Christopher Wolfgang, MD, PhD

As a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon, my expertise is in the surgical care of people who have cancer or benign disease of the pancreas, gallbladder, liver, and ampulla. However, my main area of expertise is pancreatic cancer.

I chose to specialize in pancreatic cancer for a variety of reasons. It is a complex and aggressive disease that requires surgical and medical management based on innovative research. In addition, providing surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer demands great technical skills, and effective treatment requires a team of experts with access to the most sophisticated technology available.

At Perlmutter Cancer Center, we perform more than 100 Whipple procedures—a complex surgery for cancer in the head of the pancreas—each year with outstanding outcomes. The mortality rate of Whipple procedures at our center is among the lowest in the world. I have performed more than 1,200 of these procedures.

Our team has expertise in robotic surgery of the pancreas and liver, as well as in the removal of pancreatic tumors that involve major vessels, which is also known as locally advanced pancreatic cancer. We use transplants to manage certain types of liver tumors and offer precision treatment for all stages of pancreatic cancer. Our patients have access to the most advanced clinical trials.

I feel privileged to share in the lives of people who have received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and shepherd them through treatment. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is the routine clinic visits with patients who after treatment are now cancer-free.

My research focuses on the mechanisms that result in tumor recurrence, such as circulating tumor cells, with the hope of preventing treatment failure.