Kamal M. Itani, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Kamal M. F. Itani, MD, Chief of surgery at the VA Boston Health Care System is a Professor of Surgery at Boston University. Dr Itani attended medical school at the American University of Beirut, residency in surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and a research fellowship in the Department of Surgery at Duke University. Prior to his move to Boston, Dr. Itani was an Associate Professor in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery and The Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Baylor College of Medicine. He was also Chief of General Surgery at the Houston VA Medical Center and a staff surgeon at The Ben Taub General Hospital.

Dr. Itani’s primary clinical interest is in surgical infections, and abdominal wall reconstruction with a research focus on the improvement of health services and surgical outcomes within his areas of clinical interest. He is the author or co-author of over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, editorials, and book chapters and is the investigator, co-investigator on several projects.

Dr Itani is a member of various surgical organizations and has served in various leadership positions in these organizations. He is a past President of the Association of VA surgeons, The Surgical Infection Society, and past chair of the surgical quality data use group ,the research arm of the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) and past chair of the research committee of the American College of surgeons. He is currently a governor of The Americas Hernia Society and a council member of the Massachusetts chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the editorial board of JAMA surgery and Surgical Infection, and is a reviewer for several medical and surgical journals.
Over the course of his career, Dr Itani has received numerous National and International awards and recognitions. Dr Itani was recently profiled in the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons.( Profiles in surgical research Kamal M.F. Itani, MD, FACS)

Publications

  • Published 3/7/2025

    Sadaka AH, O'Brien WJ, Itani KMF. The interplay of surgeon judgment and available evidence in the long-term outcome of ventral hernia repair. Am J Surg. 2025 May; 243:116292. PMID: 40086081.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/1/2025

    Sadaka AH, O'Brien WJ, Itani KMF. Surgical Decision-Making and Umbilical Hernia Repair Outcomes. JAMA Surg. 2025 Mar 01; 160(3):351-352. PMID: 39630445.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/1/2025

    Fayanju OM, Haut ER, Itani K. Practical Guide to Clinical Big Data Sources. JAMA Surg. 2025 Mar 01; 160(3):344-346. PMID: 39775674.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/1/2025

    Itani KMF, Henderson WG. Mixed Results With Oral Antibiotics for Fracture-Related Infections. JAMA Surg. 2025 Mar 01; 160(3):284-285. PMID: 39841462.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/1/2024

    Sadaka AH, Itani KMF. Caution Warranted in Robotic Ventral Hernia Repair. JAMA Surg. 2024 Sep 01; 159(9):1028-1029. PMID: 38865138.

    Read at: PubMed

Education

  • American University of Beirut, MD
  • American University of Beirut, BS