Laura A. Lambert, MD, FACS
Dr. Laura A. Lambert is a surgeon at the University of Utah and its Huntsman Cancer Institute. She has expertise in the surgical treatment of cancers that have metastasized to the lining of the abdominal cavity and gastrointestinal oncology. Her main clinical focus is the surgical management of peritoneal carcinomatosis and the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, a procedure that has proven particularly effective in the treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.[1]
Early in her career, Dr. Lambert took advantage of a special program that allowed board-certified physicians to participate in a special palliative care training program. She uses her knowledge of this area to help patients ineligible for HIPEC or beyond its effectiveness to manage their pain and symptoms and help them transition to a different mode of care with different goals.
Education and Career
Dr. Lambert earned an undergraduate degree in German and Economics from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and was intent on a Ph.D. in German until she accompanied her father, an anesthesiologist, and her mother, an OR nurse, on a mission to Haiti. That experience shifted her goals and made her want “to do something where I’m giving back to society for the rest of my life.” She earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and then completed a General Surgery residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center followed by a two-year fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also obtained her board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester.[2]
Today, Dr. Lambert is a Professor of Surgery and Director of the University of Utah’s Peritoneal Malignancy Program.
Professional Memberships and Affiliations
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American College of Surgeons
Research
Dr. Lambert’s research is focused on the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal malignancies and on comprehensive palliative care. She has published extensively on these topics and speaks extensively at professional conferences.
Her publications and presentations include:[1]
- Impact of Perioperative Blood Transfusions on Outcomes After Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Propensity-Matched Analysis. Ann Surg Oncol, 28(8), 4499-4507. Kubi B, Nudotor R, Fackche N, Nizam W, Cloyd JM, Grotz TE, Fournier KF, Dineen SP, Powers BD, Veerapong J, Baumgartner JM, Clarke CN, Patel SH, Lambert LA, Abbott DE, Vande Walle KA, Raoof M, Lee B, Maithel SK, Staley CA, Johnston FM, Greer JB (2021).
- Current management of malignant bowel obstructions: a survey of acute care surgeons and surgical oncologists. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open, 6(1), e000755.Bleicher J, Lambert LA (2021). A Palliative Approach to Management of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis and Malignant Ascites. Surg Oncol Clin N Am, 30(3), 475-490.
- Bleicher J, Lambert LA, Scaife CL, Colonna A (2021).
- Drivers of Moral Distress in Surgical Intensive Care Providers: A Mixed Methods Study. J Surg Res, 266, 292-299. Bleicher J, Place A, Schoenhals S, Luppens CL, Grudziak J, Lambert LA, McCrum ML (2021).
- The Utility of Preoperative Tumor Markers in Peritoneal Carcinomatosis from Primary Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma: An Analysis from the US HIPEC Collaborative. J Gastrointest Surg. Fackche N, Schmocker RK, Kubi B, Cloyd JM, Ahmed A, Grotz T, Leiting J, Fournier K, Lee AJ, Powers B, Dineen S, Veerapong J, Baumgartner JM, Clarke C, Gamblin TC, Patel SH, Dhar V, Hendrix RJ, Lambert L, Abbott DE, Pokrzywa C, Lafaro K, Lee B, Zaidi MY, Maithel SK, Johnston FM, Greer JB (2021).
- A novel preoperative risk score to optimize patient selection for performing concomitant liver resection with cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC. J Surg Oncol, 123(1), 187-195. Lee RM, Gamboa AC, Turgeon MK, Zaidi MY, Kimbrough C, Leiting J, Grotz T, Lee AJ, Fournier K, Powers B, Dineen S, Baumgartner JM, Veerapong J, Mogal H, Clarke C, Wilson G, Patel S, Hendrix R, Lambert L, Pokrzywa C, Abbott DE, LaRocca CJ, Raoof M, Greer J, Johnston FM, Staley CA, Cloyd JM, Maithel SK, Russell MC (2020).
- Repeat Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Is Not Associated with Prohibitive Complications: Results of a Multiinstitutional Retrospective Study. Ann Surg Oncol, 27(13), 4883-4891. Powers BD, Felder S, Veerapong J, Baumgartner JM, Clarke C, Mogal H, Staley CA, Maithel SK, Patel S, Dhar V, Lambert L, Hendrix RJ, Abbott DE, Pokrzywa C, Raoof M, Lee B, Johnston FM, Greer J, Cloyd JM, Kimbrough C, Grotz T, Leiting J, Fournier K, Lee AJ, Imanirad I, Dessureault S, Dineen SP (2020).
Conference Presentation:
- Guidelines for Perioperative Care in Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS) with or without Hyperthermic IntraPeritoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC): Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS®) Society Recommendations – Part I: Preoperative and intraoperative management. Eur J Surg Oncol, England, 46(12), 2292-2310. Hbner M, Kusamura S, Villeneuve L, Al-Niaimi A, Alyami M, Balonov K, Bell J, Bristow R, Guiral DC, Fagotti A, Falco LFR, Glehen O, Lambert L, Mack L, Muenster T, Piso P, Pocard M, Rau B, Sgarbura O, Somashekhar SP, Wadhwa A, Altman A, Fawcett W, Veerapong J, Nelson G (2020).
