Thomas K. Varghese Jr.
( out of 188 reviews )

Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, MBA, FACS

Languages spoken: English, Malayalam

Clinical Locations

Huntsman Cancer Institute - Cancer Hospital South

Salt Lake City
801-587-4470

  • Dr. Thomas Varghese Jr. is the Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer and Chief Value Officer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Chief - Section of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of Utah. He is also Professor (Tenure Track) in the Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine.

    Dr. Varghese's clinical interests are in Thoracic Surgical Oncology. A national leader in minimally invasive applications for general thoracic surgery, he is recognized by Castle Connolly as one of America’s “Top Docs”, and is ranked in the top 10% of the nation by Press Ganey for patient satisfaction scores. He was recruited to the University of Utah from the University of Washington in 2015, and has helped build a Thoracic Surgery Center of Excellence at the University of Utah/Huntsman Cancer Institute that actively participates in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Database, American College of Surgeons (ACS) Surgical Quality Improvement Program, and has received recognition as a national lung cancer surgery center of excellence by US News and World Report, and Vizient.

    His research interests bridge the world of Educational Research and Health Services Research, specifically in the arena of optimizing performance at the patient, surgeon and system levels. He created the Strong for Surgery program while he was at the University of Washington, which is now a formal Quality Improvement program of the American College of Surgeons, and active at 331 clinical sites across the nation and 3 state surgical collaboratives ( https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/strong-for-surgery ). He has a track record of peer-reviewed publications and extramural funding, including current RO1 funding from the National Cancer Institute with Co-PIs Dr. Neli Ulrich (Dept. of Population Sciences) and Dr. Paul LaStayo (Dept. of Physical Therapy) for a pragmatic randomized clinical trial examining the effects of a unique Prescription Exercise Prescription (PEP) for lung cancer surgical patients utlizing an integrated Physical Therapy Clinic model (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30559162 )

    Dr. Varghese holds national leadership positions in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Thoracic Surgery Directors Association, American College of Surgeons, and the Society of University Surgeons. He was elected to the inaugural class of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2018, and was the first Chair of the Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network (ThORN), a collaborative that spans 29 institutions across the nation [http://thoracicoutcomes.org/]. Dr. Varghese is active on social media, blue check-marked on Twitter (@tomvarghesejr ) and is the Deputy Editor of Digital Media and Digital Scholarship for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

    At the University of Utah, Dr. Varghese is a member of an active collaborative of Chief Value Officers, Education Leaders and Health Services Researchers that embraces the Triple Aim (outstanding patient-centered care, improving the health of the population we serve, reducing the cost of care) with the goal of maintaining the University of Utah at the highest level of patient care in the country.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Surgery
    American Board of Thoracic Surgery

    Patient Rating

    4.9 /5
    ( out of 188 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. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    February 06, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr Varghese is amazingly skilled. He explains what is going to happen. This relieves a lot of stress. He is also very easy to get to if you need information.

    January 17, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Great Team, wonderful doctor

    January 17, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Varghese is an impressive individual. He knows his field and he knows how to deal with people in very sensitive situations. I'm glad to have him leading my team.

    January 16, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    if there is such a thing as the best of the best that would be dr. Varghese

    January 14, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    He is a fine surgeon, you can trust what he says

    January 08, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Varghese is the absolute best there is. He's friendly, warm, quick with a smile and always puts me at ease. I adore and am thankful for him everyday since 2021 when I became a patient of his. Nobody else I'd trust my lungs with than Dr. Varghese. He is the absolute best!

    December 23, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Dr. Varghese is an outstanding surgeon and a wonderful human being. He's an asset to Huntsman and to the community.

    December 14, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Very caring and professional doctor.

    November 29, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Explained upcoming surgery well & with kindness. He also took the time to send me the results of my PET scan that was done the next day even though it was the day before Thanksgiving. He answered our questions & I didn't feel rushed.

    See More Patient Comments

  • Dr. Thomas Varghese Jr. is the Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer and Chief Value Officer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Chief - Section of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of Utah. He is also Professor (Tenure Track) in the Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine.

    Dr. Varghese's clinical interests are in Thoracic Surgical Oncology. A national leader in minimally invasive applications for general thoracic surgery, he is recognized by Castle Connolly as one of America’s “Top Docs”, and is ranked in the top 10% of the nation by Press Ganey for patient satisfaction scores. He was recruited to the University of Utah from the University of Washington in 2015, and has helped build a Thoracic Surgery Center of Excellence at the University of Utah/Huntsman Cancer Institute that actively participates in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Database, American College of Surgeons (ACS) Surgical Quality Improvement Program, and has received recognition as a national lung cancer surgery center of excellence by US News and World Report, and Vizient.

    His research interests bridge the world of Educational Research and Health Services Research, specifically in the arena of optimizing performance at the patient, surgeon and system levels. He created the Strong for Surgery program while he was at the University of Washington, which is now a formal Quality Improvement program of the American College of Surgeons, and active at 331 clinical sites across the nation and 3 state surgical collaboratives ( https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/strong-for-surgery ). He has a track record of peer-reviewed publications and extramural funding, including current RO1 funding from the National Cancer Institute with Co-PIs Dr. Neli Ulrich (Dept. of Population Sciences) and Dr. Paul LaStayo (Dept. of Physical Therapy) for a pragmatic randomized clinical trial examining the effects of a unique Prescription Exercise Prescription (PEP) for lung cancer surgical patients utlizing an integrated Physical Therapy Clinic model (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30559162 )

    Dr. Varghese holds national leadership positions in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Thoracic Surgery Directors Association, American College of Surgeons, and the Society of University Surgeons. He was elected to the inaugural class of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2018, and was the first Chair of the Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network (ThORN), a collaborative that spans 29 institutions across the nation [http://thoracicoutcomes.org/]. Dr. Varghese is active on social media, blue check-marked on Twitter (@tomvarghesejr ) and is the Deputy Editor of Digital Media and Digital Scholarship for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

    At the University of Utah, Dr. Varghese is a member of an active collaborative of Chief Value Officers, Education Leaders and Health Services Researchers that embraces the Triple Aim (outstanding patient-centered care, improving the health of the population we serve, reducing the cost of care) with the goal of maintaining the University of Utah at the highest level of patient care in the country.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Surgery -Professor
    Academic Divisions Cardiothoracic Surgery
    Board Certification
    American Board of Surgery
    American Board of Thoracic Surgery

    Education history

    Graduate Training Business - University of Utah Executive M.B.A.
    Chief Resident Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of Michigan Administrative Chief Resident
    Fellowship Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of Michigan Fellow
    Chief Resident General Surgery - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chief Resident
    Residency General Surgery - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Resident
    Graduate Training Clinical Investigation - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine M.S.
    Research Fellow Organ Transplantation - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Research Fellow
    Residency General Surgery Residency - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Resident
    Internship/Residency Rotating Resident Internship - Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram Intern/Resident
    Professional Medical Medicine - Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram/University of Kerala M.D.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Morris BB, Wages NA, Grant PA, Stukenberg PT, Gentzler RD, Hall RD, Akerley WL, Varghese TK, Arnold SM, Williams TM, Coppola V, Jones DR, Auble DT, Mayo MW (2021). MYBL2-Driven Transcriptional Programs Link Replication Stress and Error-prone DNA Repair With Genomic Instability in Lung Adenocarcinoma. Front Oncol, 10, 585551. (Read full article)
    2. Luc JGY, Archer MA, Arora RC, Bender EM, Blitz A, Cooke DT, Hlci TN, Kidane B, Ouzounian M, Varghese TK Jr, Antonoff MB (2020). Does Tweeting Improve Citations? One-Year Results From the TSSMN Prospective Randomized Trial. Ann Thorac Surg, 111(1), 296-300. (Read full article)
    3. Antonoff MB, Mitzman B, Backhus L, Bradbury ST, Chatterjee S, Cooke DT, Crestanello J, Goldstone AB, Kim KM, Nguyen TC, Romano JC, Vaporciyan AA, Varghese TK Jr (2020). The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Virtual Conference Taskforce: Recommendations for Hosting a Virtual Surgical Meeting. Ann Thorac Surg, 111(1), 16-23. (Read full article)
    4. Stokes SM, Massarweh NN, Stringham JR, Varghese TK Jr (2020). Impact of Multimodality Treatment Sequence on Survival in Stage IIB Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Ann Thorac Surg. (Read full article)
    5. Himbert C, Klossner N, Coletta AM, Barnes CA, Wiskemann J, LaStayo PC, Varghese TK Jr, Ulrich CM (2020). Exercise and lung cancer surgery: A systematic review of randomized-controlled trials. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol, 156, 103086. (Read full article)
    6. Hu QL, Dworsky JQ, Beck AC, Gilbert EW, Pockaj BA, Varghese TK Jr, Maggard-Gibbons M, Ko CY, Weigel RJ, Laronga C (2020). Perioperative Pain Management after Ambulatory Abdominal Surgery: An American College of Surgeons Systematic Review. J Am Coll Surg, 231(5), 572-601.e27. (Read full article)
    7. Pannucci CJ, Fleming KI, Varghese TK Jr, Stringham J, Huang LC, Pickron TB, Prazak AM, Bertolaccini C, Momeni A (2020). Low anti-Factor Xa level predicts 90-day Symptomatic Venous Thromboembolism in Surgical Patients Receiving Enoxaparin Prophylaxis: A Pooled Analysis of Eight Clinical Trials. Ann Surg. (Read full article)
    8. Stokes SM, Scaife CL, Brooke BS, Glasgow RE, Mulvihill SJ, Finlayson SRG, Varghese TK Jr (2020). Hospital Costs Following Surgical Complications: A Value-driven Outcomes Analysis of Cost Savings Due to Complication Prevention. Ann Surg, 275, e375-e381. (Read full article)
    9. Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network Inc, Antonoff M, Backhus L, Boffa DJ, Broderick SR, Brown LM, Carrott P, Clark JM, Cooke D, David E, Facktor M, Farjah F, Grogan E, Isbell J, Jones DR, Kidane B, Kim AW, Keshavjee S, Krantz S, Lui N, Martin L, Meguid RA, Meyerson SL, Mullett T, Nelson H, Odell DD, Phillips JD, Puri V, Rusch V, Shulman L, Varghese TK, Wakeam E, Wood DE (2020). COVID-19 Guidance for Triage of Operations for Thoracic Malignancies: A Consensus Statement From Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(2), 692-696. (Read full article)
    10. Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network Inc, Antonoff M, Backhus L, Boffa DJ, Broderick SR, Brown LM, Carrott P, Clark JM, Cooke D, David E, Facktor M, Farjah F, Grogan E, Isbell J, Jones DR, Kidane B, Kim AW, Keshavjee S, Krantz S, Lui N, Martin L, Meguid RA, Meyerson SL, Mullett T, Nelson H, Odell DD, Phillips JD, Puri V, Rusch V, Shulman L, Varghese TK, Wakeam E, Wood DE (2020). COVID-19 guidance for triage of operations for thoracic malignancies: A consensus statement from Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 160(2), 601-605. (Read full article)
    11. Daodu O, Panda N, Lopushinsky S, Varghese TK Jr, Brindle M (2020). COVID-19 - Considerations and Implications for Surgical Learners. Ann Surg, 272(1), e22-e23. (Read full article)
    12. Pannucci CJ, Fleming KI, Bertolaccini C, Moulton L, Stringham J, Barnett S, Lin J, Varghese TK Jr (2020). Fixed or Weight-Tiered Enoxaparin After Thoracic Surgery for Venous Thromboembolism Prevention. Ann Thorac Surg, 109(6), 1713-1721. (Read full article)
    13. Wakeam E, Adibfar A, Stokes S, Leighl NB, Giuliani ME, Varghese TK Jr, Darling GE (2019). Defining the role of adjuvant therapy for early-stage large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 159(5), 2043-2054.e9. (Read full article)
    14. Barnes CA, Stout NL, Varghese TK Jr, Ulrich CM, Couriel DR, Lee CJ, Noren CS, LaStayo PC (2019). Clinically Integrated Physical Therapist Practice in Cancer Care: A New Comprehensive Approach. Phys Ther, 100(3), 543-553. (Read full article)
    15. Luc JGY, Archer MA, Arora RC, Bender EM, Blitz A, Cooke DT, Hlci TN, Kidane B, Ouzounian M, Varghese TK Jr, Antonoff MB (2019). Social Media Improves Cardiothoracic Surgery Literature Dissemination: Results of a Randomized Trial. Ann Thorac Surg, 109(2), 589-595. (Read full article)
    16. Cook GW, Benton MG, Akerley W, Mayhew GF, Moehlenkamp C, Raterman D, Burgess DL, Rowell WJ, Lambert C, Eng K, Gu J, Baybayan P, Fussell JT, Herbold HD, OShea JM, Varghese TK, Emerson LL (2020). Structural variation and its potential impact on genome instability: Novel discoveries in the EGFR landscape by long-read sequencing. PLoS One, 15(1), e0226340. (Read full article)
    17. Stokes SM, Kim RY, Jacobs A, Esplin J, Kwok AC, Varghese TK Jr, Glasgow RE, Brooke BS, Finlayson SRG, Huang LC (2019). Home Disposal Kits for Leftover Opioid Medications After Surgery: Do They Work? J Surg Res, 245, 396-402. (Read full article)
    18. Luc JGY, Ouzounian M, Bender EM, Blitz A, Stamp NL, Varghese TK Jr, Cooke DT, Antonoff MB (2019). The Thoracic Surgery Social Media Network: Early Experience and Lessons Learned. Ann Thorac Surg, 108(4), 1248-1255. (Read full article)
    19. Luc JGY, Ouzounian M, Bender EM, Blitz A, Stamp NL, Varghese TK Jr, Cooke DT, Antonoff MB (2019). The Thoracic Surgery Social Media Network: Early experience and lessons learned. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 158(4), 1127-1136. (Read full article)
    20. Stokes SM, Massarweh NN, Stringham JR, Varghese TK Jr (2019). Clinical-Pathologic Correlation and Guideline Concordance in Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Ann Thorac Surg, 108(3), 837-844. (Read full article)
    21. DeBoard ZM, Varghese TK Jr, Doty JR, Selzman CH (2019). Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Training in Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation. J Atr Fibrillation, 12(1), 2195. (Read full article)
    22. Stokes SM, Wakeam E, Antonoff MB, Backhus LM, Meguid RA, Odell D, Varghese TK Jr (2019). Optimizing health before elective thoracic surgery: systematic review of modifiable risk factors and opportunities for health services research. J Thorac Dis, 11(Suppl 4), S537-S554. (Read full article)
    23. Handy JR, Bremner RM, Crocenzi TS, Detterbeck FC, Fernando HC, Fidias PM, Firestone S, Johnstone CA, Lanuti M, Litle VR, Kesler KA, Mitchell JD, Pass HI, Ross HJ, Varghese TK (2018). Expert Consensus Document on Pulmonary Metastasectomy. Ann Thorac Surg, 107(2), 631-649. (Read full article)
    24. Ulrich CM, Himbert C, Boucher K, Wetter DW, Hess R, Kim J, Lundberg K, Ligibel JA, Barnes CA, Rushton B, Marcus R, Finlayson SRG, LaStayo PC, Varghese TK (2018). Precision-Exercise-Prescription in patients with lung cancer undergoing surgery: rationale and design of the PEP study trial. BMJ Open, 8(12), e024672. (Read full article)
    25. Stokes SM, Wakeam E, Swords DS, Stringham JR, Varghese TK Jr (2018). Impact of insurance status on receipt of definitive surgical therapy and posttreatment outcomes in early stage lung cancer. Surgery, 164(6), 1287-1293. (Read full article)
    26. Glotzbach JP, Sharma V, Tonna JE, Pettit JC, McKellar SH, Eckhauser AW, Varghese TK Jr, Selzman CH (2018). Value-driven cardiac surgery: Achieving "perfect care" after coronary artery bypass grafting. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 156(4), 1436-1448.e2. (Read full article)
    27. Varghese TK Jr, Ghaferi AA (2017). Cutting-edge Efforts in Surgical Patient Safety. JAMA Surg, 152(8), 719-720. (Read full article)
    28. Farjah F, Backhus L, Cheng A, Englum B, Kim S, Saha-Chaudhuri P, Wood DE, Mulligan MS, Varghese TK (2015). Failure to rescue and pulmonary resection for lung cancer. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 149(5), 1365-71; discussion 1371-3.e3. (Read full article)
    29. Farjah F, Backhus LM, Varghese TK, Manning JP, Cheng AM, Mulligan MS, Wood DE (2014). External validation of a prediction model for pathologic N2 among patients with a negative mediastinum by positron emission tomography. J Thorac Dis, 7(4), 576-84. (Read full article)
    30. Varghese TK Jr, Hofstetter WL, Rizk NP, Low DE, Darling GE, Watson TJ, Mitchell JD, Krasna MJ (2013). The society of thoracic surgeons guidelines on the diagnosis and staging of patients with esophageal cancer. Ann Thorac Surg, 96(1), 346-56. (Read full article)

    Editorial

    1. Luc JGY, Archer MA, Arora RC, Bender EM, Blitz A, Cooke DT, Elde S, Guy TS, Halpern AL, Harrington C, Hlci TN, Kidane B, Olive JK, Ouzounian M, Stamp N, Vervoort D, Varghese TK Jr, Antonoff MB (2020). The Thoracic Surgery Social Media Network Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(4), 1103-1107. (Read full article)
    2. Varghese TK Jr, Entwistle JW 3rd, Mayer JE, Moffatt-Bruce SD, Sade RM, Cardiothoracic Ethics Forum (2019). Ethical standards for cardiothoracic surgeons' participation in social media. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 158(4), 1139-1143. (Read full article)
    3. Varghese TK Jr, Entwistle JW 3rd, Mayer JE, Moffatt-Bruce SD, Sade RM, Cardiothoracic Ethics Forum (2019). Ethical Standards for Cardiothoracic Surgeons' Participation in Social Media. Ann Thorac Surg, 108(3), 666-670. (Read full article)

    Letter

    1. Luc JGY, Varghese TK Jr, Antonoff MB (2020). We Stand by Our Data: A Call for Professional Scholarly Discourse. [Letter to the editor]. Ann Thorac Surg, 111(3), 1095-1097. (Read full article)

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