Department of Surgery

Division Chief
Patrick C. McGrath, MD, FACS
Professor and Chief, Division of General Surgery
Ward O. Griffin Endowed Chair in Surgery
Section Head, Surgical Oncology
Medical Director, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Markey Cancer Center
Office: C-224 UK Chandler Medical Center
800 Rose Street
Lexington, KY 40536-0293
Phone: (859) 323-6346
E-mail: pcmcgr0@uky.edu

The Division of General Surgery continues to prosper and grow under the leadership of Patrick C. McGrath, MD, FACS. Seven faculty members were recently recruited to the division: Dr. Sandra J. Beck, Section of Colorectal Surgery; Dr. Shane O’Keeffe, Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery; Dr. Shaun McKenzie, Section of Surgical Oncology; Dr. Cortney Lee, Section of Endocrine Surgery; Dr. William Cavatassi, Section of Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery; and Dr. Cynthia Talley and Dr. Brian Tucker, Section of Acute Care Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care Surgery.

Patients may choose from several clinic locations, including the General Surgery Clinic located in the Kentucky Clinic at 740 South Limestone Street, Room L119, Wing D; the Surgical Specialties Clinic at 125 East Maxwell Street, Suite 302; the Comprehensive Breast Care Center located on the second floor of the Whitney-Hendrickson Building — a part of the Markey Cancer Center — at 800 Rose Street; and the Multidisciplinary Surgical Oncology Clinic located on the first floor of the Whitney-Hendrickson Building. Specialties, contact numbers and hours of operation can be found on the General Surgery Clinics page.

The Residency Program, under the leadership of Eric D. Endean, MD, FACS, continues to recruit and educate qualified and motivated residents and fellows. The highly sought after General Surgery Residency Program typically receives over 700 applications to fill six categorical and five non-designated preliminary positions. The program was recently re-certified for five years by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

The Division is engaged in both clinical and basic science research. The General Surgery Clinical Research Program is a comprehensive program supporting all aspects of clinical research. The Basic Science Research Program has a well-equipped and staffed cellular and molecular laboratory with powerful collaborations and related core facilities.

The Division oversees the Center for Advanced Training and Simulation (CATS) laboratory, a state of the art facility that provides training in minimally invasive surgery to residents and students throughout the College of Medicine, the Physician Assistant Program and the College of Nursing.