liver and pancreas services

Liver and Pancreas Services

Diseases affecting the liver, pancreas, bile ducts and gallbladder — called the hepatobiliary system — can be debilitating.

Our UCI Health hepatobiliary specialists can help. They are leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of all conditions and diseases of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile duct disorders, including pancreatitis and cancers of the liver and pancreas.

Our physicians are actively working to find innovative therapies for pancreatic diseases, including islet cell transplantation to treat type 1 diabetes. 

Regardless of your diagnosis, we work as a team to create a personal treatment plan for you and each of our patients.

For more information or to schedule a consultation, please call us at 888-717-4463.

Our UCI Health hepatobiliary specialists are experts in treating the complete spectrum of liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile duct disorders, including:

  • Bile duct injuries, stones and tumors
  • Cancers of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, duodenum and bile ducts

We also offer innovative care and treatment for other liver diseases, especially viral hepatitis B and C, and cirrhosis.

Our patients receive state-of-the-art therapies that make treatment more precise and minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue. These therapies include:

  • Laparoscopic, ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation, which uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy liver tumors
  • TheraSphere and Sirtex therapies, which involve injecting microscopic radioactive beads directly into tumors
  • Interventional endoscopic procedures, which are minimally invasive surgeries performed through a flexible tube passed through the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract

Our specialists also are researching the surgical transplantation of human islet cells to treat type 1 diabetes.

Learn more about the conditions we treat ›

The liver and pancreas program at the UCI Digestive Health Institute (DHI) has a long history of excellence.

  • Our surgeons pioneered laparoscopic pancreas surgeries—procedures that have dramatically reduced side effects and shortened recovery time. We are also one the few centers in the United States to offer laparoscopic surgery to remove cancerous tumors of the distal pancreas. We perform more of these laparoscopic pancreas surgeries than any institution on the West Coast.
  • Our surgeons are West Coast leaders in treatment for liver cancer, both primary and metastatic.
  • We are researching the surgical transplantation of human islet cells for the treatment of type 1 diabetes under a grant from the North American Foundation for the Cure of Diabetes. 
  • We treat patients with cancers of the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, working in concert with other UCI Health specialists at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 53 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country.
  • We are among a handful of institutions in California to offer NanoKnife® ablation. This technique uses electrical energy, instead of heat or extreme cold, to kill tumor cells.
  • As part of the only university hospital in Orange County, our specialists not only have access to the most promising therapies available, they also perform a high volume of liver resections and complex biliary bypasses for bile duct cancers.
  • Our physicians are at the forefront of treatment for hepatitis C.

Our UCI Health hepatobiliary specialists are part of a multidisciplinary team that comprises internists, medical oncologists and surgeons, as well as highly trained nurses and other clinical professionals.

Our core team includes: