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John Kunstman, MD, MHS, FACS

Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology)
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About

Titles

Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology)

Biography

John W. Kunstman, MD, MHS is a board-certified surgeon specializing in care of patients with cancers or benign diseases of the pancreas, liver, bile ducts, stomach, and intestines. He received an undergraduate degree (with honors) from the University of Wisconsin and also attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Kunstman completed residency training in general surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital as well as a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He also holds a master's degree from Yale University.

Dr. Kunstman has a special interest in treatment of patients with cystic diseases of the pancreas. He maintains an active research program at Yale examining the development of such cystic lesions as well as the genetics of associated pancreatic cancers. He also conducts clinical research seeking to improve the outcomes of those patients undergoing pancreatic surgery.

Dr. Kunstman served as chief resident for education during his general surgical training. He has received numerous awards throughout his career recognizing his contributions to research and teaching, as well as excellence in clinical care, including the Samuel Harvey Award for Outstanding Performance as a Chief Resident and Resident of the Year Award for Research in the Basic Sciences. He is a member of numerous professional societies including the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American College of Surgeons.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellow
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2018)
Resident
Yale University (2015)
MHS
Yale University School of Medicine (2015)
Intern
Yale University (2010)
MD
University of Wisconsin Medical School (2009)
BSc (Hon)
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Bacteriology (2005)

Research

Overview

As a surgeon, it is my goal to improve the survivorship of patients affected by pancreatic neoplasms, which requires timely detection and management of these diverse tumors. Thus, as a scientist, my research efforts are focused on early detection and better characterization of precursor lesions within the pancreas, enabling better access to potentially curative treatment. Clinical management of such lesions is controversial and objective data to guide decision-making is notably lacking. Currently, we are performing a two-part project in examining intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, the precursor lesion for 15-20% of invasive pancreas cancers. We are seeking markers at the single-cell level to understand the mechanism by which some of these lesions progress to cancer while others remain benign and are also attempting to define the genetic characteristics of patients that exhibit a cyst-forming phenotype, as they are a uniquely at-risk population for developing pancreas cancer.

Our clinical research is focused on optimizing outcomes in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery. In particular, pancreaticoduodenectomy, or the Whipple procedure, which is the most common technique utilized to resect the head of the pancreas and associated structures for cancer, has been plagued by an operative mortality rate in excess of 20%. This has greatly improved over the past two decades to under 3% at high-volume academic centers. This has allowed a renewed focus in decreasing procedure-related complications such as delayed gastric emptying and pancreatic fistula formation. We have been at the forefront of this trend and have conducted numerous studies both at Yale and as part of a multi-institutional group aimed at optimizing surgery-related outcomes. In particular, we authored the first large study on forgoing nasogastric decompression after pancreaticoduodenectomy and have contributed multiple manuscripts detailing optimal management of surgical drains and fistula mitigation using both institutional and international datasets.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal; Pancreatic Cyst; Pancreatic Intraductal Neoplasms

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of John Kunstman's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2022

2021

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association

  • honor

    Samuel Harvey Award for Outstanding Performance as a Chief Resident

  • honor

    Dennis Wasson Award for Outstanding Performance in Surgical Residency

  • honor

    Resident of the Year Award for Research in the Basic Sciences

  • honor

    Ira S. Goldenberg Award for Outstanding Performance as A First Year Resident

Clinical Care

Overview

John W. Kunstman, MD, MHS, is a board-certified surgeon specializing in the care of patients with cancers or benign diseases of the pancreas, liver, bile ducts, stomach, and intestines.

Dr. Kunstman has expertise in cystic diseases of the pancreas. He maintains an active research program at Yale examining the development of such cystic lesions as well as the genetics of associated pancreatic cancers. He also conducts clinical research seeking to improve the outcomes of those patients undergoing pancreatic surgery.

He says his favorite part of his job is incorporating innovative research from Yale into his practice and directly seeing the results benefit patients.

“The rapid development and refinement of new cancer treatments and surgical techniques allows us to offer potentially curative surgery to an increasing number of patients over time,” Dr. Kunstman says. “More than anything, I am excited about the prospects for the future as we continue to offer better and more effective therapies to our patients.”

Surgical oncology, he says, is unique in combining the technical demands of complex surgery with deep integration in a multidisciplinary team of experts in medical oncology and other fields.

“During training, I had a fantastic series of mentors that demonstrated the enormous impact the surgeon has on patients with cancer. It is that impact and those interactions with every patient and family that drove me to a career in surgical oncology,” Dr. Kunstman says. “My relationship with patients is built on durable trust and mutual understanding. Determining a course of treatment is a joint decision, made with the patient and their family after a thorough review of all the possible outcomes. No matter what happens, our team will always be there for our patients, even if the treatment does not include surgery. No question or concern is too small for us to address.”

He has received numerous awards throughout his career recognizing his contributions to research and teaching, as well as excellence in clinical care, including the Samuel Harvey Award for Outstanding Performance as a Chief Resident and Resident of the Year Award for Research in the Basic Sciences. Dr. Kunstman is a member of numerous professional societies including the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American College of Surgeons.

Clinical Specialties

Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology; Minimally Invasive Surgery

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Surgery General

    Certification Organization
    AB of Surgery
    Original Certification Date
    2017

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