Section of HPB-GI Surgery — About Us

The surgeons of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal (HPB-GI) Surgery Section at Washington University School of Medicine specialize in disorders of the liver, pancreas and GI tract.

Founded in 1992, the section has acquired a reputation as one of the highest-volume liver and pancreas surgery units in the United States.

Washington University HPB-GI surgeons care for patients with malignant and non-malignant conditions. They have an exemplary safety record even as they perform delicate and technically demanding procedures such as the intricate Whipple procedure – the major operation for pancreatic cancer.*

Although the section remains a high-volume center for open surgical procedures for conditions of the liver, pancreatic and biliary tract, its surgeons have greatly increased their volume of laparoscopic surgeries for these diseases – especially laparoscopic liver surgery.

HPB-GI surgeons also are at the forefront of research on new and improved therapies for pancreatic and liver cancer. As part of the Whipple procedure, surgeons in the section have pioneered a technique that has resulted in the lowest fistula rate reported in any large surgical series. The section also has demonstrated the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) in staging of patients with primary colorectal tumors that have spread to the liver. This helps determine the best course of treatment for these patients.

Please browse the website to learn more about our clinical, research and teaching endeavors.

*In the Whipple procedure, surgeons must remove the head of the pancreas, part of the stomach, a piece of the jejunum, lymph nodes near the pancreas, the duodenum, gallbladder and part of the common bile duct – all while working among some of the body’s most critical veins and arteries.