Message from the Division Chief

Welcome to the UC Irvine Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery and Islet Cell Transplantation. Our team of professionals is dedicated to diagnosing and treating a broad spectrum of liver and pancreas diseases, most notably cancer.

We are honored to have the opportunity to provide effective treatment to patients with painful and often difficult-to-treat diseases, and continue to look for better therapies through our basic and clinical research.

When liver and pancreatic cancers are diagnosed, we evaluate all available options. As surgeons, our goal is to remove the entire tumor. However we realize surgery may sometimes not be appropriate. Therefore, we take a multidisciplinary approach, working with our fellow oncologists, radiologists and gastroenterologists, to assess other treatment modalities, which may include less-invasive therapies such as chemotherapy or radiation.

In addition to providing aggressive treatments for cancer, we are in the beginning stages of recruiting patients for our Phase 1 trial studying islet cell transplantation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. We have an expert team in place and expect to open the study in late 2009.

The reputation of our expertise in the management of patients with liver and pancreatic cancers brings patients from all over the west coast. They are evaluated and treated at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center — a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.

While the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancer has advanced over the last several years, there is still much to be learned. Through our research and involvement with clinical trials, we are committed to providing the most advanced care to patients while also training tomorrow’s surgeons, so we may one day offer a cure to those patients with complex cancers.

Welcome to the UC Irvine Department of Surgery's Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery and Islet Cell Transplantation. Our team of professionals is dedicated to diagnosing and treating a broad spectrum of liver and pancreas diseases, most notably cancer. We are honored to have the opportunity to provide effective treatment to patients with painful and often difficult-to-treat diseases, and continue to look for better therapies through our basic and clinical research.