University of Chicago Medicine snares top transplant surgeon

University of Chicago Medicine has recruited an internationally renowned surgeon to elevate and expand its organ-transplant program.

Dr. John Fung, formerly head of general surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and a 1982 graduate of the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, is returning to his roots in medicine to become director of UC's newly created Transplantation Institute.

Fung, 60, has more than 30 years of experience in kidney, liver, pancreas, islet and intestinal transplantation. He earned a Ph.D. in immunology from UC, was a transplant surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and has published more than 1,000 articles and book chapters.

“I want to build a top-notch program, not only clinically, but research- and teaching-wise, the traditional hallmarks of academic medicine,” Fung said in an interview from New Zealand, where he was celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary. “I see some innovations I could bring from my time in Pittsburgh and my time in Cleveland that could benefit Chicago and the region. It's not a reboot. We're going to add critical mass.”

The transplant programs Fung developed at the Cleveland Clinic are highly regarded, said Dr. Jeffrey Matthews, chairman of UC's department of surgery. “We'd like to see the same, and build on that success at the University of Chicago," he said.

“Transplantation is one of the most important and growing areas in surgery, with many innovations on all sorts of organs,” Matthews said. “We feel it's important to be increasingly at the vanguard.”

In Illinois, UC Medicine is ranks fourth by volume of transplants. Other major transplant centers include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, Loyola University Medical Center, Evanston Hospital, Advocate Christ Medical Center, University of Illinois Medical Center, and the Lurie Children's Hospital.

UC Medicine has a long history in transplantation going back to the early 1900s when its doctors performed the first human transplant. It also performed the first living-donor liver transplant in the world in 1989. Overall, it has done more 2,500 kidney transplants, 400 pancreas transplants, 1,600 liver transplants and 300 heart transplants.

In the year that ended June 30, the medical center performed 143 transplants, including 65 kidneys and 28 hearts.

There is no reputable national ranking of transplant programs by success rates.

UC now has 16 surgeons and specialty physicians on the transplant staff. Under the new initiative, medical staff and clinical support personnel are likely to increase, the hospital said.

Fung wants to introduce a new intestinal transplant program, one of the most challenging and difficult procedures to undertake. “The intestine is such an immunologically rich and reactive organ,” Matthews said. “I'm not aware of anybody having an active program."

Matthews also noted the increasing need for transplant services on the South Side. “We have disparities in access to transplantation and organ failure in underserved communities. We'd like to be able to increase our presence in that.”

Fung completed his medical residency at the University of Rochester and moved to Pittsburgh in 1989, where he performed many transplant operations. In 2004, he joined the Cleveland Clinic and became chair of general surgery, handling trauma and general surgery cases in addition to managing a heavy administrative load.

Coming to Chicago “gives me an opportunity to refocus on transplantation, which is what I really want to do,” Fung said.

"University of Chicago Medicine snares top transplant surgeon" originally appeared on the website of Crain's Chicago Business.