Kyle Sheetz, M.D., M.S., joins the Section of Transplant Surgery following transplant surgery fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, which was preceded by general surgery residency at Michigan Medicine and Medical School at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Sheetz also obtained his Master’s in Clinical Research from the University of Michigan and is a member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS).
Get to know Dr. Sheetz:
Q. What are your research interests?
A. I study the adoption and comparative effectiveness of new procedures and surgical technologies (e.g., robotic surgery). My work uses natural experiments to bridge the gaps between small proof-of-concept case series and randomized-controlled trials. The goal is to understand how well new innovations work in the real world once they’re adopted by a broader group of surgeons and hospitals.
Q. What is your clinical specialty?
A. Abdominal transplant surgery – liver, kidney, and pancreas transplant, living donor kidney and liver transplant. I also have a special interest in normothermic machine perfusion in liver transplantation.
Q. Why Michigan Medicine? Tell us what excites you about being a part of the team.
A. I have a tremendous amount of loyalty to Michigan Medicine having spent so much time here in training. The Department of Surgery does a fantastic job emphasizing balance which allows all of us to bring a ton of enthusiasm to patient care, research, and teaching residents and medical students.
Q. Why surgery? Tell us what led you down this path.
A. Good mentors. It was all about meeting people who helped patients and balanced their clinical roles with researching ways to make care better and safer.
Q. What drew you to your specialty?
A. I really like solving tough problems with great teams. Perhaps no other specialty exemplifies this more than organ transplantation.
Q. What’s your favorite procedure and why?
A. I’ll hedge here…liver transplant because it constantly makes you better by having to come up with creative solutions to new problems. Kidney transplant because there is almost nothing more fulfilling than getting to tell someone they no longer have to go to dialysis.
Q. What’s your favorite way to spend time outside of the hospital or lab?
A. With my wife trying out new restaurants, running, or biking.