History

Frederic Stoetzel underwent the first operation at UCLA Hospital shortly after it opened in 1955. His surgeon was Dr. Longmire.

UCLA Surgery was founded in 1955 and, over the past 65 years, has grown into an international leader in surgical innovation, research, and education.

Our department traces its roots to some of the founding figures in American surgery. Dr. William P. Longmire Jr., who served as the department’s first chairman, completed his medical residency under Dr. Alfred Blalock, then chief of surgery at Johns Hopkins and a pioneer in the field, and served as Dr. Blalock’s assistant on the first “blue baby” operation.

From 2004 until 2020, the Department of Surgery was led by Dr. Ronald Busuttil. One of the founders of modern-day liver transplant surgery, Dr. Busuttil performed over 3000 transplants and oversaw the growth of UCLA Surgery into a world leader in transplant surgery. Thanks to his leadership, we are consistently one of the busiest transplant centers in the country.

Dr. Busuttil and the liver transplant team.  Dr. Busuttil has built a world-renown liver transplant program at UCLA over the past 30 years and served as chair of the department for 16 years.

In May 2020, Dr. O. Joe Hines was named the interim chair of the Department of Surgery, taking over for Dr. Busuttil. Dr. Hines, an accomplished surgeon-scientist focusing on pancreatic and gastrointestinal diseases, completed his surgery residency at UCLA in 1997, served as program director for the general surgery residency program from 2006-2015, and is the current president-elect of the American Pancreatic Association.  He is also the Vice Chair of the American Board of Surgery.