<P> Burke made his final appearance in the third season, leaving Seattle in the aftermath of his failed wedding . On June 7, 2007, ABC announced it had decided not to renew Washington's contract, and that he would be dropped from the show after an on - set incident with fellow cast members T.R. Knight and Patrick Dempsey . </P> <P> While mentioned in passing throughout later seasons, Burke officially returns in the tenth season in order to conclude Cristina Yang's departure from the series . </P> <P> Preston Burke is the former chief cardiothoracic surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital . He completed his pre-medical studies at Tulane University where he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi, and went on to graduate first in his class from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine . While in college, he met Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), who graduated in second place after him, beginning a rivalry between them . He was once the interim chief of surgery while Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr .) was healing from his brain surgery . In season 1 it is revealed that Richard had promised him the position but instead enticed his former student, renowned neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), to Seattle as he felt Burke was becoming arrogant and needed competition to keep him on his toes . He began a relationship with intern Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) but broke it off because he feared it would ruin both of their reputations . Her miscarriage brought them back together . He and Cristina lived together in his perfectly kept apartment . </P> <P> Towards the end of the second season, he was shot, which affected his control of his right - hand . His temporary fix to this possibly long - term problem was to work together with Cristina during every one of his surgeries so that she could take over in case he might have trouble with his hand . The arrangement fell apart after Cristina, reacting to growing stress after George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) caught onto their secret, went to the Chief and confessed everything . Initially, he was engaged in a cold war with Cristina, where neither of them spoke . However, after she broke the silence, he proposed to her and she accepted his proposal . Before their secret was revealed, Burke was to become the next Chief of Surgery, but he had to compete with his fellow attendings for the position . He has since recovered from the injury, after Derek operated on him . For the remainder of the season, Preston and Cristina prepared for the wedding and experienced normal stresses that result from such a process, such as meeting each other's parents . </P>

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