Liver, Pancreatic, & Biliary Center at TTUHSC and University Medical Center Cancer Center

Our Vision: 

To be known for provision of excellent patient care, education and scientific productivity that enhance provision of quality care for liver, pancreas and biliary disorders for the entire population of this region.

Our Mission:

The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center/University Medical Center Cancer Center-Liver, Pancreas and Biliary Center (TTUHSC-UMCCC-LPB Center) multidisciplinary team works to ensure that patients in a 300-mile radius of West Texas and surrounding communities receive high quality hepato-pancreato-biliary surgical and oncologic care. We strive to continually improve the care provided to all our patients including ongoing quality improvement of medical and surgical services rendered, continuing education and multidisciplinary evaluation and management of each patient. We also train future doctors and participate in research that will impact liver, pancreas and biliary surgical and oncologic care now and in future.

Program Overview:

West Texas represents a unique challenge for care delivery for liver, pancreas and biliary pathology as a result of geographic distances combined with largely medically underserved communities facing ethnic (specifically Hispanic), socio-economic and cultural barriers that compromise access to healthcare.  

The TTUHSC-UMCCC-LPB Center was first established in September 2016. Prior to that, there was no subspecialty HPB surgical care in the region and the surrounding 300-mile radius. As a result, patients with liver, pancreas and biliary benign and malignant disorder had to be referred for complex subspecialty HPB surgery 5-8 hours away from their home town, to Dallas or Houston. As we know, this was an unneeded additional burden for patients who are already experiencing extreme physical and mental stress from their diagnosis.

The TTUHSC-UMCCC-LPB Center was started when Dr. Edwin Onkendi MB.ChB., FACS was hired in 2016 to start and grow this sub-specialty HPB and oncology practice. Working with the already existing, highly trained colleagues in advanced gastroenterology (Dr. Hamed Al-Tamimi), Interventional Radiology (Drs. Niska Blevins and Dr. Bharat Kakarala), Medical Oncology (Dr. Sanjay Awasthi and Dr. Fred Hardwicke) and Radiation Oncology (Dr. Ramzi Abdulrahman), the TTUHSC-UMCCC-LPB Center has grown from a non-existent surgical practice to a high volume HPB surgical center. Our pancreas program is well equipped to regularly perform at least 50 major pancreas resections annually for benign and malignant disease, including pancreatoduodenectomies, subtotal pancreatectomies, distal pancreatectomies, radical antegrade modular pancreato-splenectomies (RAMPS procedure).

Over the last several years, we have incorporated more and more minimally invasive complex liver, pancreas and biliary surgery include laparoscopic and robotic surgical procedures.

As a result of the rapid growth, we have expanded the size of our faculty including the addition of a surgical oncologist/HPB surgeon Dr. Tyler Mouw, advanced endoscopist Dr. Kanak Das, Interventional radiologists Dr. Mohamed Attaya and Dr. Thomas Callahan.

In addition, due to being the only tertiary center in a 300-mile radius, TTUHSC-UMCCC-LPB Center gets referrals for a whole breath of pathology.

Some of the common pathologies we take care of include:

1. Pancreas: pancreatic cancer, acute pancreatitis with related complications, chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cystic disease (Mucinous cystic neoplasms, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm), solid pseudopapillary tumors.
2. Bile ducts: Bile duct injury repairs, Choledochal cysts of all types, biliary malignancies, choledocholithiasis, bile duct strictures
3. Liver: Liver cirrhosis with associated tumors, liver metastases especially colorectal liver metastases, benign liver tumors and cysts, liver infections

We anticipate our program will continue to grow and provide top quality surgical and medical care for benign and malignant diseases as well as train future doctors and contribute to knowledge of diseases affecting the liver, pancreas and biliary tree.