Rana Pullatt, M.D., honored with national recognition for clinical excellence

June 01, 2023
Doctor in a white jacket gestures while speaking in a hallway.
Dr. Rana Pullatt is dedicated to improving patient care through surgical innovation and education, with a focus on treating some of the most challenging high body mass index patients. Photo by Sarah Pack

Rana Pullatt, M.D., chief of the Division of Foregut and Metabolic Surgery, is being honored as the recipient of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Foundation’s 2023 Clinical Excellence Award. He will be formally recognized later this month during the LEAD Awards gala, which honors leaders in the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery. The event is held during the organization’s annual conference. 

The ASMBS is the preeminent bariatric and metabolic surgery society both in the United States and throughout the world. This award is being given to Pullatt for pushing the limits of bariatric surgery and teaching surgeons from all over the country the duodenal switch and SADI surgery techniques, considered the two most challenging bariatric surgery procedures. Pullatt regularly hosts surgeons from all over the world who come to MUSC for training in these cutting-edge procedures.

Pullatt is dedicated to improving patient care through surgical innovation and education, with a focus on treating some of the most challenging high body mass index (BMI) patients in the state. He is a diplomate in obesity medicine, a professor of surgery and serves as the director of the Bariatric and Robotic Surgery program at MUSC.

A worldwide leader in robotic surgery, he has done more than 1,700 robotic surgeries throughout his career. He was the first surgeon in the state to perform a laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. He is one of the pioneers of the robotic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch procedure, more commonly known as the robotic duodenal switch. Pullatt implemented one of the first structured robotic surgery curriculums in the country, resulting in robotic surgery certification for general surgery residents at MUSC. He has also been instrumental in training, mentoring and certifying other attending surgeons in performing robotic surgery.

In addition to his roles at MUSC Health, he serves the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center as the director of Bariatric Surgery for VISN-7, where he offers bariatric surgery for veterans from South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

Pullatt is actively involved in the ASMBS and is currently the chair of the international committee and the program co-chair for the ASMBS conference. He served as the past president of the Carolina Chapter of the ASMBS. He is a highly sought-after speaker at international bariatric society meetings and serves as chairman of the international certification in bariatric surgery working group, which is in the final stages of design for a pathway that will result in international surgeons being validated by ASMBS.

“Dr. Pullatt has earned the respect and admiration from both inside the walls of MUSC and beyond – for his internationally renowned surgical expertise and care he provides to some of the most challenging high-BMI patients in South Carolina – and for his collegial spirit and team focused approach,” said Prabhakar Baliga, M.D., chairman of the MUSC Department of Surgery. “We congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition.”

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