THOMAS HEFFRON, M.D., F.A.C.S.

General, Transplant

MEET Dr. Heffron

A Nebraska native, Dr. Tom Heffron graduated magna cum laude from Creighton University with a biology degree followed by a medical degree at the University of Nebraska. His general surgery residency was at Creighton University followed by a three year fellowship in hepatobiliary surgery and liver, pancreas and kidney transplant surgery at the University of Chicago. He spent two years as an assistant professor of surgery at the same institution. While there, he was a member of the first team in the world to perform a successful series of living donor liver transplantations. He brought the living donor liver procedure to the University of Nebraska where he performed transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery and directed living donor liver transplantion from 1992 to 1996.

In 1997, he was recruited to Atlanta where he restarted a dormant pediatric liver transplant program at Emory University/Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, and performed hepatobiliary and adult cadaveric and living donor liver transplantation. In 1998, he was also named director of adult liver transplantation. Dr. Heffron has performed over 900 liver transplants (2/3 adult) as primary surgeon including over 100 living donor liver transplants. He has published over 100 peer reviewed articles, 150 guest lectures in the U.S. and abroad, 16 book chapters, as well as primary investigator in numerous funded grants. His professional interests include general surgery with special expertise in complex surgery of the liver (including liver resection and metastatic disease), biliary tract, pancreas, portal hypertension and liver transplantation in adults and childre

Dr. Heffron is married with four children.

EDUCATION

• Creighton University, B.S., Magna Cum Laude, 1978
• University of Nebraska Medical Center, M.D., 1982
• Creighton University Hospital, General Surgery Residency, 1987
• University of Chicago Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgical fellowship 1987-1990

BOARD CERTIFICATION

• American Board of Surgery, 1989; recertified 2007

SOCIETIES

• Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago 1990-1992
• Director of Living Donor Liver Transplantation University of Nebraska Medical Center Associate Professor of Surgery; 1992-1996
• Director of Pediatric Liver Transplantation Emory University/Children’s Hospital of Atlanta 1997-2009
• Director of Adult Liver Transplantation Emory University 1998-2007
• Inaugural Salute for excellence in Liver Surgery; American Liver Foundation Atlanta 2002
• First Recipient of the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Chair for Adult and Pediatric Liver Transplantation and Surgery (2004) Emory University and Children’s Hospital of Atlanta
• Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
• American Association for the Study of Liver Disease
• American Society of Transplant Surgeons
• The Transplantation Society
• International Pediatric Transplant Association
• International Liver Transplantation Society
• International Hepatobiliary Association