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

Multimodal Therapy May be Key to Improving Survival for Octogenarians Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An American Multicenter Analysis: Hays SB, Kuchta K, Abreu AA, Chopra A, Farah E, Kannan A, Mehdi SA, Radi I, Ranson K, Rieser C, Rojas AE, Tcharni A, Boone BA, Paniccia A, Polanco PM, Schmidt CR, Talamonti MS, Zeh HJ, Zureikat AH, Hogg ME Annals of Surgical Oncology 2025 May 32 3582-3592
The effect of minimally invasive surgery on thirty-day postoperative outcomes of frail patients undergoing emergency colon resections: Khan MS, Meier J, Afsari M, Murimwa GZ, Pogacnik JS, Zeh HJ, Polanco PM Surgery (United States) 2025 Apr 180
Robotic versus open pancreaticoduodenectomy in octogenarians: a comparative propensity score analysis of perioperative outcomes: Abreu AA, Al Abbas AI, Meier J, Nunez-Rocha RE, Farah E, Ethun CG, Porembka MR, Mansour JC, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Wang SC, Polanco PM HPB 2025 Jan 27 37-44
When Benchmarks Fail Us: A Case Study in Cytoreductive Surgery: Author Collaboration RW, Author Collaboration PC, Bansal VV, Witmer HD, Childers CP, Su DG, Turaga KK, Woo Y, Keutgen X, Morano W, Bowne WB, Strong V, Gushchin V, Sarpel U, Maduekwe U, Grotz T, Nguyen T, Kennedy T, Lwin T, Gamblin T, Ahrendt S, Greco S, Abdel-Misih S, Concors S, Gholami S, Dineen S, Sherman S, Bagaria S, Naffouje S, Patel S, Pappas S, Ganai S, Merkow R, Shah R, Sticca R, Barone R, Royal R, Hoehn R, Berri R, Alexander R, Wiatrek R, Chokshi R, Zuckerman R, Pandalai P, Mansfield P, Sugarbaker PH, Wagner P, Polanco P, Eng O, Gusani N, Karagkounis G, Kim A Annals of Surgical Oncology 2025 Jan 32 19-23
Pre-existing Mental Health Disorders are Associated with Disparities in Gastric Cancer Care: An American Combined Safety Net and Teaching Hospital Experience: Pettigrew MF, Abreu AA, Al Abbas AI, Karalis JD, Alterio RE, Ethun CG, Polanco PM, Mansour JC, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Wang SC, Porembka MR Annals of Surgical Oncology 2025
Clinical utility of incorporating next-generation sequencing results in the management algorithm of pancreatic cysts: Jones AR, Bardhi O, Polanco P, Ellis DJ, Bishop C, Coleman VL, Foley B, Khatri G, Goldschmiedt M, Mansour JC, Vanderveldt H, Singhi A, Kubiliun N, Sawas T Gastrointestinal endoscopy 2025
Correction to: Lenvatinib inhibits the growth of gastric cancer patient-derived xenografts generated from a heterogeneous population (Journal of Translational Medicine, (2022), 20, 1, (116), 10.1186/s12967-022-03317-7): Karalis JD, Yoon LY, Hammer ST, Hong C, Zhu M, Nassour I, Ju MR, Xiao S, Castro‑Dubon EC, Agrawal D, Suarez J, Reznik SI, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Hwang TH, Zhu H, Porembka MR, Wang SC Journal of Translational Medicine 2024 Dec 22
Effectiveness and Safety of Irreversible Electroporation When Used for the Ablation of Stage 3 Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Initial Results from the DIRECT Registry Study: Martin RC, White RR, Bilimoria MM, Kluger MD, Iannitti DA, Polanco PM, Hammil CW, Cleary SP, Heithaus RE, Welling T, Chan CH Cancers 2024 Dec 16
Resident Operative Autonomy in Robotic Surgery Training: Unpacking Gender Disparities and Training Trends: Nimer M, Abreu AA, Tyler LA, AbdelFattah KR, Polanco PM, Bhat SG Journal of Surgical Education 2024 Dec 81
The Prognostic Significance of Nativity, Enclave Residence, and Socioeconomic Status Among Hispanic Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Whitham ZA, Nevarez NM, Rong R, Chang G, Ethun CG, Porembka MR, Mansour JC, Wang SC, Polanco PM, Zeh HJ, Rich NE, Singal AG, Yopp AC Annals of Surgical Oncology 2024 Dec 31 9186-9195

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)