Kareem Abo Almagd
Director, the Intestinal & Multiviscerall Transplant Program
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, USA
Biography
Dr. Abu-Elmagd has led the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Center at the University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) since its establishment in 1999 and has earned an international reputation for clinical and technical contributions to the field of transplantation. He has authored more than 300 original publications and 40 book chapters. He is an active member of 13 prominent professional and scientific societies.
In 1999, Dr. Abu-Elmagd convinced the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that, due to improved survival rates, intestinal and multivisceral transplantation programs should receive reimbursement. He served as the president of the Intestinal Transplant Association. He was a part of the team which demonstrated the immune-protective effect of the concomitantly transplanted liver and the deleterious effect of DSA on the visceral allograft. His research led to the establishment of Medicare coverage for intestinal and multivisceral transplant in the United States. Abu-Elmagd pioneered or introduced surgical techniques and procedures, for correction of intestinal malrotation in children and adults, replacing the historic Ladd’s procedure. Another technique developed by him utilized the patient’s own gut for the effective management of gut failure, eliminating the need for intravenous nutrition commonly called TPN.
In addition to his clinical and surgical expertise in the field of liver transplantation, Dr. Abu-Elmagd has also made significant global contributions to the field of portal hypertensive surgery. He played a pivotal role in the development and introduction of the immunosuppressive drug FK506, also known as Prograf.
