Department of Surgery

John Morris Jr., MD. (photo by Susan Urmy)
April 18, 2025

Veteran Emergency Operations leader John Morris Jr. to pass torch to Tucker Anderson, Michael Smith

Anderson and Smith have been named co-medical directors and will succeed Morris, who is stepping down from the role after over a decade of leadership.

By Evan Dorian
April 14, 2025

Kenneth Jacobs remembered for long career supporting surgical resident training 

The J. Kenneth Jacobs Fellowship in Surgery was established in Dr. Jacobs’ honor to support surgical residents during their laboratory years.

By Jill Clendening
April 4, 2025

Study details genetic architecture of congenital diarrheal disorders in infants

The findings represent a significant advance toward development of more effective, targeted therapies for congenital diarrhea and enteropathies

By Bill Snyder
April 3, 2025

Tennessee’s first successful kidney transplant using new organ preservation technology performed at Vanderbilt University Hospital

The advanced preservation technology for kidney transplantation is designed to expand the donor pool.

By VUMC News and Communications
Jimmy Roberts, left, suffered a traumatic brain injury that dramatically altered his life. Now, his wife Amy Roberts, standing beside him, is serving on a new advisory group to help guide scientific investigations — the LIved experience advisory board for Brain injury ReseArch or LIBRA.
April 1, 2025

Advisory board formed to guide research, care for individuals with brain dysfunction

The board is a partnership between the Brain Injury Association of Tennessee and VUMC’s Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship Center.

By Jill Clendening
Former Vanderbilt University Hospital patients who had long recoveries at the Nashville medical facility reconnect with the care teams who helped them regain their health. (photo by Susan Urmy)
March 12, 2025

Great Saves event reunites medical teams with grateful former patients and families

Former patients who recovered from serious illness and life-preserving surgeries in the SICU returned for a “Great Saves” event to share health updates and their gratitude with the people they credit with saving their lives.

By Jill Clendening
March 11, 2025

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers to lead AI-powered cancer workshop at AACR 2025 

VUMC's session will provide a deep dive into how AI-driven 3D spatial molecular and multimodal approaches are transforming the landscape of oncology research.
March 7, 2025

Vanderbilt Health hosts intensive trauma course for military medical personnel

The course provides training for military medical personnel working in deployed environments, military treatment facilities, and Level 1 trauma treatment facilities.
By Jill Clendening
March 4, 2025

Rare pancreas diagnosis, rare treatment: Surgeons perform robotic Whipple procedure for pediatric patient

The milestone surgery resulted from collaboration and exemplifies a generational shift taking place in pediatric surgery.
By Jessica Pasley
January 17, 2025

Vanderbilt University Hospital reverified as Level 1 adult trauma center

Trauma patients come to VUH from a region covering 80,000 square miles, and approximately 9,400 acute trauma patients are treated at the hospital annually.
By Jill Clendening
January 16, 2025

Kidney transplant leader Robert Richie is mourned

He helped build one of the leading kidney transplant programs in the country, both in terms of the number of transplants performed annually, and in long-term organ function and patient survival rates.
By Wayne Wood and Bill Snyder
January 16, 2025

VUMC to launch Molecular AI initiative to spur precision medicine, transplantation

The leader of the new initiative, Tae Hyun Hwang, PhD, will work to apply AI and other revolutionary technologies, including advanced molecular imaging techniques, to clinical practice.
By Bill Snyder
January 10, 2025

Novel procedure involves liver transplant, major abdominal surgery

Reginald Porter of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, received the procedure in September after being diagnosed at an area hospital in February with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer that develops in the bile ducts.
By Matt Batcheldor