David Anthony Santos, MD FACS

Dr. Santos completed his medical degree at the University of California at Irvine, College of Medicine. He completed his surgical residency at Kern Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Santos received additional fellowship training in Advanced Laparoscopic, Metabolic, and Bariatric Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Following his training, Dr. Santos was in practice as a general surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Southern California Medical Group as a high volume clinical surgeon. A desire to pursue a career in academic surgery and apply his clinical experience in acute care surgery and advanced laparoscopy led him to MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he is a general surgeon in the Department of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Santos has clinical and academic interest in improving the outcome of cancer patients with general surgical issues. Other particular areas of interest include application of robotic techniques for advanced abdominal wall reconstruction, splenectomy, and benign gallbladder disease. As an Associate Professor, he has moved towards perfecting the outcome of robotic abdominal wall reconstruction, quality improvement for acute cholecystitis in cancer patients, and protocolized training of Advanced Care Providers to robotic surgery first assistants. Future goals include creation of an Acute Care Surgery program specifically for cancer patients.

Abdomen and Digestion Disorder/Procedure

• adhesion removal
• appendectomy
• peritonitis
• splenectomy

Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas Disor/Proc

• bile duct surgery
• cholecystectomy
• gallstone disease
• laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Hernia Procedures

• abdominal hernia
• component separation
• epigastric hernia
• femoral hernia
• Hernia Procedures
• inguinal hernia
• laparoscopic hernia repair
• paraesophageal hernia
• umbilical hernia
• ventral hernia

Minimal Access Surgery

Skin & Soft Tissue Disorders/Procedures

Colon and Rectal Disorders/Cancer

Minimally Invasive Procedures

• Minimally Invasive Procedures
• robotic surgery

Surgical Oncology (Cancer/Tumors)

Trauma/Injury Procedures

Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center

Ontario, CA

Attending

07/2011—04/2014

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, TX

Attending

10/2014—Present

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Assistant Professor

10/2014—08/2021

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Associate Professor

09/2021—Present