About Vanguard Surgical

Dr. Michael Hughes, Jr., M.D., owner and surgeon, opened Vanguard Surgical in 2019 after 22 years of surgical experience. He received his medical education from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Virginia and transplant surgery fellowship at the University of Minnesota before serving as an attending surgeon at the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of Louisville.

While at the University of Louisville as an abdominal transplant surgeon and director of the pancreas transplant program, Dr. Hughes placed more than 1,000 gastric stimulators (Medtronic Enterra I and then more recently Enterra II). His initial interest was in managing the severe gastroparesis affecting brittle diabetics undergoing pancreas transplantation. However, the demand became so great that he focused on gastroparesis and started his own practice, Vanguard Surgical, tailormade to these patients. His streamlined approached to gastroparesis is both effective and efficient. He is the only surgeon in the United States performing these procedures at an Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC). ASCs have significantly reduced costs for patients and insurance companies.

Dr. Hughes is a true surgical innovator when treating chronic pancreatitis. He established the islet auto transplant program at the University of Louisville Health – Jewish Hospital with a nearly $1 million grant from the Jewish Heritage fund for Excellence. He then co-founded Koligo Therapeutics to expand islet auto transplantation to hospitals throughout the world. As Chief Medical Officer of Koligo Therapeutics, Dr. Hughes trains surgeons throughout the United States on how to perform this procedure in addition to performing it himself in Louisville, KY at Vanguard Surgical.

Dr. Hughes has been recognized by his colleagues with numerous awards, including:

• American Society of Transplant Surgeons-Team Donate Life Junior Faculty Award (2009-2011)
• Poster of Distinction Award – 2013 American Transplant Congress (2013)
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Career Development Award in Liver Transplantation (2013-2015)
• MediStar Healthcare Innovation Award Islet Auto-transplantation Program (2015)

With a caring and efficient approach to treating the challenging diseases of chronic pancreatitis and gastroparesis, Dr. Hughes is on a mission to provide his patients with a better life.