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Sandip Kapur, M.D.

 

Dr. Sandip Kapur is Chief of Transplant Surgery and Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant programs at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Associate Attending Surgeon at NY-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Kapur's clinical expertise is in kidney, whole organ pancreas and islet cell transplantations. He performs laparoscopic donor neprectomies. He was the first and only surgeon in the tri-state area to perform a successful islet-cell transplant to cure Type 1 diabetes. He also performs vascular access surgery on renal failure patients and general surgery on renal failure patients.

An internationally renowned, board-certified transplant surgeon, Dr. Kapur's clinical expertise is in kidney, whole organ pancreas and islet cell transplantations. He performs laparoscopic donor neprectomies. He was the first and only surgeon in the tri-state area to perform a successful islet-cell transplant to cure Type 1 diabetes. He also performs vascular access surgery on renal failure patients and general surgery on renal failure patients.

 

Dr. Kapur led the Weill Cornell transplant team that performed the nation's first three-way living-donor kidney transplant surgery chain that may revolutionize the organ transplant process in the United States and dramatically improve the opportunity for patients in need of kidney transplants to find a compatible donor.

 

Dr. Kapur heads the oldest kidney transplant program in New York State, and one of the highest volume programs in the country. He is a nationally recognized pioneer in developing innovative strategies that allow more recipients to receive successful transplants in instances where transplants would be contra-indicated at most other centers. These include a desensitization program that allows donors and recipients whose blood isn't compatible in a test tube to undergo successful transplants, and the ABO program, which enables a recipient to receive a kidney from a donor whose blood type doesn?t match. The ABO program is only being offered by a handful of transplant centers in the United States.

 

To learn more about the innovative programs and services offered by Dr. Kapur click here:

www.cornellsurgery.org/patients/services/transplantation/index.html

 

 

Dr. Kapur earned his Medical Degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1990. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, and was a research fellow in Transplant Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College and The Rogosin Institute from 1993-1994. Dr. Kapur went on to complete a fellowship in Organ Transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He joined the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in 1998 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery, and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center.

 

Dr. Kapur is a member of many professional societies, including the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, The Transplantation Society, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the New York Surgical Society. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, and plays a strong leadership role in surgical education, serving as Associate Director for student clerkships in surgery since 2005. He is a Preceptor for medical student surgical clerkships and has served as a Faculty Mentor for surgical house staff since 1998. He also serves as the Surgical Director of the Weill Cornell Physicians Assistant Program since 2003.

 

Dr. Kapur's main areas of research include clinical trials on new immune protocols for kidney transplant patients; islet cell research, and developing molecular techniques to monitor and decrease rejection of transplanted organs.

 

Dr. Kapur and Dr. Manikkam Suthanthiran of NY-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell developed a non-invasive test utilizing molecular signatures to more accurately predict organ rejection before outward signs of rejection. This unique test provides the basis for individualized treatment of kidney transplant patients. NY-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell is the only center in the nation to utilize this test, which uses urine biomarkers to predict graft function, rather than the traditional, invasive needle biopsy, which carries with it the potential to cause further complications.  Under molecular guidance, Dr. Kapur is able to fine tune medications for patients, minimizing their exposure to immunosupression over a lifetime that can damage the transplanted organ. Dr. Kapur currently has 400 patients who are being maintained on a steroid-free protocol. Drs. Kapur and Suthanthiran are currently leading a NIH multi-center study to further test the sensitivity and specificity of measuring RNA (mRNA) for key immune cell regulators in renal transplant patients, which will provide surgeons with a more complete appraisal of graft function and risk of organ rejection. 

 

He has earned many awards over his career, and was recently selected by Castle Connolly 2009 as one of "America's Best Doctors."

 

 

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