John Fung, MD, PhD
John Fung, MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery
Co-Director, Transplant Institute
Specialties
- Transplant
- Surgery
- Transplant Oncology
Locations
- Chicago - Hyde Park
- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
My approach to patient management is to really engage them and understand how the disease process affects their lives, as well as their families' lives and their career. And so we spend a lot of time just getting to know each other. And as part of a multidisciplinary team, including medical colleagues, as well as other health care providers, we spend time getting to know patients individually.
I think our philosophy is unique in that we provide lifelong care to our patients. I'm happy to see them in sickness and in health many years after we take care of them. So it's the comprehensive multidisciplinary care at the University of Chicago, which I think makes us quite unique in regards of looking for the best solution to a patient's problem. It may not always be the one that is the most aggressive because sometimes patients don't want that. And so matching the patient's expectation with the care that we can provide is really what I think makes UC Medicine different.
So in transplantation, and one of the reasons I really got into it, is you really make a dramatic difference in the patient lives. Most of these patients are chronically ill and have just progressive organ failure in the case of transplant. And patients with cancer have an immediate need for how we're going to take out the cancer or treat them.
And so what I find most professionally fulfilling is being able to accomplish that, realizing that you can make a huge impact on some of these lives. And then as a result, their families' lives. Exercise is important. Getting sleep at night is important, and eating right.
And then each organ system has its sensitivity. So obviously, in talking about liver, you try and avoid the things that cause the liver damage-- alcohol to moderation or avoidance, healthy diet, so you don't get fatty liver disease, which is now becoming one of the most prevalent causes of liver disease in the United States. Getting tested for hepatitis B and C, which can be easily treated nowadays. And then once you have those diseases, try and minimize those kinds of things that can cause liver damage. If you have cancer, or you think you're prone to having cancer or some other indications you might, just getting checked on a periodic basis by your physician.
I went to medical school here. I graduated in 1982. So coming back here a couple of years ago was sort of the end of a cycle coming through my career of 30 plus years in transplant. And it's really gratifying to come back here.
University of Chicago has made huge advances. It's always been a premier institution in research and in education. And it's increasingly clear that we're at the cutting edge of medicine.
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With more than 30 years of experience, John Fung, MD, PhD, is a renowned leader in the field of organ transplantation, including liver, kidney, pancreas, islet and intestinal transplantation. Dr. Fung also performs procedures for bile duct cancer and obstruction, gallbladder and biliary tract diseases and hepatobiliary malignancies.
Dr. Fung has spearheaded the use of new minimally invasive surgical transplant techniques. Additionally, he's an accomplished immunologist and has introduced procedures to improve donor organ preservation.
Dr. Fung has a longstanding research interest in transplantation immunology, immunosuppression therapy and liver related immunology. He has published more than 1,000 articles and book chapters, serves on the editorial board for several medical journals and was the former editor-in-chief for Liver Transplantation.
Dr. Fung's dedication to innovation and delivering the highest level of patient care is recognized through his consistent appearance on the "America's Top Doctors" and "Best Doctors in America" lists.
Dr. Fung was one of the physicians leaders of the transplant care team that made history in December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours, replacing the failing hearts, livers and kidneys of 29-year-olds Sarah McPharlin and Daru Smith.
Specialties
- Transplant
- Surgery
- Transplant Oncology
Areas of Expertise
- Hepatobiliary Malignancies
- Liver Transplantation
- Intestinal Transplantation
- Liver Resection
- Living Donor Liver Transplantation
- Pancreas Transplantation
- Solid Organ Transplant
- Kidney Transplantation
Board Certifications
- Surgery
Practicing Since
- 1988
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine; University of Chicago Medical Center
Internship
- University of Rochester Medical Center
Residency
- University of Rochester Medical Center
Fellowship
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Other Grad Education
- University of Chicago,PhD
Memberships & Medical Societies
- American Surgical Association
- International Liver Transplantation Society
- American Society of Transplant Surgeons
- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
- Transplantation Society
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.
World's First Back-to-Back Heart-Liver-Kidney Transplants
UChicago Medicine physicians made history in December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours, replacing the failing hearts, livers and kidneys of 29-year-olds Sarah McPharlin and Daru Smith.