The Upper Gastrointestinal and General Oncologic Surgery Group comprises our clinical faculty of board-certified surgeons, researchers, and support staff including our nurse practitioner and nurse navigator — all dedicated to our mission of excellence in the care of patients with cancers or complex problems of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; the education of medical students and surgical residents in the art of surgical oncology; the performance of clinical research aimed at advancing the surgical care of patients with cancer; and community service to enhance cancer awareness.

The Division’s faculty has been recognized for their clinical excellence by selection for inclusion in Guide to America's Top Surgeons (Consumers’ Research Council of America). Further distinction comes from their history-making clinical service, which performed the world’s first use of minimally invasive cellular surgery to treat pancreatic tumors, and Long Island’s first laparoscopic pancreatic cancer resection.

Our surgeons are both fellowship-trained surgical oncologists and graduates of programs approved by the Society of Surgical Oncology. Their clinical service focuses on the diagnosis and compassionate management of cancers or potential cancers of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, bile ducts, small intestine, and liver. The team is a growing unit, and is expanding the use of minimally invasive surgery for complex gastrointestinal tumors and other diseases, including robotic surgery.

In addition, our faculty has expertise in using regional therapies for advanced cancers, such as heated intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and isolated limb infusion. Stony Brook is the only center on Long Island to use HIPEC for the treatment of metastatic abdominal cancer, and to provide this innovative combination of surgery and chemotherapy to eliminate abdominal tumors.

Our surgeons are leading members of the Stony Brook Cancer Center. They are recognized as national leaders in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery and in regional therapies. Thus, our education programs for students and residents enable them to develop knowledge and experience with these leading-edge therapeutic modalities in the treatment of cancer.

With regard to research, the Division is committed to advancing medical knowledge in the areas of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, cellular therapy, intraoperative tumor imaging and surgical navigation, and decision analysis for cancer management. In addition, the Division participates in many clinical trials that offer patients the only opportunity in Suffolk County to benefit from such studies.

Together, the clinical and academic strengths of the Upper Gastrointestinal and General Oncologic Surgery Group form the foundation of our continued success in achieving the excellence expected of us in our diverse programs of patient care, education, research, and community service.