Brunt named chief of minimally invasive surgery

L. Michael Brunt, MD, a nationally recognized laparoscopic surgeon, has been named chief of the Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Brunt

Brunt succeeds Brent Matthews, MD, who served as chief of the minimally invasive surgery section since it was established in 2007. Matthews recently was named chair of the Department of Surgery at the Carolinas Medical Center and surgeon-in-chief of the Carolinas HealthCare System, both in Charlotte, N.C.

Over a 25-year career at the School of Medicine, Brunt has focused on laparoscopic abdominal, solid organ and biliary surgery, particularly procedures to remove the gallbladder and repair complex hernias. He treats many patients with sports hernias, which can affect an athlete’s ability to perform at a high level.

He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1980 and completed a residency in general surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in 1987.

A professor of surgery, Brunt serves as program director of Washington University’s Minimally Invasive Surgery Clinical Fellowship. He also initiated a skills training course for fourth-year medical students entering a surgical specialty. That course has gained national attention as a model for preparing students for their surgical internships.

Brunt is president of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, which has more than 6,300 members in the United States, Canada and internationally.

At the School of Medicine, Brunt received the Distinguished Clinician Award in 2009, the Samuel A. Goldstein Leadership Award for Medical Student Education in 2002 and, through the years, the Clinical Teacher of the Year Award seven times. In 2013, he received the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education.


Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.