Chet Hammill

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. This includes benign and malignant disorders of the liver, biliary tree, pancreas, stomach, small intestine and retroperitoneum.

Founded in 1992, the section has acquired a reputation as one of the highest-volume liver, biliary 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.  They are also a leading center for the prevention and treatment of bile duct injuries.

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

Washington University HPB-GI surgeons also are at the forefront of research on new and improved therapies for HPB-GI disorders. They have active research laboratories, pre-clinical studies and clinical trials open for various disorders. With a robust research effort in the fields of tumor immunology and immunotherapy, cancer genetics and genomics, and novel therapeutics, the Washington University HPB-GI surgeons are well-poised to provide advanced care. Specifically, they have introduced new procedures for the surgical treatment of HPB cancers, including new procedures for tumors with major vascular involvement and tumors of the body and tail of the pancreas.