News & Events

In a historic feat, UCSF Medical Center concludes the year with an unprecedented 95 lung transplants, a remarkable milestone for the medical community. The institution's outstanding achievements have solidified its position as a leader in lung transplantation, garnering recognition nationally and regionally.  For the second consecutive year, we are thrilled to announce that we have once again achieved the coveted #1 position in California and west coast and, additionally, the #1 position for UNOS region 5 & 6, encompassing 11 lung transplant centers in the western hemisphere.  On a [...]

It is our pleasure to announce this year's recipients of the annual Holly Smith Award for Exceptional Service to the School of Medicine. Please join me in congratulating the recipents from the Department of Surgery: Lucy Zumwinkle Kornblith, MD Kalpana Harish, MPH The award, which recognizes exceptional service to the School of Medicine, is the school's most prestigious honor, and provides an opportunity to celebrate our colleagues who embody the qualities and contributions exemplified by Holly Smith, MD, professor emeritus and former associate dean, who passed away in June [...]

We are pleased to announce that Johannes Kratz, MD has been selected as UCSF's first Medical Director of Robotic Surgery. Johannes has served as co-Director of the UCSF Health Robotic Executive committee from 2018-2022 and in 2022 became sole director of the same. Under his careful stewardship, robotic surgeries have grown year over year adding additional service lines and placing UCSF at the forefront of technological innovation in the use of robotic technology in surgery. Johannes has led the development of a robotics dashboard tracking both volume and key performance indicators important [...]

Each year INTERLINK identifies the nation's top-performing transplant programs through our Performance Model Program. Their analytical approach has identified University of California SanFrancisco Medical Center as INTERLINK's #1 performing program for lung transplantation in their Programs of Excellence network. In recognition of this outstanding performance, INTERLINK is presenting them with the 2023 Chairman's Award for transplant excellence. Please join us in congratulating the UCSF Health, Lung Transplant program for their excellent performance!  

SOURCE: TODAY Dr. Amy Fiedler was finishing up a standard heart transplant surgery in December — putting the dressings on the patient and getting ready to transport her the intensive care unit — when she noticed something she'd never seen before. The room was entirely women. Behind all the surgical masks and gear, she saw the perfusionist (who runs the heart-lung machine), the nursing staff and even the patient were all female.  Dr. Charlene Blake, cardiac anesthesiologist, Fatou Gaye, Dr. Amy Fiedler, cardiac surgeon, and Ashley Risso, perfusionist, outside of UCSF. Courtesy [...]

UC San Francisco surgeons have performed the health system's 20,000th solid organ transplant, making it just the third in the nation to reach that milestone. The surgery also marked UCSF Health's first donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart transplant, a procedure performed by only about twenty health systems in the U.S. The milestone transplant occurred after a donated heart from the Southeastern U.S. became available for transplantation. UCSF Health's Organ Transplant Program is one of the largest and most highly regarded in the world. In 2022, UCSF ranked as the second-largest [...]

On National Women Physicians Day, the Muriel Steele Society and the UCSF Department of Surgery honor the amazing team of women surgeons, scientists, learners, and staff that have made so many important contributions to improving the lives of our patients. About the Muriel Steele Society at UCSF The Muriel Steele Society is an inclusive community dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and promoting women surgeons so they can thrive at all stages of their careers. We will be hosting events throughout the year to foster a strong community of allies and to achieve the goal of continued [...]

Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion UCSF and the Department and Surgery are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Chancellor Awards for Diversity Chancellor Awards for Diversity recognize the outstanding efforts of individuals who demonstrate a strong dedication to diversity. Individuals recognized are leaders and pioneers in their respective fields and to the communities in which they serve. We are proud [...]

The 2022 Bay Area Heart Walk is this Friday, September 16th at the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. UCSF has set a goal to have 150 walkers raising $50,000. Register here 2022 Bay Area CA Heart Walk: UCSF Medical Center - Heart Walk - American Heart Association. Join your our Advanced Heart Failure Comprehensive Center Team with Jason Smith, MD and Amy Fiedler, MD!

Andrew Wisneski, MD, recent General Surgery Residency graduate class of 2022 and first -year Thoracic Surgery Resident won the Lawrence W. Way Critical Thinking Award. The Lawrence W. Way Critical Thinking Award, chosen by faculty only, recognizes the chief resident who has demonstrated a notable ability to critically interpr et and apply current medical concepts to the care of each patient. The award is named in honor of Dr. Way, Professor Emeritus, and was established in 2013.

Melissa H. Coleman, MD accepted a new Medical Leadership position and is now the Director of UCSF Medicine's Clinical Immersive Experiences (CIEx).  CIExes are elective opportunities meant for career exploration or skills building in areas of clinical interest. Medical students will have six 2-week blocks during which they will participate in three to four 2-week CIExes. Committed to medical education, Dr. Coleman also serves as the associate program director for the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program and has won numerous teaching awards. Dr. Coleman is board certified in Thoracic Surgery [...]

Featured Video: "Day in the Life of a UCSF heart surgeon: Dr. Tom Nguyen"Follow along on a typical day with UCSF Medical Center cardiac surgeon Dr. Tom Nguyen who is the chief of the Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery, UCSF Department of Surgery. To learn more about Dr. Nguyen on UCSFHealth, visit: https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-tom-nguyenTo read Dr. Nguyen's bio on the Department of Surgery, click here.

Innovation Means Shorter Hospital Stays, Fewer Complications Cardiothoracic surgeons at UC San Francisco have performed the first robotically assisted mitral value surgery in San Francisco. The surgery was recently performed on a 63-year-old patient who had mitral valve prolapse. Mitral valve surgery is performed when the heart's mitral valve needs to be repaired. Traditionally, mitral valve surgery required opening the chest and putting the patient on heart-lung bypass to keep blood circulating during surgery. Since 2016, UCSF surgeons have been performing minimally invasive mitral valve [...]

Recording Break Month! In June, we've had our busiest month yet! Our Heart Transplant team performed six heart transplants beween June 1 and June 30! Give thanks and save Lives! Be an organ donor! Register here. 

Amy G. Fiedler, M.D., will be joining our faculty as a Cardiac Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Fiedler comes to UCSF from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where her clinical practice is focused in heart failure and transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. Dr. Fielder is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she received both her Bachelor of Science in Biology and her Master's degree in Microbiology and Immunology. For medical school, Dr. Fiedler attended The George Washington University and completed both her general [...]

Dr. Jason Smith, a native of San Francisco, has joined our department as a Professor of Clinical Surgery and as the Surgical Director of Heart Failure and Mechanical Circulatory Support. He is a cardiac surgeon with experience in ischemic and valvular heart disease, complex aortic surgery, endocarditis, and complex re-operative surgery. His primary career focus is on the surgical management of heart failure, cardiac transplant, and mechanical circulatory support.  In heart transplantation, Dr. Smith has been involved in increasing access to heart transplants through improving donor [...]

On Wednesday, April 13th, Dr. Kukreja and her team conducted our 1000th lung transplant. This is an enormous milestone and congratulations to Dr. Jasleen Kukreja and her team, the UCSF Lung Transplant program, and the UCSF Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery. Their relentless dedication, selfless contributions and unmatched patient care are only a few reasons that contribute to the achievement of this milestone. About the UCSF Lung Transplant Program The UCSF Lung Transplant Program is a true multi-disciplinary collaboration that includes surgeons, pulmonologists, nurses, pharmacists, [...]

The UCSF Lung Transplant Program provides comprehensive care for patients before and after lung transplantation. Since our founding in 1991, we have given more than 700 patients with advanced lung disease the chance at a longer, more active life. We perform about 50 transplants each year. Our program has established a reputation for accepting challenging, complex cases. Despite this, the survival rate for adults who receive a lung transplant at UCSF consistently exceeds the national average, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Outcomes data is available [...]

The first beating heart mitral valve repair on the West Coast was performed by Tom C. Nguyen, MD, chief of UC San Francisco's Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery, and his surgical team in September 2021. The HARPOON™ Beating Heart Mitral Valve Repair System was used for the procedure as part of the RESTORE clinical trial. Case study: patient with severe mitral regurgitation  In July 2021, a 60-year-old man suffering from severe mitral regurgitation (MR) with mitral valve prolapse and a ruptured chord was referred to the UCSF Heart and Vascular Center. The patient had a history of new [...]

Tobias Deuse, M.D. and Sonja Schrepfer, M.D., Ph.D., were awarded the UH3 Supplement Grant worth $260,009 to continue their work on how spaceflight changes the immune system and stem cell niche. To better understand the relevance of the astronauts' experience to human health — both on the ground and beyond — NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) partnered with the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory (ISS National Lab) to send tissue chips, a research technology that reflects the human body, into space. The ISS National Lab and NASA partnered to [...]