Mutch named chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery​​

Mutch

Matthew Mutch, MD, a nationally known clinician and educator in the laparoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer, has been named chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Mutch succeeds James Fleshman Jr., MD, who has become chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center.

“We have had one of the most distinguished colorectal programs in the world under the leadership of our two previous chiefs, Ira Kodner and Jim Fleshman,” said Timothy Eberlein, MD, the Bixby Professor and Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Surgery. “Matt Mutch is an outstanding surgeon and educator who has provided passion and vision for what our program can achieve in the years to come. The leadership of the department is looking forward to working with Matt to accomplish his ambitious goals.”

Mutch is the program director of Washington University’s Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship. He also is active within the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital​ and Washington University School of Medicine, where he serves on the Quality Assessment and Safety Monitoring Committee and is co-chair of the Lower GI Cancer Group.

He has treated a broad spectrum of benign and malignant colorectal disease over his career. His research interests are the identification of molecular markers to predict cancer-related outcomes in patients with rectal cancer; clinical outcomes related to laparoscopic colorectal surgery; and enhanced recovery after surgery.

On a national level, Mutch is involved in resident and fellow education in his role as vice chair of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency Review Committee, as a member of the Fellowship Council Accreditation Committee and secretary of the Association of Program Directors for Colon and Rectal Surgery.

He is actively involved in the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, for which he serves on seven committees and is chair of the Self-Assessment Committee. He also has been active in the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, serving as a member of the Written Board Subcommittee and Maintenance of Certification Committee, and as an oral board examiner.

Mutch earned his medical degree in 1994 at Washington University School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency in 2001 at the school and a colon and rectal fellowship in 2002 at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass.


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.