Message from the Division Chief

UC Irvine’s Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery is committed to providing exemplary patient care with the most advanced technologies and innovative treatments based on our extensive clinical research program.

We believe that many digestive disorders requiring surgical intervention are best treated with laparoscopic procedures, which involve keyhole incisions rather than a large open wound. Our skilled surgeons, who are adept at these minimally invasive surgical techniques, have demonstrated that our patients experience less post-operative pain, have a lower risk of infection, shorter hospital stays and a faster recovery.

Our award-winning faculty members are proven leaders in performing esophageal and gastric resection for cancer and weight loss surgery including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and the adjustable gastric banding. We also perform ventral and inguinal hernia repair, anti-reflux procedures, and more recently single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Our bariatric surgery program has been accredited as a Level Ia Bariatric Center by the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network.

Our team was the first in Southern California to perform single-incision laparoscopic surgery. Instead of making five and sometime seven keyhole incisions, we have developed techniques to perform common GI operations such as gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, cholecystectomy and appendectomy through one keyhole incision. 
It is also our mission to train the gastrointestinal surgeons of the future in these innovative techniques. We offer several educational training programs in advanced laparoscopy throughout the academic year to surgical residents and community surgeons.

We also have a robust research program that focuses on techniques and outcomes of minimally invasive operations such as esophagectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. We have a full-time research assistant and research resident who provide the framework for both clinical and outcomes research. In 2008 alone, our division published 21 scientific research papers or publications.

Our recent projects include:

• A prospective evaluation of laparoscopic and thoracoscopic esophagectomy
• A prospective randomized trial of laparoscopic gastric bypass vs. laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for treatment of morbid obesity
• A clinical trial of vagal nerve blocking as a treatment for morbid obesity

Our faculty members have received numerous honors for their innovation and leadership, including the Golden Scope Award from the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and a prestigious traveling fellowship.

Above all, we in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery are dedicated to providing the most comprehensive, advanced and compassionate care to our patients, to extending and enhancing their quality of life. We thank you for your interest in our program.