Saint Luke’s Hospital Welcomes Jameson Forster, M.D., as Director of Abdominal Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery and Surgical Director of Saint Luke’s Liver Transplant Program

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Jameson Forster, M.D., has joined Saint Luke’s Hospital as director of abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery and surgical director of the liver transplant program.  Dr. Forster, a nationally recognized hepatobiliary-pancreatic and liver transplant surgeon, performed the first liver transplant in Kansas and helped establish the liver transplant program at Children’s Mercy Hospital.  

As director of abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery and surgical director of the liver transplant program, Dr. Forster will oversee the growth and development of Saint Luke’s Hospital’s liver transplant program, maintain and advance abdominal organ transplantation, further the growth of hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery and manage transplant-related research as well as education and outreach programs. In this leadership role, Dr. Forster also will coordinate and participate in the Tumor Board as part of Saint Luke’s unique multidisciplinary approach to oncology and providing individualized patient care. 

“Saint Luke’s Hospital always has been recognized for its exceptional care, and there is tremendous support here for abdominal transplant programs.  I look forward to working with the talented team at Saint Luke’s as we continue to grow the hospital’s abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery programs,” said Jameson Forster, M.D., surgical director of Saint Luke’s liver transplant program. 

“The addition of Dr. Forster, who has paved the way for liver transplantation in Kansas City and the region, is a momentous step in advancing our liver transplant program at Saint Luke’s Hospital,” said Julie Quirin, CEO of Saint Luke’s Hospital. “Throughout Saint Luke’s Health System we maintain the highest standards for patient care and we will continue to do so as we move forward under Dr. Forster’s leadership,” said Julie Quirin, CEO of Saint Luke’s Hospital.

Dr. Forster led the development of the liver transplant program at the University of Kansas Medical Center and directed the program for the majority of his 25 years there. He completed the first successful liver transplant in Kansas in 1990. With Dr. David Sigalet, he helped established the liver transplant program at Children’s Mercy Hospital.  Nationally recognized for his advanced hepatobiliary surgical skills, he pioneered ablation surgery for the treatment of liver cancers, including cryosurgery, radiofrequency ablation and microwave ablation.  With Dr. Richard McCallum, he helped establish gastric electrical stimulation as an important therapy for patients with severe gastroparesis, especially diabetic gastroparesis. 

Dr. Forster received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a General Surgery Residency and Research in Surgical Metabolism at Brown University before going on to complete specialized fellowship training in Surgical Intensive Care, Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery and Liver Transplant Surgery at Toronto General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.   

Saint Luke’s Health System

Saint Luke’s Health System consists of 10 area hospitals and several primary and specialty care practices, and provides a range of inpatient, outpatient, and home care services. Founded as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, our mission includes a commitment to the highest levels of excellence in health care and the advancement of medical research and education. The health system is an aligned organization in which the physicians and hospitals assume responsibility for enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people in the metropolitan Kansas City area and the surrounding region.