The Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, part of NYU Langone’s Department of Surgery, is dedicated to a tripartite mission of providing world-class patient care, working at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation that directly impacts patients, and through education, extending our impact by teaching the next generation of surgeons in the benign and cancerous diseases of the pancreas, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, and ampulla. All of these endeavors are rooted in the guiding principles of excellence and philosophy of team over self.

Under the leadership of Christopher Wolfgang, MD, PhD, our division emphasizes and has developed an environment that supports academic development and the pursuit of excellence for each of our clinicians, researchers, educators, and trainees. We believe this to be key to our success as we aim to invent the future and set the world standard for pancreatic and hepatobiliary surgery clinical care, innovation, and teaching.

Within our division is an impressive cadre of faculty that includes internationally renowned luminaries in their fields. As part of NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, we have some of the most experienced pancreatic cancer surgeons in the world who have individually performed more than 1,200 Whipple procedures. Our surgeons are known for their unique and sought-after expertise in resecting so-called “unresectable” pancreatic cancers and have experience in minimally invasive procedures, including robotic-assisted and laparoscopic approaches, as well as traditional open surgery. We were among the first medical centers in New York City to use robotic-assisted surgical approaches for pancreatic surgery, and our mortality rate is among the lowest in the world.

To further our mission of academic medicine, we strive for excellence in the clinical care of patients. We define excellence as having the No. 1 program in the country and providing care unmatched by any other institution in the world.

Our division also consists of faculty who are true surgeon–scientists—a rare combination in medicine—as well as prolific researchers with current National Institutes of Health grants, foundation funding, and numerous active clinical trials. We have one of the nation’s largest research teams funded to study advances in pancreatic cancer. Our specialists are at the forefront of groundbreaking research, studying promising new treatments and pioneering methods that will significantly impact science and how we ultimately treat our patients.

The future of technology in our field requires surgeons to lead the creation of novel innovations; this is critical because of our clinical perspective and understanding of the real-world medical environment. Within the division, and throughout the Department of Surgery, our faculty are leaders in surgical innovation. We are inventors, start-up company co-founders, and patent recipients. We have fostered collaborative partnerships with industry and the broader medical–technical community.

While an individual surgeon can help only one patient at a time, they can extend their impact by training the next generation of physicians to take care of multitudes of patients—and to do it better.

The division has its own dedicated hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery service. Each year, we employ and train two general surgery residents, one in postgraduate year four (PGY-4) and one in postgraduate year two (PGY-2), who aid in day-to-day patient care and assist with most surgeries.

In addition, one or two NYU Grossman School of Medicine students and visiting medical students from other institutions fulfill a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery rotation as part of their Surgical Core Clerkship and the General Surgery Subinternship Elective.

We believe in the core values of excellence, integrity, collegiality, inclusivity, and accountability. Our leadership aims to serve as a compass that shows direction on a daily basis and lead by example in demonstrating the engagement required in the endeavor for excellence in our mission. They strive to be thought leaders who mentor faculty, trainees, students, and staff. The culture of our division is safe, supportive, and inclusive, and fosters the development of academic careers and future leaders in surgery.

We invite you to learn more about the many programs and faculty that comprise the Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, and how our physicians work every day to embody excellence.