Dr. William R. Jarnagin, MD, is a nationally recognized surgical oncologist specializing in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) malignancies, including cancers of the liver, pancreas, bile ducts, and gallbladder. He serves as Chief of the Hepatopancreatobiliary Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and holds the Leslie H. Blumgart Chair in Surgical Oncology. Dr. Jarnagin earned his medical degree from Rush Medical College and completed his general surgery residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He pursued fellowship training in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where he has since established himself as a leader in complex abdominal cancer surgery. He is board-certified in General Surgery and widely regarded for his expertise in high-risk HPB operations and multidisciplinary cancer care.
Why they are a top doctor
Research papers · PubMed
642
Published, peer-reviewed work, the clearest public measure of expertise in a specialty.
Cited by other doctors
75.2k
How often other doctors and researchers build on their work.
Known for
Surgery, laparoscopic surgery and image-guided surgery
The distinction that sets them apart from other hepatopancreatobiliary surgeons.
Background
Education
Medical school
Rush Medical College
Residency
General Surgery at University of California, San Francisco
Fellowship
Hepatobiliary Surgery - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board certification
Surgery
Areas of focus
Liver cancer and conditions
Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)
Gallbladder cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Surgery
Laparoscopic surgery
Image-guided surgery
Awards
NIH R01 Principal Investigator on deformation-corrected image-guided liver surgery
Leslie H. Blumgart Endowed Chair in Surgery, MSK
Nonie Lowry Distinguished Service Award, Americas HPB Association
Healthnetwork Service Excellence Award
AHPBA Nonie Lowry Distinguished Service Award
Honorary Treasurer, International HPB Association
Memberships and affiliations
Americas HPB Association
International HPB Association
American Surgical Association
Society of University Surgeons
Southern Surgical Association
Clinical experience
Dr. Jarnagin’s team performs high-volume open and minimally invasive liver, bile-duct, and pancreatic resections, integrating 3-D CT, indocyanine-green fluorescence, and augmented-reality overlays to maximise margin clearance while preserving parenchyma.
He co-developed MSK’s pump-based hepatic-artery infusion chemotherapy program, which improves survival in unresectable cholangiocarcinoma and colorectal-liver metastases; recent ASCO abstracts show durable responses when HAIC follows systemic triplet therapy.
Enhanced-recovery pathways have cut median length of stay after major hepatectomy to five days, and prospective trials demonstrate lower opioid use and faster return to function with epidural-analgesia protocols.
For pancreatic cancer. Tests a new treatment. Open to adults in New York. Taking new patients now. Run at one hospital. Open the trial to see who can join and how to reach the study team.
Brings extensive expertise in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. Treats pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, bile duct cancer and gallbladder cancer. Offers minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery and ablation.
Chose MSK not only for its standing as the foremost cancer institution in the country. Treats pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cysts, liver cancer and bile duct cancer. Offers minimally invasive surgery and laparoscopic surgery. Also treats stomach cancer.
Focuses on the treatment of cancerous and noncancerous diseases of the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas. Treats liver cancer, cancer spread to the liver, gallbladder cancer and bile duct cancer. Offers minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery. Also treats pancreatic cancer and adrenal tumor.