Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA 1990

Leadership Development for Physician in Academic Health, Harvard University, New York NY 2018

Mid-Career Leadership Program, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento CA 2010

B.S., State University of New York, Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY 1985

Internship: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1990-1996

Residency

Thoracic Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1996-1998

Administrative Chief Resident in Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1992-1993

Administrative Chief Resident in Thoracic Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1997-1998

Fellowships

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery (Clinical and Research), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA 1998-2000

Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1995-1996

Research Fellow in Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark NJ 1992-1993

Board Certifications

American Board of Thoracic Surgery,

CA Medical Board, License,

Fluoroscopy: X-Ray Supervisor and Operator,

Professional Memberships

American Board of Thoracic Surgeons

American College of Cardiology

American College of Surgeons

American Medical Association

Northern California Chapter

Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society

Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Honors and Awards

Faculty Excellence in Medical Student Education, UC Davis Medical Center, 2020

Deans Excellence Award, UC Davis Medical Center, 2010

Winner 1994 Resident's Trauma Paper Competition (New Jersey Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons), 1994

Letter of Recognition, Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps., 1985

Service Citation, Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps., 1985

Dean's List - State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985

Select Recent Publications

Zhu T, Chiacchia S, Kameny RJ, Garcia De Herreros A, Gong W, Raff GW, Boehme JB, Maltepe E, Lasheras JC, Black SM, Datar SA, Fineman JR. Mechanical Forces Alter endothelin-1 Signaling: Comparative Ovine Models of Congenital Heart Disease. Pulm Circ. 2020 May 14;10(2):2045894020922118. doi:10.1177/2045894020922118. eCollection 2020 Apr-Jun. PMID:32489641.

Guenther TM, Sherazee EA, Wisneski AD, Gustafson JD, Wozniak CJ, Raff GW. Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery From the Pulmonary Artery: A Systematic Review. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Mar 7:S0003-4975(20)30352-0. doi:0.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.01.082. Online ahead of print. PMID:32156586.

Guenther T, Godoy L, Chen S, Yeh J, Raff G. Left Ventricle to Right Atrial Shunt Associated with Ventricular-Atrial Malalignment, Double Outlet Right Atrium, and Subaortic Membrane. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020 Spring;32(1):140-142. doi:10.1053/j.semtcvs.2019.09.004. Epub 2019 Sep 11. PMID:31520731.

Johnson Kameny R, Datar SA, Boehme JB, Morris C, Zhu T, Goudy BD, Johnson EG, Galambos C, Raff GW, Sun X, Wang T, Chiacchia SR, Lu Q, Black SM, Maltepe E, Fineman JR. Ovine Models of Congenital Heart Disease and the Consequences of Hemodynamic Alterations for Pulmonary Artery Remodeling. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2019 May;60(5):503-514. doi:10.1165/rcmb.2018-0305MA. PMID:30620615.

Morris CJ, Kamney RJ, Boehme J, Gong W, He Y, Zhu T, Maltepe E, Raff GW, Fineman JR, Datar SA. KFL2-mediated Disruption of PPARγ Signaling in Lymphatic Endothelial Cells Exposed to Chronically Increased Pulmonary Lymph Flow. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2018 Jul 1;315(1):H173-H181. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00635.2017. Epub 2018 Apr 6. PMID:29631374.

Kameny RJ, He Y, Zhu T, Gong W, Raff GW, Chapin CJ, Datar SA, Boehme J, Hata A, Fineman JR. Analysis of the microRNA signature driving adaptive right ventricular hypertrophy in an ovine model of congenital heart disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2018 Jun 15. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00057.2018. Epub ahead of print. PMID:29906222.

Kabagambe SK, Goodman LF, Chen YJ, Keller BA, Becker JC, Raff GW, Stark RA, Stephenson JT, Rahm A, Farmer DL, Hirose S. Subcutaneous local anesthetic infusion could eliminate use of epidural analgesia after the Nuss procedure. Pain Manag. 2018 Jan;8(1):9-13. doi:10.2217/pmt-2017-0042. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PMID:29210330.

Graves CE, Hirose S, Raff GW, Iqbal CW, Imamura-Ching J, Christensen D, Fechter R, Kwiat D, Harrison MR. Magnetic Mini-Mover Procedure for pectus excavatum IV: FDA sponsored multicenter trial. J Pediatr Surg. 2017 Jun;52(6):913-919. doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2017.03.009. Epub 2017 Mar 15. PMID:28342579.

Perry P, David E, Atkins B, Raff G. Novel application of a percutaneous left ventricular assist device as a bridge to transplant in a paediatric patient with severe heart failure due to viral myocarditis. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2017 Mar 1;24(3):474-476. doi:10.1093/icvts/ivw387.

Keller BA, Kabagambe SK, Becker JC, Chen YJ, Goodman LF, Clark-Wronski JM, Furukawa K, Stark RA, Rahm AL, Hirose S, Raff GW. Intercostal nerve cryoablation versus thoracic epidural catheters for postoperative analgesia following pectus excavatum repair: Preliminary outcomes in twenty-six cryoablation patients. J Pediatr Surg. 2016 Dec;51(12):2033-2038. doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2016.09.034. Epub 2016 Sep 28. PMID:27745867.