Surgeons

For more than 25 years, Prof. Dr. Robert Porte is active in the field of surgical treatment of patients with diseases of the liver, pancreas or bile ducts. We also call this the Hepato (liver) - Pancreato (pancreas) - Biliary (bile duct) or HPB surgery. This not only concerns patients with a benign or malignant tumor that requires surgical treatment, but also patients with a disease for which only an organ transplant can provide a solution. His ambition with the team in which he works is to provide the very best care for patients with liver, pancreas or liver disease and to continuously improve this care through research.

Dr. Jeroen de Jonge obtained his medical exam cum laude in 1999 at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, after which he worked as a doctor in the surgical Intensive Care Unit of the Erasmus MC. In 2001 he started his training as a surgeon. In 2002 he obtained his doctorate for scientific research into technical and metabolic aspects of improving liver function after liver transplantation. During his training he spent a year in the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, to continue research into liver regeneration. In 2007 he followed the surgical follow-up training in gastro-intestinal surgery with Professor Huug Tilanus, with a special focus on liver and biliary tract surgery and transplant surgery.

As a staff member, he is currently mainly involved in the treatment of (malignant) tumors of the liver and bile ducts. In addition, liver transplant surgery is an important point of attention and he is part of Eurotransplant's West Netherlands organ donation team. In the scientific field, he focuses on optimizing liver function after surgery and transplantation with new techniques and stem cells.

Focus areas: (Laparoscopic) liver surgery, Liver and kidney transplantation, Organ donation and Internship education.

Dr. Roeland de Wilde has been working as a surgeon fellow since February 2019, where he further specializes in liver, pancreas and biliary tract surgery (HPB surgery) as well as in liver and kidney transplant surgery. He is also part of the organ donation team. He was trained as an Oncological, Gastrointestinal and Lung Surgeon at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital and the University Medical Center Utrecht.

His passion for this branch of surgery arose from scientific research into the genetic changes in pancreatic cancer that he conducted at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (USA) under the direction of Anirban Maitra and Ralph Hruban. This research led to the dissertation 'The Genetics and Molecular Alterations of Pancreatic Cancer', on which Roeland obtained his PhD Cum Laude from Utrecht University in 2015.

Optimizing and improving the prospects of patients with diseases of which there is predominantly limited knowledge is his motivation. By conducting scientific research as well as working closely with colleagues from other departments, Roeland strives to provide optimal treatment to patients.

Frank Dor is an experienced transplant surgeon with a primary focus on kidney and liver transplantation, with particular expertise in living kidney donation and complex kidney transplantation. After completing medical school at Erasmus University Rotterdam and earning his PhD at Harvard Medical School, he specialized in abdominal transplantation surgery at Erasmus MC.

From 2016 onward, he gained substantial international experience as Head of Transplantation at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. Since 2024, he has returned to Rotterdam to contribute his expertise to patients at Erasmus MC and the HPB Center. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he is actively involved in research and education, with a strong commitment to innovation and advancing transplant care internationally. He serves as Treasurer and Executive Board Member of the European Society for Organ Transplantation and is editor-in-chief of European Surgical Research.

Focus areas: Kidney transplantation (living and deceased donors), Living kidney donation, Liver transplantation, Multi-organ donation, Innovative surgical techniques.

Waqar Farid has been working as a hepato-pancreato-biliary and transplant surgeon at Erasmus MC since 2024. He specializes in liver transplantation and complex HPB surgery (liver, bile duct, and pancreas), with a particular focus on (robot-assisted) living liver donation. His passion is ensuring safe and successful liver donations, keeping both donor and recipient at the center of care.

After graduating in Medicine from Erasmus University Rotterdam (2012), he obtained his PhD on new insights and biomarkers for biliary complications after liver transplantation. He was trained as a surgeon at Maastricht UMC+ and Máxima MC, followed by fellowships at UMC Groningen and Isala Zwolle. Most recently, he gained experience in Riyadh (King Faisal Specialist Hospital) with robot-assisted living liver donation to introduce this technique in the Netherlands.

Focus areas: Liver transplantation, Living liver donation (robot-assisted), Liver, bile duct, and pancreas surgery, Innovative transplantation techniques.

Prof. Dr. Bas Groot Koerkamp is a surgical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with tumors of the liver, pancreas and bile ducts. He also performs organ removals for donation, as well as kidney and liver transplants within the multidisciplinary transplant team. He has been working at Erasmus MC since 2014 and in recent years has specialized in robotic surgery and the treatment of liver tumors with the chemo pump (chemopomp.nl). In addition, he leads a research group and is principal investigator of two national randomized trials (PREOPANC-2 and PUMP trial).

Focus areas: Pancreatic tumors, Bile duct tumors, Liver tumors, Liver and kidney transplantation and Robot surgery.

Drs. Roel Haen has been working in HPB/Transplant Surgery since October 2019. First as a surgical fellow, where he specialized in surgery of the liver, pancreas, bile ducts and liver (HPB surgery), as well as in transplant surgery of the liver and kidneys. After completing the UEMS fellowship in HPB and Transplant Surgery, he has been working as an HPB surgeon since May 1, 2023.

Drs. Diederik Kimenai studied medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven from 1995 to 1997 and at the Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1997 to 2003. He obtained his medical exam cum laude in 2003. From 2005 to 2011, he was trained as a general surgeon at both Maasstad Hospital and Erasmus Medical Center.

The focus area in the last period of his training was a combination of vascular surgery and transplant surgery. From 2011 to 2012 he did a fellowship at the Transplant Surgery Department at Erasmus MC.

Since July 1, 2011, Dr. Kimenai is employed as a surgeon in the transplant ward of the Erasmus MC Surgery Department. He is currently program leader of the kidney transplant program on the surgical side. He is also a board member of the European Kidney Transplant Association (EKITA). His areas of expertise are living kidney donation, kidney transplantation, multi-organ donation and CAPD surgery.

Dr. Nigel Kooreman is trained as an oncological surgeon with a focus on diseases of the liver, pancreas and bile ducts. He obtained his medical degree at Leiden University in 2012, after which he completed a PhD in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Joseph C. Wu at Stanford University, USA.. He subsequently obtained his PhD cum laude from Leiden University for the thesis “Immunogenicity and Tumorigenicity of Pluripotent Stem Cells”.

Since 2024, Dr. Nigel Kooreman has been a staff member at the Surgery department of Erasmus MC in the HPB and Transplantation Surgery department and treats patients with tumors in the liver, pancreas and bile ducts within a multidisciplinary team. He also performs organ removals for donation, as well as kidney and liver transplants within the multidisciplinary transplant team.

Dr. Robert Minnee is a transplant surgeon. He obtained his medical exam at the University of Amsterdam in 2005. He obtained his doctorate in 2009 with his thesis 'Surgical outcome of renal transplantation'. In 2015 he completed a master's degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Amsterdam.

He was trained as a surgeon at the Academic Medical Center, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital and the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis in Amsterdam. After this he followed a clinical fellowship for 1 year at the department of abdominal transplant surgery at UZ Leuven in Belgium.

Since 2016 he has been a staff member at the Department of Surgery at Erasmus MC in the HPB and Transplant Surgery department. Within the multidisciplinary transplant team, he performs organ removals for donation, as well as kidney and liver transplants. He also conducts scientific research in the field of kidney donation and transplantation.

Focus areas: Kidney and liver transplantation, Living kidney donation, Multi-organ donation, CAPD surgery and Transplantation research.

Dr. Wojciech Polak studied medicine in Wroclaw (Poland), after which he was trained as a surgeon at the University Hospital in Wroclaw. It was during this period that his interest in transplant surgery and hepatobiliary surgery arose. Between 2001 and 2003 he worked as a fellow at the University Medical Center in Groningen after which he returned to Poland to start the liver transplant program in Wroclaw.

Since 2006 he worked as a transplant surgeon and HPB surgeon at UMC in Groningen. In 2008, dr. Polak obtained his doctorate from the University of Groningen. Since September 2009 he has been working as a surgeon (transplant and liver surgery) within the General Surgery Department of Erasmus MC.

Focus areas: Liver Transplantation, Kidney Transplantation, Liver Surgery, RFA (Radio Frequent Ablation) in liver tumors and Multi-organ donation.

Dr. T. Terkivatan has been working at Erasmus MC since 2008 as HPB and Transplant Surgeon with a special interest in laparoscopic and robot-assisted techniques. She obtained her PhD on the topic “Diagnosis and treatment of benign liver tumors”, which is also part of her scientific focus. In addition, her research focuses on minimally invasive liver surgery and the prevention of urological complications in kidney transplant patients.

Dr. Tran has been affiliated with the Department of Surgery of Erasmus MC since 2003 as HPB Transplant surgeon with a focus on Minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, living kidney donation and transplantation, as well as liver-bile duct and pancreatic surgery.

Focus areas: Laparoscopic surgery, Robotic surgery, Live kidney donation and transplantation, Complex liver and bile duct surgery & Pancreatic surgery.