Yousuf Kyeso, MD

I'm Yousuf Kyeso, an assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. I'm board certified in internal medicine, nephrology, and I also have a subspecialty in transplant nephrology.

I primarily see patients who need kidney transplantation. I see them before transplants and also manage them after kidney transplantation. I have a special interest in patients with multi organ transplants including kidney heart, kidney liver, kidney pancreas, and in certain cases, a triple organ transplant.

I think the idea of helping people was revealing to me from the beginning. And talking specifically about the field of transplants, we as a team are really able to give someone's hope and a new life almost on a daily basis by giving them the gift of hope, which is the new organ. And being part of that team and being able to change someone's life and improve their quality and quantity of life is something really amazing. And I feel lucky and honored to be part of that team.

I really think that the number of expertise that we have at the University of Chicago and the academic environment is something really unique. Talking about transplant, in order to have a successful outcome, what you really need not only kidney experts, but you really need other supporting staff beside the kidney experts, including great cardiologist, pulmonologist, hepatologist, social worker, nutritionist, et cetera. And I think we have these expertise at the University of Chicago.

I'm a big believer in patient centered medicine. I really think that the patient has to be part of the plan. And the plan that's going to work best for the patient is the plan that really meets not only their medical needs but their social and psychologic needs.

I primarily evaluate kidney transplantations. I perform a different type of dialysis including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and also continuous dialysis. I also do kidney biopsy on the native and the transplant kidney. The reason we do kidney biopsies is to figure out if there is any problem in the kidney including rejection, infection, or other autoimmune or genetic conditions affecting the health of the kidney allograft.

I think one of the best experiences I've gained throughout my years of training and even as a faculty is staying open and flexible to other people's idea. I really think that in order to treat difficult cases, you need to have different minds put in together, rather than being a one man show. I think listening to your team members and being open to different approaches is the way for success.