In keeping with the Vanderbilt century-long tradition of excellence in patient care, our approach to treatment uses careful assessment and selection to offer our patients the best long-term results. We employ procedures that our research and clinical experience have proven reliable, and we aggressively seek improved outcomes for our patients by integrating effective new procedures.
The staff of the Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation Program participate in a comprehensive medical-surgical-radiologic hepatobiliary referral service emphasizing diagnosis and medical management, liver resection, chemoembolization, RF ablation, alcohol injection, portasystemic shunting, TIPS, laparoscopic procedures, biliary bypass and percutaneous stenting as treatment options to liver transplantation.
The Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation contributes to the General Surgery Residency Program through evaluation and management of patients with a variety of hepatobiliary disorders. Residents rotate on the service in the PGY 1, PGY 3, and PGY 4 years. The Division is organized with a commitment to improve clinical care of these complex patients, to further education in hepatobiliary anatomy and physiology, and to facilitate research in these areas. The clinical activities of the Division encompass close interaction with many other services including gastroenterology (hepatology), invasive radiology, general and oncologic surgery, other transplantation programs, immunology, and the Division of Surgical Research. Members of the faculty participate in cases at the Vanderbilt University Hospital and the VA Medical Center.
The liver transplantation program is part of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center which represents a major commitment to the expanding and important field of transplantation. There is close interaction with the heart, lung, bone marrow, kidney, and pancreas transplantation programs. The Division also participates in a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment program in hepatobiliary disease offered by the Vanderbilt Clinic. This multidisciplinary group evaluates patients to establish a diagnosis, assess the severity of disease, and develop a treatment plan.
Treatments offered include the following:
- endoscopic, invasive, radiologic, and surgical treatment of biliary tract disease
- portacaval shunting
- radiologic transjugular intrahepatic portacaval shunting
- chemoembolization
- liver resection
- liver transplantation
- treatment of chronic hepatitis with newer drugs