Dr. David A. Geller, MD, FACS

Director, UPMC Liver Cancer Center
Richard L. Simmons Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

UPMC  Montefiore, 7 South 
3459 Fifth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2582
Phone: 412-692-2001
Fax: 412-692-2002
E-mail: gellerda@upmc.edu

Dr. Geller is the Richard L. Simmons Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Director of the UPMC Liver Cancer Center. As a hepatobiliary Surgical Oncologist, his clinical interests center on the evaluation and management of patients with liver cancers.

He has pioneered laparoscopic liver resection surgery. Dr. Geller and his team have performed more than 1,060 of these cases. Most of these patients are discharged home on the second post-operative day with 4-5 bandaid-sized incisions. He also specializes in performing laparoscopic radiofrequency ablations of liver tumors.

Dr. Geller is a member of many professional and scientific societies including the Society of Surgical Oncology, Society of University Surgeons, and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Dr. Geller has published 320 scientific papers and chapters. He is often a guest lecturer speaking on the management of liver tumors and has presented at more than 410 meetings or seminars. He has active research grants from the NIH, and is also the Principal Investigator on Industry-sponsored clinical trials for liver cancer.  

Selected Publications:

• Geller DA, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Dvorchik I, Gamblin TC, Carr BI. Outcome of 1,000 liver cancer patients evaluated at the UPMC liver cancer center. J of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2006; 10:63-68.
• Koffron, A, Geller DA, Gamblin TC, Abecassis M. Laparoscopic liver surgery - shifting the management of liver tumors. Hepatology, 2006; 44:1694-700.
• Balaa FK, Tsung A, Gamblin TC, Marsh JW, Geller DA, Right Hepatic Lobectomy Using the Staple Technique in 101 Patients, J GI Surgery, 2008; 12:338-343.
• Cho SW, Marsh JW, Steel J, Holloway SE, Heckman JT, Ochoa ER, Geller DA, Gamblin TC. Surgical Management of Hepatocellular Adenoma: Take It or Leave It? Ann Surg Oncol. 2008; 15:2795-803.
• Nguyen KT, Gamblin TC, Geller DA. Laparoscopic liver resection for cancer. Future Oncol. 2008; 4:661-70.
• Gamblin TC, Holloway SE, Heckman JT, Geller DA. Laparoscopic resection of benign hepatic cysts: a new standard. J Am Coll Surg. 2008; 207: 731-6.
• Nyugen KT, Gamblin TC, Geller DA. World review of laparoscopic liver resection - 2,804 patients. Ann Surg, 2009, 250:831-841.
• Nyugen KT, Laurent A, Dagher I, Geller DA, et al. Minimally invasive liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer: a multi-institutional, international report of safety, feasibility, and early outcomes. Ann Surg. 2009; 250:842-848.
• Dagher I, O'Rourke N, Geller DA, et al. Laparoscopic major hepatectomy: an evolution in standard care. Ann Surg. 2009; 250:856-860.
• Nyugen KT, Steel J, Vanounou T, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Geller DA, Clark Gamblin T. Initial presentation and management of hilar and peripheral cholangiocarcinoma: is a node-positive status or potential margin-positive result a contradiction to resection? Ann Surg Oncol. 2009; 16:3308-15.
• Vanouou T, Steel JL, Nyugen KT, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Geller DA, Gamblin TC. Comparing the clinical and economic impact of laparoscopic versus open liver resection. Ann Surg Oncol. 2010; 17:998-1009.
• Nguyen KT, Geller DA. Laparoscopic liver resection - current update. Surg Clin North Am. 2010; 90:749-60.
• Geller DA. P Preface. Liver surgery: from basics to robotics. Surg Clin North Am. 2010; 90:xvii-xviii.
• Nguyen KT, Geller DA. Outcomes of laparoscopic hepatic resection for colorectal cancer metastases.  J Surg Oncol. 2010; 102:975-7.
• Reddy SK, Tsung A, Geller DA. Laparoscopic liver resection. World J Surg. 2011; 35:1478-86.
• Nguyen KT, Marsh JW, Tsung A, Steel JL, Gamblin TC, Geller DA. Comparative benefits of laparoscopic versus open hepatic resection: a critical appraisal. Arch Surg, 2011; 146:348-56.
• Reddy SK, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Geller DA. Does neoadjuvant chemotherapy reveal disease precluding surgical treatment of initially resectable colorectal cancer liver metastases?  J Surg Oncol. 2012; 105:55-9.
• Cardinal JS, Reddy SK, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Geller DA. Laparoscopic major hepatectomy: pure laparoscopic approach versus hand-assisted technique. J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci. 2013; 20:114-9.
• Tsung A, Geller DA, Sukato DC, Sabbaghian S, Tohme S, Steel J, Marsh W, Reddy SK, Bartlett DL. Robotic versus laparoscopic hepatectomy: a matched comparison. Ann Surg. 2014; 259:549-55.
• Schiffman SC, Kim KH, Tsung A, Marsh JW, Geller DA. Laparoscopic versus open liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis of 610 patients. Surgery,2015;157:211-22.
• Wakabayashi G, Cherqui D, Geller DA, et al. Recommendations for laparoscopic liver resection: a report from the second international consensus conference held in Morioka. Ann Surg. 2015; 261:619-29.
• Ciria R, Cherqui D, Geller DA, et al. Comparative short-term benefits of laparoscopic liver resection: 9,000 cases and climbing. Ann Surg, 2016; 263:761-77.
• Brown KM, Geller DA. What is the learning curve for laparoscopic major hepatectomy? J Gastrointest Surg. 2016; 20:1065-1071.
• Cheek SM, Sucandy I, Geller DA. Hand-assisted laparoscopic left hepatectomy: how I do it. J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci. 2016; 23(12): E30-E32.
• Dhir M, Shrestha R, Steel JL, Marsh JW, Tsung A, Tublin ME, Amesur NB, Orons PD, Santos E, Geller DA. Initial treatment of unresectable neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases with transarterial chemoembolization using Streptozotocin: A 20-year experience. Ann Surg Oncol. 2017; 24:450-459.
• Yan Y, Cai X, Geller DA. Laparoscopic Liver Resection: A Review of Current Status. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2017;27:481-486.