Surgery is one of many significant strengths at UC Davis Health, as we have some of the world’s most skilled surgeons on our health care team. Our experts are part of a compassionate care team who understands surgery is often the most frightening procedure patients may face as part of their health care treatment.

We have more than 250 surgeons who are at the forefront of improving lives by discovering new ways to:

• treat complex cancers
• speed burn recovery
• reconstruct facial tissue following traumatic injury
• overcome obesity
• repair congenital defects before birth
• provide lifesaving options for end-stage heart failure

We are pioneers in minimally invasive surgical approaches, including laparoscopic and robotic techniques, to reduce recovery time. Our surgical teams provide highly skilled, specialty services in bariatric, burn, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, plastic and reconstructive, oncology, transplant, trauma and vascular surgery.

As part of a research and teaching hospital, our surgeons not only lead the field of medicine, but they are working to transform the future of our field, which is increasingly about prevention—rather than repair—at the molecular and cellular levels. For instance, we are advancing the use of bioengineered “scaffolds” to reduce the disabilities of spina bifida and exploring the power of stem cells for treating severe vascular disease and repairing damaged hearts.

Unique to UC Davis are some amazing clinical and research partnerships that we leverage to improve patient care, including collaborations with the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, VA Healthcare System Northern California, Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California and David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base.

While surgery can be stressful for patients, our surgical teams work together with patients and their families to ensure we are utilizing the latest surgical advances available to help minimize the impact to their lives and to speed the recovery time of patients in our region—and beyond.

Diana L. Farmer, M.D.
Chair of the Department of Surgery