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Medical volumes line the walls of Dr. Cataldo Doria’s large office at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, leaving just enough space for his myriad diplomas and blow-up doll of George W. Bush in the corner. His affable demeanor and deliberate speech invites ease and trust, something that stems from his years of dealing with patients at a critical point in their care. This can be a good thing for a transplant surgeon and Doria, who specializes in liver surgeries, has performed more than 450.
The resident of the 100 block of Queen Street has been in the national and international spotlight for his work for years and last month was recognized once more as the American Liver Foundation Transplant Surgeon of the Year.
"When I received the letter from the American Liver Foundation announcing the award, my first thought was that this is a prize that belongs to a team of committed professionals. A successful transplant program is not a one man endeavor, it is the result of a fine balance between different personalities, skills, and people chemistry," Doria, associate professor of surgery and director of the division of transplantation at Jefferson, said.
Since 1992, the foundation only has bestowed the title on 68 people for their contributions to the field of liver disease and transplantation, including Nobel Prize-winner Baruch S. Blumberg.
With a need to always be connected in his urgent line of work, Doria does 10- to 12-hour days with a pager that is never turned off, a BlackBerry constantly by his side and a forever jangling office phone. On surgery days, he will be at the hospital as early as 2 a.m. and work a 15-hour shift.
"I could live in this office and still never get anything done," Doria said with a laugh.
In Taranto, Italy, where Doria grew up, all fifth-graders are required to write about their aspirations. The future doctor complied a detailed description of a life in transplant surgery — the only difference being he planned on focusing on the heart rather than the liver.
At the end of his third year of medical school, Doria was told a career in transplantation was not an option in his hometown. He was not discouraged in the least. He began writing letters to childhood hero Thomas E. Starzl, who performed the world’s first liver transplant in ’63.
Doria never dreamed Strarzl would respond, let alone reply as rapidly as he did. The doctor told Doria, now 43, when he finished his third year of medical school, he would be eligible to study in Pittsburgh, which at the time was one of the only transplant centers and where Strazl was a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.
Waiting for a liver for 10 months, Brock Barber knows full well the care and knowledge Doria brings to his patients. The South Jersey resident had a liver transplant in ’05 and remembers the doctor took the time to explain the surgery step-by-step to family members and made sure they, as well as he, were comfortable.
"He’s miracle worker, believe me," Barber, who now speaks at high schools on the importance of organ donation, said. "He is not like any other doctor I have ever experienced."
Doria said he could not imagine doing anything else with his life.
"This is the most gratifying thing in the world," he said. "That is what keeps us in this business."
