Dr. Sanjay Samy, professor of surgery, is the Alley Sheridan Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon board certified in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Samy specializes in adult cardiac surgery, including coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary heart disease; minimally invasive aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement; aortic repair for aneurysms and dissections; and surgery for atrial fibrillation. With additional training in interventional cardiology, Dr. Samy utilizes both surgical and non-surgical catheter-based therapies to treat heart disease.

Dr. Samy oversees the division's history of providing the latest surgical and minimally invasive techniques to treat diseases of the chest, including extension of the robotic thoracic surgery program, diversification of the structural heart program and development of the mechanical cardiopulmonary support program. The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program has been critical during the Covid-19 pandemic for patients who have failed ventilator therapy.

Dr. Samy is most proud of the division's patient-centered approach to care.

Consistent with its mission, the division trains the next generation of cardiothoracic surgeons through the cardiothoracic surgery residency program, which Dr. Samy proudly calls the “crown jewel."

Dr. Samy joined Albany Medical Center in 2016 from Guthrie Clinic in Pennsylvania. He completed his residency in general surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC, fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Boston Medical Center and Childrens Hospital of Boston, and fellowship in interventional cardiology at the Guthrie Clinic. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University and completed his medical education at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is a member of the executive committee of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and serves on merit-based incentive payment panels for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as the American Medical Association’s resource based relative value committee.