#14: An Interview With World-Renown Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon & Chair of Surgery - Charles Yeo

Charles J. Yeo is a hepatopancreaticobiliary surgeon here at Jefferson. He was born in East Orange, New Jersey, and attended Spring Valley Senior High School in Spring Valley, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1975, summa cum laude with an A.B. in Biochemistry. Dr. Yeo graduated in 1979 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, being awarded the Upjohn Achievement Award and he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa. While completing his internship and residency in General Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, he pursued a one year Research Fellowship at the S.U.N.Y. Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Dr. Yeo joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University as an Instructor and Assistant Chief of Service in the Department of Surgery in 1985, and rose to the rank of Professor of Surgery in 1996. In 1997, he became a Professor in the Department of Oncology. Dr. Yeo directed the Pancreatic Cancer Interdisciplinary Working Group at Johns Hopkins, and served as the Surgical Clerkship Coordinator and Surgical Curriculum Consultant. In 2002, Dr. Yeo was named to an endowed chair at Johns Hopkins, becoming the inaugural John L. Cameron M.D. Professor for Alimentary Tract Diseases. On October 1, 2005 Dr. Yeo was named the 8th Samuel D. Gross Professor and he assumed the chairmanship of the Department of Surgery at Jefferson (now Sidney Kimmel) Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, and as the Senior Vice President and Chair of Enterprise Surgery for Jefferson Health (an 18 hospital system). Dr. Yeo has authored over 500 peer reviewed scientific papers, 105 book chapters, and over 15 books or monographs. Dr. Yeo is also known as the “Whipple King” having completed over 1700 Whipple procedures and treated 2100 patients with pancreatic and related cancers. Thank you so much Dr. Yeo for taking the time to speak with me.

All proceeds from this episode go to Friends Against Pancreatic Cancer Fund and the Drs. Francis and Ernest Rosato Fund for Surgical Education and Research.

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0:00 - Intro
2:22 - What Is Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgery?
3:00 - Whipple Procedure
9:13 - Treating Pancreatic Cancer
14:15 - How Did You Become the Whipple King?
17:14 - Navigating and Choosing Surgery in Med School
25:57 - Residency
32:41 - Memorable Experiences While at John Hopkins
37:11 - Going Into Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgery
51:44 - An Average Day/Week as a Chair of Surgery
56:40 - Best Thing About Being an HPB Surgeon
58:52 - Worst Thing About Being an HPB Surgeon
1:05:16 - Differences in Becoming the Chair of Surgery
1:08:16 - Best Things About Working in Academia
1:10:28 - Characteristics of the Best Med Students/Residents
1:11:26 - Maximizing Competitiveness Going Into Surgery
1:14:10 - Favorite Historical Surgeon
1:15:42 - Responsibility of Surgeons in Advocacy of Social Change
1:17:30 - Advice for Graduating Med Students
1:19:58 - Very Important Question!!!

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Resources
The Smart Take from the Strong by Pete Carril - https://a.co/d/is7c0cN
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View the Show Notes Page for This Episode for transcript and more information: zhighley.com/podcast
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