Acclaimed Transplant Surgeon Joins UAMS Faculty

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – Frederick Bentley, M.D., who specializes in liver, kidney and kidney-pancreas transplantation, will soon join the faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as vice chairman for clinical affairs of the Department of Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.


 


Bentley will start this summer at UAMS.  He is also internationally recognized for his work in soft-tissue and hand transplantation.


 


He developed the solid organ transplant program at the University of Louisville, where he joined the faculty in 1987. Since 1993, he has been a professor of surgery at the University of Louisville and medical director of the Jewish Hospital Transplant Program in Louisville. 


“The growth of the UAMS Department of Surgery and College of Medicine, coupled with the coming expansion of UAMS Medical Center with additional operating rooms and intensive care beds, presents us with a unique chance to build and strengthen our surgical programs,” said Michael J. Edwards, M.D., professor and chairman of the UAMS Department of Surgery. “Dr. Bentley will help us to capitalize on opportunities to grow programs, improve efficiency and enhance quality of care and service.


 


“His addition to the Multi-Organ Transplant Program holds great promise for supplementing the progress and success of our surgical team of Dr. Youmin Wu, director of the transplant program, and Dr. Gary Barone.”


 


UAMS introduced its liver transplant program in 2005, with a surgery team led by Wu conducting the state’s first liver transplant on May 14. UAMS also conducted a state record number of 84 kidney and kidney-pancreas transplants in 2005.


 


Bentley received his medical degree from Louisiana State University Medical Center in 1977 and completed an internship and residency in general surgery at LSU. He completed a research fellowship and a clinical fellowship in transplant surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School. From 1984 to 1986 he was an assistant professor of surgery and chief of organ transplant services at University of Maryland Hospital.


 


He is clinically experienced and interested in multiple areas of the broader field of general surgery, including significant expertise in hepatic, biliary and endocrine surgery and will work with UAMS faculty to expand these and other programs, Edwards said.


 


Bentley also will assist in the strategic planning, development and implementation of some of UAMS’ most important clinical program initiatives within the department and involving multiple hospital services. In addition, he will help in faculty recruitment and program development for all sections of the Department of Surgery.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with almost 9,000 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the VA Medical Center. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.