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Surgery

Medical College of Wisconsin MIGS Bariatric Fellowship Team

Faculty

Our faculty hold a variety of education leadership positions in the medical school as well as the residency program. We also hold a variety of national leadership positions in the realms of minimally invasive surgery, hernia surgery, surgical education, foregut surgery, endoscopy, and bariatric surgery.

Amir A. Ghaferi, MD, MSc, MBA

Amir A. Ghaferi, MD, MSc, MBA

Dr. Amir Ghaferi is a professor of surgery with tenure and serves as the president and CEO of the physician enterprise as well as the senior associate dean of clinical affairs for MCW. He maintains a clinical practice focused on bariatric and hernia surgery.

Matthew Goldblatt, MD

Matthew Goldblatt, MD

Dr. Matthew Goldblatt completed his minimally invasive fellowship at the Ohio State University in 2005. He specializes in hernia surgery, complex abdominal wall reconstruction, robotics and endoscopy. He is the director of the Condon Hernia Institute. He is involved in clinical research related to hernia repair, abdominal wall reconstruction, and hernia mesh assessment. Dr. Goldblatt is a member of the SAGES Board of Governors.

Jon Gould, MD

Jon Gould, MD, MBA

Dr. Jon Gould is the chief of our Minimally Invasive and Gastrointestinal Surgery Division. He completed his minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Ohio State in 2002. His clinical practice is focused on complex minimally invasive foregut and bariatric surgery. His research focus is on surgical quality, clinical outcomes in foregut surgery, and device development/new surgical technology. He also serves as the associate chief quality and safety officer for the entire Froedtert Hospital system and is the vice chair for quality of the MCW Department of Surgery. He is the current SAGES secretary and is on the SAGES Board of Governors.
Rana Higgins_Academic Profile

Rana Higgins, MD

Dr. Rana Higgins completed her fellowship training here at MCW in 2016 and was brought on as faculty. Her clinic focus is robotic surgery, bariatric surgery, foregut surgery, hernia surgery, and general surgery. Dr. Higgins is the program director for the general surgery residency program at MCW.

Andrew Kastenmeier_Academic Profile

Andrew Kastenmeier, MD

Dr. Andrew Kastenmeier completed his minimally invasive fellowship at Legacy in Portland, OR in 2011. He specializes in minimally invasive foregut surgery, hernia surgery, complex abdominal wall reconstruction, advanced therapeutic endoscopy, and surgical education. His research focus includes the clinical outcomes in foregut and hernia surgery, as well as surgical education. He is chief of the Division of Education for the MCW Department of Surgery.

Tammy Kindel, MD, PhD

Tammy Kindel, MD, PhD

Dr. Tammy Kindel is the fellowship associate program director. She completed her bariatric and minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Nebraska in 2015. Her clinical focus is bariatric surgery. She earned a PhD from the University of Cincinnati in molecular medicine and has a NIH-funded translational science lab dedicated to metabolic surgery research (active R01 Grant: "Identifying Gut Microbiome Mediated Mechanisms for Diastolic Dysfunction Improvement After Bariatric Surgery"). She directs the MCW MBSAQIP accredited bariatric surgery program, including adolescent bariatric surgery. Dr. Kindel is also the vice chief of the Division of Research for the MCW Department of Surgery.

Kate Lak_Academic Profile

Kate Lak, MD

Dr. Kate Lak completed her fellowship training here at MCW in 2017 and was brought on as faculty. Her clinical focus is bariatric surgery, foregut surgery, robotic surgery, hernia surgery, and general surgery.

Wen Hui Tan, MD

Wen Hui Tan, MD

Dr. Wen Hui Tan completed her fellowship training at MCW ins 2022 and, subsequently, began as faculty. Her clinic practice and research efforts are focused on hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction with an emphasis on robotic surgery. Dr. Tan is also the director of Skills and Simulation for the MCW general surgery residency program.

Ezra Teitelbaum, MD, MEd

Ezra Teitelbaum, MD, MEd

Dr. Ezra Teitelbaum is the fellowship program director. He completed his fellowship in foregut and minimally invasive surgery at Providence Portland Medical Center in 2017. His clinical focuses are in foregut, bariatric, and endoscopic surgery, with an emphasis on reoperative cases and management of surgical complications. His research interests are in esophageal physiology and surgical education. Dr. Teitelbaum spent the first eight years of his career at Northwestern and then joined the MCW faculty in June 2025.

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