Clinical Care

Patients of Michigan General Surgery can expect comprehensive and expert care for even the most complex cases, delivered at the No. 1-ranked hospital system in the state, Michigan Medicine.

Innovative Surgical Care

We have the expertise and the capacity to manage any surgical need, including high-complexity operations. This experience draws on a legacy of innovation at Michigan, where extracorporeal life support technology was invented and endocrine surgery was perfected, and where today we’re setting the national standard for treatment of burn injuries and cancer.

Across a broad range of specialties, we excel at:

  • Multidisciplinary care: By assembling a team of experts from multiple specializations, we can deliver the best care to our patients while also reducing the time patients spend at the hospital — making our clinics a single point of contact for all your questions and needs. Our programs include care for bowel control, bariatric surgery, and hernia.
  • Complex operations: From trauma care at our certified Level 1 Trauma Center to advanced surgical treatment for metastatic colon cancer, our surgeons perform more than 7,000 operations each year across multiple specialties, which gives us the experience to offer procedures that other institutions can’t — all backed by the abundant resources of Michigan Medicine, ranked among the best hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
  • Patient-centered care: We’re always striving to improve the experience we offer patients, making health care more compassionate and more convenient. Recently, we launched our Surgery eClinic, which enables patients to receive follow-up care from the comfort of their home via video call with their care team.

Our Clinical Strengths & Divisions

The Division of Acute Care Surgery provides care for major trauma and burn patients, as well as the management of emergency surgery and critical care services. The University of Michigan is a Level 1 Trauma and Burn Verified Center, recognized by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association as meeting or exceeding the highest standards of care for the most critically injured patients. Acute Care Surgery also provides care for patients in the surgical intensive care unit, and coordinates with U-M’s Survival Flight aeromedical team to bring critically injured patients advanced care in the air.

The Division of Colorectal Surgery treats benign and malignant conditions of the small bowel, colon, rectum and anus, using both open and laparoscopic surgical techniques. We provide multidisciplinary care through the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Bowel Control Program. Our goal is to provide individualized care for each patient, including the education and support they need to heal over time.

Established in 1979, we’ve grown to become one of the largest endocrine surgery divisions in the country. We provide medical and surgical care for patients with thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreatic, and gastrointestinal endocrine disorders. We’re dedicated to advancing the art and science of endocrine surgery through innovative lab and clinic research, and our surgeons are actively involved in studies of thyroid cancer, hyperparathyroidism, adrenal cancer and drug development for cancer.

Surgeons in the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery focus on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the abdomen, the abdominal wall and the retroperitoneum — including common conditions such as hernia, gallstones, and heartburn. Our surgeons have special expertise in hernia treatment, including abdominal wall reconstruction and complex recurrent hernia. We also have a nationally recognized bariatric surgery program, and our surgeons focus on innovating bariatric surgery outcomes and quality.

We provide operative care for cancers of the breast, skin, and gastrointestinal system. We have special expertise in the management of patients with breast cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, metastatic diseases of the liver, and soft tissue sarcomas. Through our biomedical research, we’re developing new immunotherapies to treat tumors, using our research to improve clinical care for patients.

We treat over 3,000 patients annually at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Our VA Division is rare in that we focus exclusively on veterans’ care, building relationships and programs tailored to their needs. VA surgeons provide bariatric surgery, colorectal surgery, surgical oncology, and general surgical services, including treatment for gallbladder disorders, hernias, and hemorrhoids.