USF Health Department Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery

Halim Yammine, MD is a board-certified general and vascular surgeon with extensive training and leadership experience in academic medicine. He earned both his Bachelor’s degree and Medical Degree from the American University of Beirut, laying the foundation for a distinguished career in surgical care and research.

Dr. Yammine completed a two-year post-doctoral research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he contributed to cutting-edge vascular research. He went on to complete his General Surgery residency at Houston Methodist Hospital, followed by fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center, where he later joined the faculty.

During his tenure at Carolinas Medical Center, Dr. Yammine served as Associate Program Director for the Vascular Surgery Fellowship and Director of Research for the Division of Vascular Surgery and the Aortic Center. He is passionate about all aspects of vascular surgery, with a particular focus on aortic dissection and complex aortic repair.

Dr. Murray Shames is the Chair of the Department of Surgery and serves as Professor and Chief for the Division of Vascular Surgery at the USF Health Morsani School of Medicine. Dr. Shames received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and completed his surgery residency at the USF College of Medicine. He completed his training with a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Sydney and a vascular disease fellowship at the Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Shames has received the annual Tampa's Best Doctor award four times since 2017.

Charles S. Briggs, MD is a board-certified vascular surgeon who grew up in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary in 2003, followed by his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2008. Dr. Briggs completed his General Surgery internship and residency at Boston University Medical Center in 2013, and went on to pursue advanced fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, which he completed in 2015.

Upon finishing his fellowship, Dr. Briggs joined the faculty at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. His clinical expertise includes the management of peripheral artery disease, carotid artery disease, limb salvage, and aortic aneurysms. He is deeply committed to surgical quality, innovation, and efficiency, and continues to advance patient care through evidence-based practices and continuous improvement initiatives.

Dr. Jean Bismuth started his Vascular Surgery career in his hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark and has spent the last 17 years in Houston, Texas. Although he manages the full spectrum of vascular disease, his key clinical interests include aortic dissection, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and central venous pathology. He brings a collaborative approach of working across specialties in the cardiovascular space, innovations in cardiovascular care, and a strong research background, which has included funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Heart Association and the Society for Vascular Surgery among others.

K. Dean J. Arnaoutakis, MD, MBA is an Associate Professor of Surgery joining the USF Health Division of Vascular Surgery in January 2021. He was also appointed as Vice Chair of Clinical Research for the USF Department of Surgery as well as the Associate Director of the Aortic Center at Tampa General Hospital. Previously, Dr. Arnaoutakis served as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Associate Director of the Aortic Disease Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Dr. Arnaoutakis maintains a broad vascular surgery practice with a clinical focus in the endovascular treatment of aortic aneurysms and dissections using fenestrated/branched endografts. He is the PI for several clinical device trials for the treatment of aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aortic pathology. His research interests relate to improving outcomes after complex endovascular procedures, namely stent-graft patency, spinal cord ischemia, renal failure, and predictive modeling of survival. In addition, he is studying the interaction between the intestinal microbiome in those with chronic mesenteric ischemia.

Dr. Arnaoutakis is originally from the Tampa Bay area. He earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York City and his medical and business administration degrees from Cornell University. He completed his general surgery residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Subsequently, he completed fellowships in vascular surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard University in Boston and complex endovascular aortic surgery at Hôpital Cardiologique in Lille, France.