Heather Wachtel, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Attending Surgeon, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency, University of Pennsylvania
Section Chief, Endocrine Surgery, University of Pennsulvania
Department: Surgery
Contact information
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce Street
4 Silverstein Pavilion, Dept. of Surgery
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3400 Spruce Street
4 Silverstein Pavilion, Dept. of Surgery
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-615-3346
Fax: 215-662-7476
Fax: 215-662-7476
Publications
Education
BA
Harvard University, 2003.
MD
Yale University School of Medicine, 2009.
MTR
University of Pennsylvania, 2024.
Permanent linkBA
Harvard University, 2003.
MD
Yale University School of Medicine, 2009.
MTR
University of Pennsylvania, 2024.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Endocrine SurgeryAdrenal tumors
Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma
Adrenocortical Carcinoma
Primary aldosteronism
Cushing's syndrome
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Parathyroid carcinoma
Thyroid tumors
Thyroid cancer
Description of Research Expertise
GenomicsAdrenal tumors
Bioinformatics
Selected Publications
Acker RC, Sharpe J, Williams S, Landau S, Rowe J, Fraker D, Karakousis GC, Wachtel H, Kelz RR.: ASO Visual Abstract: Comparing Resident Team Performance in Complex Surgical Oncology: A Single-Institution Cohort Study. Ann Surg Oncol Jun 2026.Acker RC, Sharpe J, Williams S, Landau S, Rowe J, Lee MK, Wachtel H, Kelz RR.: Patient Outcome Reports for Senior Residents: An Opportunity to Foster Reflection and Identify Outliers for Intervention. J Surg Educ 83: 104012, Jun 2026.
Acker RC, Sharpe JE, Williams S, Landau SI, Rowe J, Fraker D, Karakousis GC, Wachtel H, Kelz RR.: Comparing Resident Team Performance in Complex Surgical Oncology: A Single-Institution Cohort Study. Ann Surg Oncol Jun 2026.
Pregnall AM, Hornick MM, Broach RB, Judy R, DePaolo J, Yuan S, Levin MG, Fischer JP, Damrauer SM, Wachtel H.: Genetic Susceptibility to Incisional Hernia Evaluation of Hernia Polygenic Risk Scores. medRxiv Jun 2026.
Passman JE, Hwang J, Epps M, Tang J, Chambers C, Peifer M, Flood JJ, Wachtel H, Cook T, Kelz RR, Ebert JP, Fagen EM, Delgado MK, Herman DS.: Non-interruptive decision support to increase appropriate screening for primary hyperparathyroidism. Am J Surg Jun 2026.
Owei L, Priem E, Passman JE, Zafar H, Jones LP, Nazarian M, Cohen DL, White CA, Kharlip J, Wachtel H.: From detection to diagnosis: Early outcomes of a specialized adrenal nodule clinic. Surgery 196: 110306, May 2026.
Pregnall AM, Yuan S, Lawrence JM, Abramowitz SA, DePaolo J, Judy R, Shakt G, Levin MG, Damrauer SM, Wachtel H.: Decoding the genetic architecture of hernia through genome-wide association and multi-trait analyses. medRxiv May 2026.
Blinder AR, Sapiro D, Baker JE, Qin Z, Bancos I, Lyden ML, Young WF, Wachtel H, Cohen DL, Kürzinger L, Fassnacht M, Luther JM, Williams TA, Reincke M, Turcu AF, Else T, Giordano TJ, Udager AM, Rainey WE, Nanba K.: Adrenal histologic and genetic characteristics of primary aldosteronism in late adulthood. Eur J Endocrinol 194: 208-216, Feb 2026.
Pregnall AM, Wubbenhorst B, D'Andrea K, Pluta J, Amjad W, Shilan J, Cohen DL, Weathers B, Bennett B, Bonanni M, Montone K, Nathanson KL, Wachtel H.: Metastatic progression of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma occurs via parallel evolution. NPJ Precis Oncol 10: 101, Jan 2026.
Acker RC, Hwang J, Williams S, Wachtel H, Fraker D, Weissman GE, Reddy Y, Kelz RR.: Pill Burden: A Quality-of-Life Measure After Parathyroidectomy for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism. Ann Surg Open 7: e644, Jan 2026.