Dr. Leonard Octavius Barrett, MD, FACS

Expert Publications

• Delayed cardiac tamponade by iatrogenic aortic perforation with pacemaker implantation.
• A Case Report: Successful Management of an Aortic Saddle Embolism in a 28-Year-Old Female.
• Meta-analysis of antibiotics in tube thoracostomy.

Media Releases

Get to know Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Leonard O. Barrett, who serves patients in East Meadow, New York.

A seasoned cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Barrett is the Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Director of Surgical Critical Care at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC). He specializes in all chest traumas, mediastinoscopia, pulmonary decortication, lung resection, VATS, mediastinal tumors, pericardial windows, Swan Ganz catheters, central venous lines, dialysis catheters, and surgical critical care.

Nassau University Medical Center 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 an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps in 1974, Dr. Barrett entered and graduated 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 at SUNY Stony Brook in 1989, where he remained an additional year to complete a fellowship in surgical critical care. Finally, he completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the Beth Israel Medical Center.

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, which is an American surgical organization devoted to surgery of the chest.

To boot, he is board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care by the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge.

On a professional level, Dr. Barrett is an active member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of Thoracic Surgery, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

In 1993, he began his assignment at NUMC as a thoracic surgeon attending 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.

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.

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 ten years”, and has been the recipient of the Recognition of Lifetime Achievements from the International Biographical Center in England, Gage Award from the National Association of Public Hospitals, America’s Top Surgeons in Consumers Research Council of America, and America’s Top Doctor in US News and World Report.

On a more personal note, he currently resides in Westbury, New York.

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