Dr. Charles Wesley Whitten, MD

Charles Whitten, M.D., is Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern Medical Center. A native of Boonville, Mo., Dr. Whitten earned his medical degree from UT Southwestern after graduating magna cum laude from Southern Methodist University with a degree in electrical and biomedical engineering. His early inspirations to study medicine began with regular visits to a dentist in his native Missouri. The dentist had a wonderful bedside manner and treated the young Dr. Whitten and his father with the ultimate respect.

"In many ways, that dentist still influences what I look for in new faculty members: a common touch and a salt-of-the-earth foundation," says Dr. Whitten. "Its the small things that make a difference in your interactions with each patient when there is so little time to interact. I believe its important that we, as anesthesiologists, do as much as we can to develop a caring, trusting relationship with each person, so they know that they …are in good hands, even when they are asleep and have no control."

After graduation from medical school, Dr. Whitten chose Baylor University Medical Center for his internship, and, later, completed two fellowships in transplant surgery anesthesia at UT Southwestern. In between, he trained as a resident at Parkland Memorial Hospital. During that time, he became interested in the coagulopathies associated with liver transplants and the use of the thromboelastogram as a monitor for clotting problems. He continues his interest in coagulopathies and considers his most significant scientific contributions to be his studies of the coagulopathies in surgical and obstetrical patients and the effects of aprotinin and desmopressin. Dr. Whitten joined the faculty of UT Southwestern at the completion of his residency in 1988. He became the Chief of the Division of Anesthesia for Cardiovascular/Thoracic Surgery in 1993, then in 1996 became Director of the Division of Anesthesia at Parkland, the largest and busiest division in the Department. Since 1988 Dr. Whitten has served as senior research project advisor for undergraduate engineering students at SMU. Of the 17 students he has mentored, many have become medical doctors and a few have become anesthesiologists. He was the chief recruiting officer for UTSWs residency program from 1992 to 1998. On a national level, Dr. Whitten serves as an examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology. His research interests include perioperative inflammatory responses and perioperative hemostatic alterations, economic factors influencing academic anesthesiology.