Abdominal Transplant and Liver Surgery

Pictured: Mark Orloff, M.D.; Koji Tomiyama, M.D.; Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, M.D.; Karen Pineda-Solis, M.D.; Randeep Kashyap, M.D.; Amit Nair, M.D.

Faculty Listing:

Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, M.D., F.A.C.S.,

Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Abdominal Transplant and Liver Surgery

Mark Orloff, M.D., F.A.C.S.,

Professor of Surgery; Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Operations and Regional Development

Randeep S. Kashyap, M.D., F.A.C.S.,

Associate Professor of Surgery; Surgical Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program

Amit Nair, M.B.B.S., M.S., M.D.,

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Paritosh Prasad, M.D.,

Associate Professor of Surgery, Medicine and Pediatrics

Karen Pineda-Solis, M.D.,

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Koji Tomiyama, M.D.,

Associate Professor of Surgery; Surgical Director of Liver Transplant Program

As the world and our healthcare system were undergoing dramatic changes and battling the COVID-19 pandemic with limited resources, the UR Medicine Transplant Surgery Division was focused on ensuring that patients continued to have access to safe, life-saving transplant operations. Though we were more physically separated, our Division remained steadfastly committed to our shared values and maintained our team spirit. With the support of hospital leadership and the lab (for stat COVID testing), we performed 103 liver transplants, our highest total in over a decade. This was a year that demonstrated the critical need for collaboration among our multidisciplinary team including dedicated hepatology, nephrology, psychiatry, infectious disease and other medical staff members.

The program growth we have experienced over the past four years necessitated the addition of new faculty. We were joined by Dr. Amit Nair, who trained at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK followed by a transplant surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in September of 2020. Our sixth faculty member, Dr. Karen Pineda-Solis, joined the team in August of 2021. She is the first female transplant surgeon in the program’s history. Dr. Pineda-Solis completed training at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubiran”, National Autonomous University of Mexico followed by a multi-organ transplantation and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary fellowship at the University of Western, Ontario, Canada before finishing her training at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). As we continue to expand, we are adding other members to our multidisciplinary team and are thankful to have the Department of Surgery’s support in this endeavor. In October 2021, Dr. Koji Tomiyama was appointed to Associate Professor of Surgery and named Surgical Director of Liver Transplant Program. We are also pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Orloff is celebrating 30 years as a transplant surgeon at URMC.

Our Division has been an innovative and national leader in several areas of transplant care. For the past three years, our live donor liver transplant program for colorectal metastases has been caring for patients from across the country who are seeking this unique life-prolonging option. We are also a leader in the Northeast for robotic kidney transplant surgery for both living donors and recipients, under the direction of Dr. Randeep Kashyap. In addition, our educational activities, which are led by Dr. Koji Tomiyama, continue to be praised by our residents and medical students.

The ongoing, state-of-the-art advancements in our Division have led to several publications in high-impact factor, basic and clinical research journals, as well as international presentations. Plus, as Chair of the Department’s Diversity Committee, I remain dedicated to minimizing disparities in access to transplant surgery and care – the focus area of our research.

Under my leadership, our Division looks forward to continued expansion of transplant services to the patients of our region.

Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Abdominal Transplant and Liver Surgery