Kinga Skowron Olortegui, MD
Kinga Skowron Olortegui, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Specialties
- Colon and Rectal Surgery
- Gastrointestinal Surgery (GI Surgery)
Locations
- Chicago - Hyde Park
- Chicago - River East
- Orland Park
- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
[AUDIO LOGO] My name is Kinga Olortegui and I'm one of the colorectal surgeons here at the University of Chicago. Within colorectal surgery, I treat diseases like inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, colon and rectal cancer, anal cancer, and then very common anorectal problems like hemorrhoids and fissures. When I was growing up, my dad was sick with diabetes, and that was the original reason for me to be interested in medicine.
I wanted to help people like him and families like ours. And then during medical school, I discovered that I was actually very good at working with my hands and in the operating room. And so had a little bit of a change from what I expected and found myself really loving surgery. This place is my home.
I've been here since college. Stayed for medical school, and then just couldn't ever leave, and I didn't want to because all of my incredible teachers were here. I trained to be a colorectal surgeon here, by my mentors, and now my partners. And so this place raised me and very much is a part of who I am now.
I try to find what the patient needs specifically from me. And so I ask every patient what they do, what their hobbies are, so that I can help them to come to a decision that feels right for them. Because when they come to see a surgeon, no one wants to have surgery and it's a very scary and foreign experience for most people.
And so if we're deciding whether or not we should go ahead, I help them to put it into context of what they normally do and what it's going to mean for their everyday life. Something I do in every surgery is that if I was operating on John Smith, let's say, whenever I come into the operating room, I make sure during our usual time out where we pause and everyone makes sure that we're on the same page, me, the anesthesia team, all the staff in the operating room, one of the things I always say is a mantra, is that we're here to help John. And so I make sure that whatever things we were stressed out about outside the operating room don't come in to the operating room. We're there to help that person and we focus on that until the job is done.
[AUDIO LOGO]
Kinga Skowron Olortegui, MD, specializes in colon and rectal surgery. Dr. Skowron Olortegui is an expert in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as well as colon, rectal and anal cancer, and benign diseases, such as diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, fissures, abscesses, fistulas and rectal prolapse. She performs minimally-invasive surgery (such as laparoscopy or robotic surgery) to minimize post-operative pain, and is committed to offering each patient a personalized treatment plan.
Areas of Expertise
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgery
- Colon Cancer
- Minimally Invasive & Robotic Colorectal Surgery
- Diverticular Diseases
- Colon Cancer Prevention
- Anorectal Disorders
- Fecal Incontinence
- Rectal Cancer
- Colonoscopy
- Cancer Surgery
- Robotic Surgery
Board Certifications
- Colon and Rectal Surgery
Practicing Since
- 2012
Languages Spoken
- English
- Polish
- Spanish
Medical Education
- University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Internship
- University of Chicago Medicine
Residency
- University of Chicago Medicine
Fellowship
- University of Chicago Medicine
Memberships & Medical Societies
- "Crohn's and Colitis Foundation"
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
- American College of Surgeons
- American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
- Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
News & Research
Insurance
- Aetna Better Health *see insurance page
- Aetna HMO (specialists only)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO
- BCBS Blue Precision HMO (specialists only)
- BCBS HMO (HMOI) (specialists only)
- BCBS Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- BCBS PPO
- Cigna HMO
- Cigna POS
- Cigna PPO
- CountyCare *see insurance page
- Humana Medicare Advantage Choice PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Choice PFFS
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Plus HMO
- Medicare
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
- United Choice Plus POS/PPO
- United Choice HMO (specialists only)
- United Options (PPO)
- United Select (HMO & EPO) (specialists only)
- United W500 Emergent Wrap
- University of Chicago Health Plan (UCHP)
Our list of accepted insurance providers is subject to change at any time. You should contact your insurance company to confirm UChicago Medicine participates in their network before scheduling your appointment. If you have questions regarding your insurance benefits at UChicago Medicine, please contact our financial counseling team at OPSFinancialCounseling@uchospitals.edu.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
If you are a patient at UChicago Medicine and would like more information about your physician’s external relationships, please talk with your physician. You may also visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ . CMS Open Payments is a national disclosure program that promotes a more transparent and accountable health care system. It houses a publicly accessible database of payments that reporting entities, including drug and medical device companies, make to covered recipients like physicians and hospitals.
Information in the CMS Open Payments database could potentially contain inaccurately reported and out of date payment information. All information is open to personal interpretation, if there are questions about the data, patients and their advocates should speak directly to their health care provider for a better understanding.