Nicolas Contreras
( out of 18 reviews )

Nicolas Contreras, MD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Huntsman Cancer Institute - Cancer Hospital South

Salt Lake City
801-646-4111

  • Nicolas Contreras, MD, is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon with a special interest in robotic thoracic surgery, thoracic oncology, esophageal surgery, complex esophageal reconstruction, and lung transplantation.

    Dr. Contreras' clinical specialties:

    • Thoracic Oncology

    • Robotic Thoracic Surgery

    • Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Esophagus

    • Lung Cancer

    • Mediastinal Tumors

    • Chest wall Reconstruction

    • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

    • Lung Transplantation

    • Bioethics

    Dr. Contreras' research areas of interest:

    • Esophageal Cancer

    • Thoracic Oncology

    • Lung Transplantation

    • Bioethics

    Dr. Contreras graduated top of his class at Gonzaga University, majoring in Biochemistry, then received his MD at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He continued at the Mayo Clinic to complete his General Surgery Residency. During his education and residency, Dr. Contreras received multiple awards recognizing his excellence in clinical and surgical care, including awards as the top surgical intern of his class, best overall surgical resident, and Chief Resident Teacher of the Year. He completed his fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah.

    From Bogota, Colombia, Dr. Contreras speaks English and Spanish. He enjoys playing soccer, snowboarding, traveling, and SCUBA diving in his free time. He has also dedicated part of his career to working with underserved communities in Central and South America.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Surgery
    National Board of Medical Examiners

    Patient Rating

    5.0 /5
    ( out of 18 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety.
    Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    October 22, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Was kind and gentle. Made sure I understood what needed to be addressed. Felt lucky he was the Doctor I got

    October 20, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Thank you, Dr Contreras and your team. It is because of HCI and Dr Contreras that I am alive and recovering. He explained everything that was going to happen and was extremely reassuring and compassionate. He made a very scary time in my life feel much more manageable and comfortable. He is brilliant and kind and his patients can tell how much he cares.

    October 11, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    He is AWESOME. Very tuned in to explaining everything to me. He has an excellent sense of humor, which helps keep the anxiety down lower.

    October 11, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    The best! So thoughtful, thorough and kind. I feel hope for the first time in over a year.

    October 07, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Contreras is very caring, straight forward and made my husband and I feel like we were in excellent care. He answered all questions about surgery and follow up care. I feel very confident in his care

    September 15, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr Contereas is amazing! He described the procedure in terms we could understand. We have a realistic idea of what to expect and the associated risks. Most importantly, he helped instill our confidence in him and Dr Scaife to do the surgery.

    September 15, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    I've been seeing Dr. Contreras since December of 2023. He has always taken his time to explain all aspects of my condition thoroughly, including answering any questions I have. He is very clear about next steps and options. I trust him 100 percent with my health.

    September 14, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Excellent provider. Would recommend to anyone.

    September 09, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Made me feel good about his knowledge and now I feel confident of hi abilities

    See More Patient Comments

  • Nicolas Contreras, MD, is a fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon with a special interest in robotic thoracic surgery, thoracic oncology, esophageal surgery, complex esophageal reconstruction, and lung transplantation.

    Dr. Contreras' clinical specialties:

    • Thoracic Oncology

    • Robotic Thoracic Surgery

    • Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Esophagus

    • Lung Cancer

    • Mediastinal Tumors

    • Chest wall Reconstruction

    • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

    • Lung Transplantation

    • Bioethics

    Dr. Contreras' research areas of interest:

    • Esophageal Cancer

    • Thoracic Oncology

    • Lung Transplantation

    • Bioethics

    Dr. Contreras graduated top of his class at Gonzaga University, majoring in Biochemistry, then received his MD at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He continued at the Mayo Clinic to complete his General Surgery Residency. During his education and residency, Dr. Contreras received multiple awards recognizing his excellence in clinical and surgical care, including awards as the top surgical intern of his class, best overall surgical resident, and Chief Resident Teacher of the Year. He completed his fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah.

    From Bogota, Colombia, Dr. Contreras speaks English and Spanish. He enjoys playing soccer, snowboarding, traveling, and SCUBA diving in his free time. He has also dedicated part of his career to working with underserved communities in Central and South America.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Surgery -Primary
    Academic Divisions Cardiothoracic Surgery
    Board Certification
    American Board of Surgery
    National Board of Medical Examiners

    Education history

    Fellowship Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine Fellow
    General Surgery - Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science Chief Resident
    Residency General Surgery - Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science Resident
    Medicine - Mayo Medical School M.D.
    Undergraduate Biochemistry - Gonzaga University B.S.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Contreras N, Litle VR (2022). Pulmonary Segmentectomy: Does Virtual Reality Have Bite? Ann Thorac Surg, 115(5), 1255-1256. (Read full article)
    2. Contreras N, Litle VR (2022). Follow the Leader? Can Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Follow Non-small Cell Lung Cancer's Lead With Immunotherapy? Ann Thorac Surg, 114(5), e361. (Read full article)
    3. Contreras N, Litle VR (2022). Systemic Disease and the Impact on Esophageal Carcinoma Management: The Big Picture. Ann Thorac Surg. (Read full article)
    4. Contreras N, Litle VR (2022). Invited Commentary: COVID-19 and Cancer Casualty: Managing Esophageal Cancer. J Am Coll Surg, 235(2), 184-185. (Read full article)
    5. Liu S, Contreras N, Krezalek MA, Abd El Aziz MA, Merchea A, Kelley SR, Behm K (2022). Robotic transanal minimally invasive surgery: a single institutional experience. Updates Surg, 74(3), 1011-1016. (Read full article)
    6. Krezalek MA, Contreras-Peraza N, Parker ME, Kelley SR, Behm KT (2020). Hybrid Robotic Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery Approach to Large and Low-Lying Rectal Polyps. Dis Colon Rectum, 63(7), 1001-1006. (Read full article)
    7. Contreras N, Jakub JW (2019). The achilles heel of minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection: Seroma formation. Am J Surg, 219(4), 696-700. (Read full article)
    8. Hernandez MC, Khasawneh M, Contreras-Peraza N, Lohse C, Stephens D, Kim BD, Zielinski MD (2019). Vaccination and splenectomy in Olmsted County. Surgery, 166(4), 556-563. (Read full article)
    9. Khasawneh MA, Contreras-Peraza N, Hernandez MC, Lohse C, Jenkins DH, Zielinski MD (2019). Outcomes after splenectomy in children: a 48-year population-based study. Pediatr Surg Int, 35(5), 575-582. (Read full article)
    10. Contreras N, Joyce DD, Van Handel AC, Farley DR (2015). Video voiceover feedback: economised surgical skills training. Med Educ, 49(11), 1146. (Read full article)