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The University of Florida colorectal surgical team at Shands at UF has added two fellowship-trained surgeons specializing in benign and malignant diseases and disorders of the colon, rectum and anus. Their arrival expands the UF colorectal surgery program’s abilities to provide patients the full range of open and laparoscopic colorectal surgical procedures.

Emina Huang, MD, associate professor of surgery, and Sanda Tan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of surgery, both fellowship-trained in colorectal surgery, join W. Robert Rout, MD, associate professor of surgery, who has directed the colorectal surgical program at UF for more than 20 years and pioneered the use of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) in the state of Florida.

The three-surgeon UF colorectal surgical team is expertly trained and equipped to diagnosis and treat benign and malignant tumors of the colon, rectum and anus, including those deep in the pelvic floor. In addition to offering TEM for rectal tumors, the three surgeons offer the complete array of open and minimally invasive procedures, including lower anterior resections, total mesorectal excisions for rectal cancer, and other advanced sphincter-sparing techniques to help patients retain their anus and preservation of function. The three surgeons also are involved in the development and application of new strategies for helping patients in maintaining continence, including sphincteroplasty and minimally invasive stapled transanal rectal resections (the STARR procedure) for patients with obstructed defecation syndrome.

With fellowship training, Huang and Tan are qualified to perform their own colonoscopies, which benefits patients and physicians needing to have their patients screened by a GI physician.

“This frequently is better for the patient and the surgeon because we—the surgeons—can more accurately determine the location, depth and size of tumors located between the rectum and cecum (first part of the colon),” Tan said. “This is a big deal, because it enables us to precisely tailor the patient’s surgery based on our findings and determine if minimally invasive surgery is an option.”

Huang’s primary research interest is the emerging field of colon cancer stem cells and regenerative medicine.

“UF has a strong reputation in stem cell and regenerative medicine research, with many top-notch physicians and basic scientists collaborating to bring their research to the level of translation,” Huang said. "The discovery of colon cancer initiating cells may help advance the understanding of how colon cancer develops. As our understanding grows, we will be able to design unique therapies targeting not only these cells, which likely are the root of colon cancer, but also may be able to prevent recurrence and the metastatic spread of this deadly disease."

For more information or to make an appointment, call 352-265-0535.

The UF Colorectal Surgery team specializes in laparoscopic and open procedures for colon and rectal
disorders including:

Photo credit: Sarah Kiewel, UF Health Science Center photographer