Houston Methodist Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery 

Liver Transplant Surgery 

The Liver Transplant Section at Houston Methodist is distinguished by high-volume, high-acuity transplant care and a pioneering role in transplant oncology. Under the leadership of Ashish Saharia, MD, MS, FACS, the program integrates advanced surgical techniques, multidisciplinary cancer care and academic training to serve one of the most complex patient populations in the country.

Texas has a particularly high incidence of liver cancer and liver disease, which has rendered us equipped to manage extremely sick patients before, during and after transplantation. As one of the largest liver transplant centers in the country, we provide comprehensive consultation and world-class care for patients with liver cirrhosis and liver malignancies, particularly complex cases like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.  

Our program consistently ranks among the top liver transplant centers nationally, by volume and complexity. Despite taking on some of the most complex cases, we are recognized for excellence in transplant outcomes, organ utilization and mortality metrics. Our dedicated Surgical & Liver ICU, directed by Constance Mobley, MD, who also serves as the administrative director of our division, enables us to provide care for critically ill patients with high MELD scores and sets us apart, both clinically and educationally.  

Kidney Transplant Surgery 

The Kidney Transplant Section at Houston Methodist, led by Stephanie Yi, MD, is a nationally recognized program within the J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center. The section is distinguished by its commitment to innovation and integration of academic research and education.   

We are one of the most robust living donor kidney programs in the country, placing a strong emphasis on innovation in surgical techniques. Dr. Yi pioneered robotic kidney transplantation and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in the Houston region, expanding access to transplantation for patients previously considered ineligible due to obesity or other surgical risk factors. We also have one of the largest paired donor exchange programs, ensuring that any recipient with a willing donor can get transplanted despite blood group, immunologic or other disparities. 

Clinically, we emphasize patient-centered care with rigorous donor selection and compassionate perioperative care, and are engaged in translational research in transplant immunology, desensitization protocols and T-cell biology. 

Living Donor Liver Surgery 

Through our Living Donor Liver Program, led by Yee Lee Cheah, MD, FACS, physicians at the J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center help all patients whose lives depend on liver transplants. Within Living Donor Liver Surgery, Dr. Cheah and our surgeons leverage subspecialities in robotic and minimally invasive donor hepatectomy to optimize donor safety and recovery, recognizing that living donors are healthy individuals undergoing major surgery solely for the benefit of others. Caroline Simon, MD, FACs, the Director of Robotic Hepatobiliary Surgery, and her team of robotic liver transplant surgeons then complete the circle through a highly coordinated recipient procedure conducted in alignment with that of Dr. Cheah and her team. 

Houston Methodist is among the few U.S. centers offering robotic living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and our division was one of the first in the U.S. to perform minimally invasive robotic living donor transplants. LDLT is a strategic response to organ scarcity, with more than 400 patients on the liver transplant waiting list despite high annual transplant volumes. Dr. Cheah, Dr. Simon and Houston Methodist are part of a national consortium with Columbia, Cornell and Baylor, aggregating robotic LDLT outcomes for multicenter analysis and publication.   

The surgeons in the Houston Methodist Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery are some of the world’s most experienced in transplantation and advanced organ failure management.  

Transplantation is a long and complicated journey that requires us to make a profound lifelong connection with our patients at all phases of transplantation. Our members are collaborative innovators committed to that journey, not only connecting patients with life-saving organ transplants to transform their lives and those of their family but also working to advance our field and educate future transplant surgeons. We are proud of the distinguished metrics we have achieved in our clinical, research and academic work.  

Our surgeons are nationally and internationally known, serving on numerous boards and committees, such as chairing the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Living Donor Committee, American Department of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) and more. Our members are regularly invited to give talks and serve as panelists at national meetings. 

The multidisciplinary work we do creates strong partnerships with departments throughout Houston Methodist in groups such as transplant immunology. Externally, we collaborate with MD Anderson Cancer Center, including running a shared tumor board, and other cancer centers throughout the U.S. We are regularly sought out for our expertise, providing guidance in the many realms of transplantation, including robotic transplant procedures. 

 

 

Our Faculty ➝   Our Physicians ➝ 

Our intention for our research is that it contributes to the advancement of the field of transplant surgery. Affiliated with the Houston Methodist Academic Research Institute, we are a scientific core of analysts, data scientists, scientific writers and post-doctoral researchers. We place an emphasis on translational research and multidisciplinary collaboration. 

The division is a leader in transplant oncology, integrating oncologic principles with transplant surgery. Our high-volume experience with cholangiocarcinoma has positioned Houston Methodist as a global authority, further strengthened by active collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center, including shared tumor boards and fellow exchanges. 

The Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center conducts fundamental immunology research and clinical translation of basic discoveries into biotherapeutics. The center, led by Xian Chang Li, MD, PhD, collaborates closely with the Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center and the Houston Methodist Sherrie and Alan Conover Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation to address challenges in transplant outcomes.   

Our team investigates transplant-related issues and complications, including mechanisms of graft injury and repair, stem cells and tissue regeneration, transplant rejection, tolerance-compatible immunosuppression, transplant tolerance, and diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for rejection or tolerance. Ashton A. Connor, MD, PhD, conducts research spanning several high-impact areas in transplantation, tumor oncology and genomics, with a strong focus on liver and pancreatic diseases, while research led by Paul Scroder, MD, PhD, is deeply rooted in transplant immunology, with a strong emphasis on kidney and liver transplantation, immune modulation and graft survival. 

Research conducted by The Waterman Lab led by Amy Waterman, PhD, FAST helps improve access to kidney transplantation through a focus on health-literate education, AI-driven risk prediction and system-level interventions. Their studies aim to reduce evaluation dropout, increase living donation and address disparities in transplant access through data-informed strategies and collaborative healthcare innovations.  

We are active in a wide range of clinical trials and studies. Our commitment to research and innovation in advanced organ failure management ensures patients continue to receive the most innovative therapies for all organ transplants, including approaches that reduce transplant rejection, advance stem cell research and explore tissue regeneration. Research and clinical trials led by R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, address the chronic rejection of organ function over time, investigating ways to increase donor tolerance to organ transplants and allografts. We are also actively involved in clinical trials to discover new forms of immunosuppression, strategies for reducing complications and new ways to fight postoperative infection. 

We also study the effects of Hepatitis (B and C) on transplant patients, the outcomes of transplantation for cancer and more. Houston Methodist is the leading center for cholangiocarcinoma transplantation with a very active genomic analysis, which enables cancer to better respond to both combination therapy and the transplant. We participated in clinical trials for the Organ Care System (OCS) liver transplant device. 

We have pioneered early transplantation for chronic liver disease, enabling patients to treat with transplant first and rehabilitate later. We are also conducting clinical translational work for the chronic rejection of kidney transplants and have developed two drugs for antibody-mandated rejection. 

We are passionate about and devote significant time and resources to educating the next generation of transplant surgeons. Teaching medical students, residents and fellows to think differently and stretch the boundaries of what is possible is indivisible from our clinical practice. 

Our ASTS/TACC HPB accredited Abdominal Multi-Organ Transplantation Fellowship, directed by Caroline J. Simon, MD, FACS, provides trainees with comprehensive experience in the pre-, intra- and postoperative care of the transplant patient. Fellows leave our program with exposure to all three of our transplant sections and a broad range surgical, clinical and research experience in the management of renal, pancreas and liver transplants, immunosuppression, critical care management, and the handling of medical and surgical complications. 

Our training for liver and kidney transplants is broad and deep, offering fellows first-hand experience with liver intensive care units, machine perfusion technology, large or complex cancers, and critically ill patients requiring complex procedures and robotic training. We also host general surgery and vascular surgery residents.

Weekly grand rounds invite national and international experts in the field. We host journal clubs and regularly offer CME events. We maintain a strong educational partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center, including weekly tumor boards and fellow exchanges. We host a monthly national zoom-based “Liver Series” featuring multidisciplinary topics in liver transplantation and physicians from various liver systems who share insights and advancements in the field. 

Through our partnership with the J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, we participate in the George P. Noon Conference. In addition, our surgeons are invited to speak at grand rounds in various departments across the Houston Methodist system, hold leadership roles in national and international transplant societies and are frequently invited to present at national and international conferences. 

Community outreach is a top division priority. We closely collaborate with the Spanish-speaking community, reaching out to undeserved, high-risk patient populations throughout Houston and in South Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley where liver disease and liver cancer are endemic. And, we have outreach initiatives focused on Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese communities in Houston.  

We also work closely with philanthropic organizations such as LifeGift, Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT) and the Asian American Donor Program (AADP) to improve donor registration and education.