Donald T. Hess, MD
Assistant Professor, Surgery

Biography
Donald Hess, MD, FACS is currently an assistant professor of surgery at BUSM and the chief of the Section of Minimally Invasive and Weight Loss Surgery at Boston Medical Center (BMC).
His clinical practice is devoted to minimally invasive and bariatric surgery. He has tremendous surgical expertise in laparoscopic bariatric surgery (sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding and gastric bypass) and revisional bariatric surgery. He also has an interest in minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, surgery for disease of the stomach and esophagus, intestinal surgery, single-site surgery, complex hernia surgery and general surgery.
He is a member of the Association of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). He has been recognized by Boston Magazine’s “Top Docs” issue for being “top” in his respective field four years in a row and was a 2013 recipient of the BUSM Evans Center Collaborator of the Year Award.
Hess is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. and received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, N.Y. He completed a residency in general surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a fellowship in Surgical Oncology at New England Deaconess Hospital, both in Boston. He joined BUSM after working for the U.S. Air Force as an assistant professor of surgery stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Other Positions
- Section Chief, Gastrointestinal Surgery, Surgery, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
Education
- University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, MD
- Williams College, BA
Publications
- Published on 8/8/2023
Melvin J, Beesley H, Pernar LI, Richman A, Hess DT. Intern Experience Reflects Information Gathered During the Virtual Interview Process. J Surg Educ. 2023 Aug 08. PMID: 37563002.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/14/2023
Chugh PV, Pernar LI, Hess DT. Our Efforts to Create a Welcoming Surgical Residency for LGBTQ Trainees. J Surg Educ. 2023 Jul 14. PMID: 37455192.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/9/2022
Beaulieu-Jones BR, Rasic G, Howard DS, Sachs TE, Hess D, Cooper J, Meade S. An Interval Look at the Transplant Surgery Pipeline: Insights from General Surgery Residents' Operative Experience Using ACGME Operative Logs from 2000 to 2021. J Surg Educ. 2023 Apr; 80(4):511-519. PMID: 36509647.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/12/2022
Beesley H, Pernar L, Kettoola Y, Hess D. The Association Between Virtual Interviewing and Geographical Distribution of Matched Residency Programs for General Surgery Applicants. J Surg Educ. 2023 Feb; 80(2):194-199. PMID: 36241484.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/1/2022
Pernar LI, Aly S, Hess DT. We Should Be Asking New Questions in Research on Weight Loss Surgery for Racial Minority Patients. JAMA Surg. 2022 Oct 01; 157(10):907. PMID: 36044206.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/1/2022
Ju Z, Anderson W, Istfan N, Carmine B, Carter C, Pernar L, Marshall A, Hess DT. Comparison of weight loss outcomes between Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy in a racially mixed urban patient population. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2022 Oct; 18(10):1218-1227. PMID: 35794035.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/10/2022
Pernar LI, Hess DT. Creating a Welcoming Surgery Residency Training Program for LGBTQ Trainees. Am Surg. 2022 Dec; 88(12):2796-2801. PMID: 35538707.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/28/2022
Stolarski AE, Alonso A, Aly S, Feeney T, Pereira F, Carter C, Hess D, Pernar LI, Carmine B, Drake FT. The impact of English proficiency on outcomes after bariatric surgery. Surg Endosc. 2022 Oct; 36(10):7385-7391. PMID: 35229210.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/30/2022
Aly S, Stolarski AE, Beresneva O, Carter CO, Pernar LI, Carmine B, Hess DT. Rogue Staples: a Culprit in Post-operative Small Bowel Obstruction. Obes Surg. 2022 04; 32(4):1394-1396. PMID: 35094197.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/3/2022
Hasley RB, Aly S, Carter CO, Carmine B, Hess DT, McAneny D, Pernar LI. Application of the Caprini Risk Assessment Model to Select Patients for Extended Thromboembolism Prophylaxis After Sleeve Gastrectomy. J Gastrointest Surg. 2022 02; 26(2):298-304. PMID: 34981292.
Read at: PubMed
View 61 more publications: View full profile at BUMC