Division of Transplant Surgery

Steven I. Hanish, M.D., FACS is a professor in the Department of Surgery and the Division Chief of Transplant Surgery for MUSC. He also serves as ICCE Chief of Transplant Surgery for MUSC Health. Dr. Hanish specializes in complex surgeries of the liver and bile duct as well as Living Donor Liver Transplant.

Dr. Hanish earned his medical degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in general surgery at Duke University School of Medicine and received advanced training in transplant surgery through a fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. He performed additional training at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, learning the techniques of performing living-donor liver transplantation.

Certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Hanish was recruited to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2013, where, as the director of hepatobiliary surgery, he helped Maryland's liver transplant program become the third largest in the United States. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2018 and initiated their Living Donor Liver Program. HIs time at UTSW showed programmatic growth with some of the best outcomes in liver transplantation as well as one of the shortest lengths of stays following transplant.

His clinical focus is on expanding the availability of liver transplant - from both living and deceased donors - to patients who weren't previously eligible for transplant due to their age, obesity, tumor size, or insufficient sobriety time.

A specialist in the full spectrum of hepatobiliary surgery, Dr. Hanish is also highly experienced in repairing injuries to the bile duct, such as those that can occur during gall bladder surgery, as well as complex liver surgery.

His research endeavors focus on liver failure and liver transplant. In addition, he serves on the editorial board of Transplantation Reviews and is an ad hoc reviewer for Journal of Surgical Research, Journal of Surgical Oncology, and Liver Transplantation.

Prabhakar Baliga, M.D. FACS is a transplant surgeon and chair of the MUSC Department of Surgery, where he leads a diverse range of programs and services spanning nine clinical divisions, in addition to the Department's research and education divisions.

Dr. Baliga's philosophy is to treat his patients with a primary focus on excellence and compassionate care. His clinical focus is in abdominal organ transplant with a special interest in kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation. He treats patients who are experiencing kidney failure, particularly with polycystic kidney disease; liver failure, liver cancer and patients who have issues with their bile duct, a series of thin tubes that go from the liver to the small intestine.

He has served many leadership positions that have positively impacted the growth and expertise of the MUSC Health transplant program, the only solid organ transplant center in South Carolina. Prior to assuming the role of Department Chair, Dr. Baliga was named MUSC's ICCE Leader for Transplant, Nephrology & Hepatology and served on the Board of Life Point, an organ procurement agency. He has also served on the board for the United Network for Organ Sharing and the board of directors for the South Carolina chapter of the National Kidney Foundation. He is on the leadership of the state-wide SC surgical quality collaborative that is focused on improving care of surgical patients across SC. He currently serves on the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors as the Surgical Specialty Society Governor from the Southern Surgical Association.

Dr. Baliga was awarded his medical degree by Madras Medical College in India. He completed his surgical residency at Tulane University and his transplant fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Associate Professor of Surgery