UChicago Medicine Faculty Physicians
Kumaran Shanmugarajah, MD, PhD
Kumaran Shanmugarajah, MD, PhD
UChicago Medicine Faculty Physicians
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Specialties
- Transplant
Locations
- Chicago - Hyde Park
- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
[VIDEO LOGO] My name is Kumaran Shanmugarajah. I'm an abdominal transplant surgeon and hepatobiliary surgeon. My main areas of focus are in liver transplantation and in surgeries of the liver. These involve surgeries for people with liver cancers and other benign diseases of the liver. UChicago medicine, super special place for abdominal transplantation and liver surgery. It's a very historic place. It's the place where some of the most pioneering surgeries in liver transplantation and liver surgeries were done. It also is a place where you can provide the best care for patients because you have access to the best expertise and the best team members, which really allow you to do the best thing for patients, and keep them at the center of all decisions. My philosophy of care is to basically treat patients like they were family members. I feel like if I can think about what I would want from my family member when they were sick and let that guide my decisions, then I usually will make the right call. Liver transplants are usually done for people with end-stage liver disease. So typically, this is a very big surgery. And for most people, it's a super important day in their lives. I think most families and patients think of the liver transplant and their lives before and after the procedure. And so for me, this is very unique place to be. So I can be involved with patients and their family's lives as they go through that journey. For the liver cancer and benign liver surgeries that we perform, it's a slightly different context. These are typically folks who come in for elective surgery. And we're able to perform a wide range-- a wide array of surgeries for those people. Because we work closely with other experts from radiology, and hematology, and oncology, we're able to cater the best treatment approach for the patient. And so when the patient gets to surgery, you know you're you're doing the right thing for them. The surgeries we offer are a combination of open surgeries and minimally invasive surgeries with either robotic or laparoscopic approaches. I did my surgical training here at the University of Chicago. Love that experience. Was really grateful to be mentored by some of the amazing surgeons and physicians here at the University of Chicago. And after that, I did my Abdominal Transplant and Hepatobiliary Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Also, super unique experience. And really loved every minute. Once again, was able to be mentored by some field leaders, and really shaped the way that I think about patients, and also train me in the surgeries that I'm able to be able to perform. [VIDEO LOGO]
Kumaran Shanmugarajah, MD, PhD, is an abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon who cares for patients with complex liver conditions. He specializes in liver transplantation, including living donor transplants, as well as treating patients with liver cancer and benign liver tumors.
Dr. Shanmugarajah understands how overwhelming it can be to face serious liver disease and the possibility of transplant surgery. He takes time to explain each step of care in clear, reassuring ways, helping patients and their families feel informed and supported. His approach is centered on compassion, collaboration and a commitment to delivering the highest quality surgical care while respecting each patient’s individual needs and goals.
Along with his clinical practice, Dr. Shanmigarajah is also interested in research that focuses on using machine perfusion to optimize organs for transplants, reducing immunosuppression after transplant (transplant tolerance) and organ failure associated with liver disease.
Dr. Shanmugarajah understands how overwhelming it can be to face serious liver disease and the possibility of transplant surgery. He takes time to explain each step of care in clear, reassuring ways, helping patients and their families feel informed and supported. His approach is centered on compassion, collaboration and a commitment to delivering the highest quality surgical care while respecting each patient’s individual needs and goals.
Along with his clinical practice, Dr. Shanmigarajah is also interested in research that focuses on using machine perfusion to optimize organs for transplants, reducing immunosuppression after transplant (transplant tolerance) and organ failure associated with liver disease.
Specialties
Areas of Expertise
UChicago Medicine Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine - Hyde Park5758 S. Maryland Ave., Chicago IL 606371-888-824-0200
Board Certifications
- Surgery
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- Imperial College London
Internship
- House Officer In General Surgery
Residency
- Oxford University; UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Fellowship
- Cleveland Clinic Foundation; University of Chicago Pediatric ECMO Fellowship
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.
UChicago Medicine is committed to fostering a corporate culture of ethical behavior and integrity in all matters related to compliance with the laws and regulations that govern the delivery of healthcare. This aspiration is central to supporting patient care, research, and teaching at UChicago Medicine.
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.
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.