Richard J. Kaplon, MD

Richard Kaplon, MD is a board-certified cardiac surgeon with more than 25 years of experience. He started his career in academia as the Director of the Artificial Heart Program at the University of Miami. He then spent 20 years in California as part of the busiest private practice cardiac surgery program in the state, serving as Chairman of the Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery for his institution. Dr. Kaplon was one of two surgeons, out of the 276 practicing heart surgeons in California, to be recognized as having the best overall outcomes in the state. Dr. Kaplon trained at Cleveland Clinic in minimally invasive valve surgery and at Columbia-Presbyterian in mechanical circulatory support. This experience has allowed Dr. Kaplon to focus on these areas of expertise. He returns to the East Coast as the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Danbury Hospital, bringing the same excellence and quality patient care that he has maintained throughout his career.

Why should someone choose you to care for their health? 
My care philosophy is simple – I treat each patient as if they are my family. I recognize the awesome trust that patients place in my care, and I strive to treat each patient as an individual with respect, dignity and humanity.

What is the most important thing your patients should expect from their professional relationship with you? What do you expect from them?
The most important things that patients can expect of me are absolute candor, honesty and dedication. I expect of my patients exactly what I expect of myself – that we will work through the clinical challenges together with compassion and dedication.

How do you spend your valuable personal time when you’re not caring for patients?
When not in the hospital, my priority is time with my family. We all love to travel, cook, bike and spend time with our dogs.

Why did you choose your specialty and what is its greatest reward?
Some kids want to be firemen or presidents, but I always wanted to be a doctor. However, while in medical school, I was also doing a PhD in Philosophy and nearly left medicine for academia. But from the first time I walked into a cardiac operating room, I fell completely in love with heart surgery and have never looked back.