Jula Veerapong, MD

Jula Veerapong, MD, is a general surgeon and surgical oncologist who specializes in treating gastrointestinal malignancies. He is an expert in peritoneal surface malignancies, which include cancers that have originated from or spread to the peritoneal lining (lining of the abdominal cavity). He treats people with pseudomyxoma peritonei, appendiceal cancer (low grade and high grade), colorectal cancer, sarcomas (desmoplastic small round cell tumors), mesothelioma, and gynecologic malignancies (epithelial ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal carcinoma, borderline mucinous tumor of the ovary).

Dr. Veerapong performs complex abdominal surgery for these tumors that have metastasized to the abdomen, including cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This procedure includes complete removal of all visible abdominal tumors followed by a heated "chemo bath" circulated through the abdomen to kill any remaining microscopic cancer cells.

As an associate professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Veerapong instructs medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. His research interests include minimally invasive techniques for HIPEC and utilizing HIPEC for ovarian cancer. A regular speaker at national and international meetings, Dr. Veerapong has authored several book chapters. His scholarly work has been published in journals such as Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Cancer Research, and Clinical Cancer Research, among others.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Veerapong was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where he was the principal investigator on a study of patient outcomes after CRS/HIPEC. At Saint Louis University School of Medicine, he developed a HIPEC program that treated over 100 patients from different parts of the U.S.

Dr. Veerapong completed a surgical oncology fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a residency in general surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He earned his medical degree at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Veerapong is board certified in general surgery.

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, and Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He was awarded the Vallee L. Willman Award for Excellence in Surgical Education in 2015 for his dedication in resident education.

Outside of work, Dr. Veerapong enjoys road biking, mountain biking, skiing and trail running.

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For more information, see Gastrointestinal Cancers.