Patricio Polanco, M.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Patricio Polanco, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

He is gastrointestinal surgical oncologist with vast expertise in minimally invasive/robotic pancreas and liver surgery. Dr. Polanco serves as the Director of the Robotic Surgery Training Program at UT Southwestern as well as Co-Director for the Pancreatic Cancer Program and the Pancreatic Cancer Prevention Clinic. Dr. Polanco also leads the Peritoneal Surface Malignancies and HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) program at UT Southwestern, NCI-Comprehensive Simmons Cancer Center.

A native of Peru, Dr. Polanco graduated as valedictorian of Universidad de San Martin de Porres Medical School. After completing his surgical training in Lima, Peru, he moved to the United States, where he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and a general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. During his training, Dr. Polanco received several prestigious accolades, including the Alpha Omega Alpha-Honor Medical Society, the Charles C. Moore Teaching Award at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award. He later pursued a Complex Surgical Oncology Fellowship at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A doubled board-certified surgeon by the American Board of Surgery (General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology), Dr. Polanco joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2014.

Dr. Polanco research interests includes health services research, disparities, and surgical outcomes in HPB malignancies and pancreatic cancer. He is also the site principal investigator for several clinical trials for pancreatic cancer. His research has been presented in national and international meetings and has published over 100 peer-reviewed article is several surgical and cancer journals.

Dr. Polanco has served in several committees and leadership positions of academic associations including the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, Society of Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, among others. He also serves in the Pancreatic Cancer and the Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma expert panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Dr. Polanco's commitment to the advancement of medical knowledge extends globally, as he has trained and guided several international surgeons in establishing robotic surgery HPB programs. Furthermore, his extensive experience in medical mission trips to Central and South America highlights his dedication to providing healthcare access to underserved populations.

Dr. Polanco was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors list for 2019 to 2023.

Education

Medical School: Universidad de San Martin de Porres (2000)
Internship: Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza (2001), General Surgery
Residency: Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara I. Essalud (2004), General Surgery
Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (2007), Post Doctoral
Residency: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (2012), Surgery
Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (2014), Surgical Oncology

Publications

Does a robotic approach decrease morbidity and mortality following pancreaticoduodenectomy for octogenarians? An American multi-center analysis: Hays SB, Kuchta K, Abreu AA, Chopra A, Farah E, Kannan A, Mehdi SA, Radi I, Ranson K, Rojas AE, Tcharni A, Boone BA, Paniccia A, Polanco PM, Schmidt CR, Talamonti MS, Zeh HJ, Zureikat AH, Hogg ME HPB 2025 Nov 27 1400-1409
Episodic Severe Ectopic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Syndrome by Metastatic Appendiceal Neuroendocrine Tumor: Desai R, Sidra F, Jia L, Polanco PM, Mutar SA, Hamidi O JCEM Case Reports 2025 Sep 3
Risk of peritoneal metastasis following minimally invasive colectomy for locally advanced colon cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis: Chick RC, Ruff SM, Heslin R, Porembka MR, Polanco PM, Kim AC Oncologist 2025 Sep 30
Episodic Severe Ectopic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Syndrome by Metastatic Appendiceal Neuroendocrine Tumor: Desai R, Sidra F, Jia L, Polanco PM, Mutar SA, Hamidi O JCEM Case Reports 2025 Sep 3
Enhanced recovery for cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: An international survey to assess acceptance and feasibility: Kefleyesus A, Bakrin N, Kepenekian V, Gerbaud-Coulas C, Li A, Vassal O, Eveno C, Sgarbura O, Nelson G, Bouchard-Fortier A, Mack L, Rivard J, Fagotti A, Kusamura S, Robella M, Piso P, Acs M, Arias F, Rau B, Lambert LA, Wadhwa A, Polanco P, Somashekhar SP, Teixeira-Farinha H, Alyami M, Glehen O, Hübner M European Journal of Surgical Oncology 2025 Sep 51
Clinical utility of incorporating next-generation sequencing results in the management algorithm of pancreatic cysts: Jones AR, Bardhi O, Polanco P, Ellis D, Bishop C, Coleman V, Foley B, Khatri G, Goldschmiedt M, Mansour J, Vanderveldt H, Singhi A, Kubiliun N, Sawas T Gastrointestinal endoscopy 2025 Aug 102 223-232.e3
Comparative Effects of Hospital Volume and Safety-Net Status on Treatment Use and Outcome Measures in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Whitham ZA, Chang G, Merrill V, Rich NE, Ethun CG, Wang SC, Polanco PM, Porembka MR, Mansour JC, Zeh HJ, Singal AG, Yopp AC JNCCN Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2025 Aug 23 292-300
Comparative Effects of Hospital Volume and Safety-Net Status on Treatment Use and Outcome Measures in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Whitham ZA, Chang G, Merrill V, Rich NE, Ethun CG, Wang SC, Polanco PM, Porembka MR, Mansour JC, Zeh HJ, Singal AG, Yopp AC JNCCN Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2025 Aug 23 292-300
Consensus guideline for the management of gastric cancer with synchronous peritoneal metastases: Author Collaboration PS, Butensky SD, Bansal VV, Su DG, Waheed MT, Nikiforchin A, Gomez-Mayorga JL, Olecki E, Radomski SN, Sun B, Turaga KK, Gunderson CG, Lacy J, Badgwell BD, In H, Kennedy T, Yoon HH, Greer JB, Sundar R, Woo Y, Uppal A, Khader A, Hamed A, Benson AB, Fisher A, Kim A, Loftus A, Thomas AS, Gangi A, Greene A, Greenbaum A, Arrington A, Abu Alfa AK, Kothari A, Govindarajan A, Holowatyj AN, Abreu A, Bellizzi AM, Dhiman A, Villano A, Bouchard-Fortier A, Saeed A, Sardi A, Alarcon Rozas AE, Nevler A, Bakkila B, Powers B, Helmink B, Reddy B, Polanco P, Dineen S Cancer 2025 Jul 131
Consensus guideline for the management of peritoneal mesothelioma: Author Collaboration PS, Brown LM, Wilkins SG, Bansal VV, Su DG, Gomez-Mayorga J, Turaga KK, Gunderson CG, Lee B, Nash GM, Hays JL, Raghav KP, Husain AL, Kluger MD, Zauderer MG, Kindler HL, Alexander HR, Mansfield A, Khader A, Hamed A, Marchevsky A, Tam A, Fisher A, Kim A, Loftus A, Thomas AS, Gangi A, Greene A, Greenbaum A, Arrington A, Kothari A, Govindarajan A, Nikiforchin A, Abreu A, Bellizzi AM, Blakely A, Churg A, Łowy A, Nicholson A, Dhiman A, Villano A, Bouchard-Fortier A, Saeed A, Sardi A, Bakkila B, Sun B, Powers B, Karagkounis G, Dowell J, Polanco P, Dineen S Cancer 2025 Jul 131

Honors & Awards

Eugene P Frenkel, M.D. Scholar in Clinical Medicine Award for the project Improving Access to Surgical Care for HepatoPancreatoBiliary Malignancies in North Texas
(2022)
Best CAPSTONE Project, LEAD Course UT Southwestern Medical Center: Implementation of Video Assessment of Surgical Proficiency to Improve Patients Outcomes
(2020)
New Investigator Award Grant, VA North Texas Health Care System
(2016)
Charles C. Moore Teaching Award, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
(2011)
Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching
(2010)
Induction to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Chapter
(2009)
Valedictorian Class of 2000, Universidad San Martin De Porres
(2000)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) (2014)
Association of Academic Surgeons (AAS) (2014)
Fellow American College of Surgeons (FACS) (2017)
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) (2018)
Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) (2012)
Society of University Surgeons (2022)