Building a kidney and liver transplant program on par with those at the nation’s leading centers is the goal of a transplant surgeon who recently joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Chris Anderson, MD, came to UMMC in August from Washington University in St. Louis. He has taken the reins of the UMMC kidney-transplant program and also expects to begin offering liver transplants within the next year.

“I truly believe — and this institution believes — that this is something we have to offer for the good of the state,” Anderson said. “As the only transplant center in the state, we want to function at a level where our results and expectations are at or above those of the leading programs in the United States.

“That’s the type of program I came from and trained at, and it’s what we’re going to build here.”

A native of Lucedale, Anderson graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and received his medical degree from Emory University in Atlanta. He completed a residency in general surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he also completed a fellowship in hepatobiliary surgical research.

Anderson was a fellow in abdominal transplant surgery from 2006-2008 at Washington University. He served as a staff surgeon in Missouri at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and Saint Louis Children’s Hospital.

The chance to return to Mississippi — where he and his wife, Theresa, both have family nearby — was a welcome opportunity.

“I didn’t come here because it was home,” he said. “But it’s a great fringe benefit to be here.”

What drew Anderson back was the twofold challenge of bringing the existing kidney-transplant program up to a higher standard, and also creating a liver-transplant program where none has existed for some 20 years.

“Currently, there are about 60 people in the state of Mississippi who get a liver transplant every year, and probably several more who need one but don’t have access because it’s not offered in the state,” Anderson said. “The people who are getting them are traveling outside the state.”

The goal of eliminating those hardships for patients and families starts with bringing together a team of staff members to provide liver transplants. Key team members will include a hepatologist to serve as the program’s medical director, as well as a dedicated anesthesiologist, nurse coordinators and trained hospital staff.

While Anderson expects it will take six months to a year before the team is ready, he’s keeping the timeframe open.

“We won’t start until we have all those parts in place to my satisfaction,” he said. “Our goal is not just to do liver transplants, but to build a program that’s going to have the quality results of a top institution.”

While that effort is ongoing, Anderson is also focused on expanding UMMC’s existing kidney-transplant program to include two new groups: pediatric patients and living donors.

In the former case, UMMC has been able to provide kidney transplants to patients as young as the teenagers. Within the next couple of months, however, Anderson intends to begin listing kidney transplant among the services available at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.

“There are children with renal failure who are getting good care from the nephrologists here, but that next step beyond dialysis hasn’t been available here until now,” he said.

In reinstituting the living-donor kidney-transplant program, Anderson is now offering laparoscopic kidney donation for live donors.

“The living-donor transplants last a recipient much longer and function much better on average than a deceased-donor transplant,” he said. “It is important to have that offering for a patient who may have a friend or loved one or acquaintance at their church who is willing to donate a kidney. We can do that minimally invasively and with good results.”

Anderson came to the field of transplantation through the encouragement of role models and mentors, as well as his own personal interest.

“I really enjoy the patients and the work, as well as the science and the physiology behind it,” he said. “There’s a lot of immediate gratification with patients who tell you they feel better and realize they don’t have to get back on dialysis.”

As for liver-transplant patients, the gratification is perhaps even more meaningful.

“There is no dialysis for liver failure — no assistive device and not a lot we have to offer those patients, other than a transplant,” Anderson said. “The other scenario is when someone with cirrhosis develops liver cancer and there is very little to be done about it and very few chemotherapy options. Transplant often turns out to be a very good treatment in that scenario.”

In addition to his work as a transplant surgeon, Anderson also specializes in surgery for complex liver and bile-duct problems, such as cancer, injuries or strictures.

Research has also been central to his career. Among his focus areas has been the role of obesity and fatty liver disease as it relates to liver transplantation — an area he’s looking forward to exploring further with his new colleagues through the UMMC Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition Center and the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular Renal Research.

“One of the appealing parts of coming back to UMMC was the ability to collaborate with some really world-class researchers,” he said. “There is a lot of expertise and interest here in obesity as it relates to multiple health problems, and that collaboration is going to be very fruitful.”

Outside of work, Anderson enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, including children Adeline, 9, and Burkitt, 6. They enjoy swimming, camping, hunting and fishing.

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