As of June 1, Dr. Kiran Turaga, a surgeon from the Medical College of Wisconsin, will be joining Dr. Hedy Kindler and the University of Chicago Medicine’s mesothelioma team.
Dr. Turaga began his career at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2010. His interest has focused on peritoneal surface malignancies and regional therapies, which includes HIPEC.
HIPEC is short for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion, a treatment usually performed after debulking surgery in peritoneal mesothelioma patients where heated chemo is pumped into the abdominal cavity.
“I started at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2010, with an interest in peritoneal surface malignancies and regional therapies. HIPEC is a prime way of applying regional chemotherapy. With it, we met an unfulfilled need in the state of Wisconsin since there wasn’t anyone doing it in a formal way. As our program grew we brought along a lot of research and a lot of data,” said Dr. Turaga in an interview with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
Although Dr. Turaga has been working closely, in a partnership, with the University of Chicago team and Dr. Kindler over the years, he is excited about the progress they will be able to make being on the same platform.
“Hopefully, together, we can make a big difference for patients with mesothelioma,” he added.
Dr. Turaga’s new position as the vice chief of surgery in the section of general surgery and surgical oncology will allow him the opportunity to shape the work of the center as well as supervision over the university’s fellowship program.
“We’re going to be training surgical oncology fellows. It’s a great opportunity to train leaders of the future,” Dr. Turaga said.
Dr. Turaga and his wife were married in Chicago, so this move is a bit of a homecoming as they move their family of four to the Windy City.
