Division of General, Foregut & Metabolic Surgery

Rana Pullatt, M.D., specializes in Reoperative Foregut and Bariatric Surgery. He performed the first Laparoscopic Duodenal Switch and the first Single anastomosis Duodenal switch in South Carolina. He also runs one of the few Structured Robotic Surgery training programs incorporated into the General Surgery Residency Program, which offers Robotic Surgery Certification for General Surgery residents at the Medical University of South Carolina.

He serves as the Chief of the Division of General, Foregut & Metabolic Surgery at MUSC and Director of Bariatric Surgery for VISN-7 at the Ralph H Johnson VAMC where he offers Bariatric Surgery for Veterans from South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. He is the President of the Carolinas Chapter of the ASMBS. He is the Co-Chair of the International Committee of the ASMBS and also serves as a member of the Clinical issues Committee of the ASMBS and the Patient Safety Committee of IFSO.

T Karl Byrne, M.D., led the way in weight loss surgery in South Carolina, with the first bariatric program in 1992. Long before bariatric surgery was a household term, Dr. Byrne was helping patients struggling with obesity to change their lifestyles. Fast forward 25 years, and Dr. Byrne, his partner Dr. Rana Pullatt, and the team at MUSC are still leading the way with innovative procedures.

Bruce Crookes, M.D., is fellowship-trained professor of Surgery, is an intensivist, trauma surgeon, and general surgeon. He is recognized nationally as a leader in the care of the injured and is the former president of the nation's largest academic trauma society -- the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. His expertise includes hernias, complex abdominal wall reconstruction, robotic and minimally invasive surgery, pulmonary embolisms and venous thromboembolic disease, the surgical treatment of rib fractures, and complex general surgery.

Stephen Fann, M.D. is a fellowship-trained general and acute care surgeon in Charleston, South Carolina. He specializes in treating all types of abdominal wall hernias; ventral, incisional, inguinal, flank, and parastomal hernias. He also has expertise with complex wounds such as chronic mesh infections and intestinal fistulae.

Dr. Fann performs both open abdominal wall reconstructions as well as robotic and minimally invasive hernia surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and maintains certification in Surgical Critical Care. He speaks nationally on topics of hernia repair trauma and acute care surgery.

Stuart Leon, M.D., is a fellowship-trained trauma and critical care surgeon in Charleston, South Carolina. He specializes in the care of patients in need of emergency surgery. In addition, he treats patients in non-emergent situations for hernia repair and gall bladder surgery.

He is a member of numerous national organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, Association for Academic Surgery, Southeastern Surgical Congress, and the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Dr. Leon received his fellowship training in both Trauma and Critical Care from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Douglas Cassidy, M.D., is a fellowship-trained minimally invasive surgeon who specializes in laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic techniques for hernia and benign foregut surgery. He has clinical interests in abdominal wall reconstruction and hernia surgery as well as foregut surgery, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), paraesophageal and hiatal hernias, achalasia, and gastroparesis. He has a special interest in resident education and serves as the Associate Program Director for General Surgery Residency and as the Director of Surgical Simulation.

Mary Kate Bryant, M.D., MSCR, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained minimally invasive surgeon in the Division of General, Foregut & Metabolic Surgery.

Her clinical interests include bariatric surgery and hernia surgery as well as the treatment of benign esophageal disorders including anti-reflux surgery for patients suffering with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).