After his chief residency at Duke in 1984, he was selected to develop and head the new cardiac surgery program at the East Carolina University School of Medicine.
As of 2009[update], East Carolina Heart Institute was reported to have performed over 1,200 cardiac surgical, 3,000 interventional, and 5,000 diagnostic catheter-based procedures yearly.
Chitwood's research activities relate to myocardial preservation and angiogenesis, as well as endoscopic and robotic tele-manipulation in cardiac surgery.
He has been the principal investigator of the FDA robotic mitral valve trials that led to approval for this use in the United States.
He has written widely and lectured internationally on innovative techniques in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery.