Penn Medicine Provider
Gastrointestinal Surgery
Charles M. Vollmer, MD
4.9
(400)
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Penn Gastrointestinal Surgery Perelman
Schedule onlineCall 215-662-2626

About me

  • Chief, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Penn Medicine
  • Director, Pancreatic Surgery
  • Co-Director, Penn Pancreatic Cyst Multidisciplinary Program
  • Barbara Seneca Dempsey / William Maul Measey Professor in Gastrointestinal Surgery

Dr. Vollmer is the Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and the Director of Pancreatic Surgery at Penn Medicine. He also serves as the founding Co-Director of the Penn Pancreatic Cyst Multidisciplinary Program.

His practice at Penn Medicine encompasses both malignant and benign conditions of the pancreas and biliary system with a strong emphasis in care of pancreatic cancer, cysts, and pancreatitis.

He specializes in Pancreaticobiliary and other complex gastrointestinal surgery with a research focus in clinical outcomes assessment in high-acuity surgery – especially pancreatic fistula. He has authored over 200 manuscripts, 40 book chapters, and 3 books focusing on pancreaticobiliary diseases. He is active in multiple national and international surgical societies where he has served in numerous leadership positions including President of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) in 2019. He also currently sits on the Executive Committee of the IHPBA as its Treasurer-elect and was its Scientific Program Chair for the 2016 World Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

He is a reviewer for numerous surgical specialty journals and is on the Editorial Boards of Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology, Surgery, HPB, the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Langenbeck’s Archives of Surgery, and the Journal of Surgical Oncology. He is a member of the American Surgical Society, Society of Clinical Surgeons, and the Surgical Biology Club II. In 2008, he was honored to be the Josef Fischer Traveling Fellow in Academic Surgery for the Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) – an opportunity which allowed him to tour many of the top pancreatic surgical programs in Europe.

Education:

Dr. Vollmer’s collegiate education was at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then received his MD degree from Jefferson Medical College in his hometown of Philadelphia. From there he received general surgical training at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital of the Washington University of St. Louis where he was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha. He studied gene therapy as a surgical oncology research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the middle of his clinical training. After Chief Residency at Washington University, he matriculated to the internationally acclaimed Hepatobiliary and Solid Organ Transplantation Surgery Fellowship at the University of Toronto. He initiated his career as an attending surgeon at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School (2003 -2011).

Recognized by Best Doctors in America 2015 - 2018

Education and training

  • Medical School: Jefferson Medical College
  • Residency: Barnes-Jewish Hospital - Washington University, St. Louis
  • Fellowship: Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital
  • Fellowship: University of Toronto Affiliated Hospitals

What my patients think about me

Average Rating
4.9

400 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

April 2025
5.0
5.0
everyone is nice
April 2025
5.0
5.0
dr vollmer is extremely conscientious, and gifted surgeon. he took his time and explained everything thoroughly.
April 2025
4.0
4.0
made sure that i understood what i have .
April 2025
5.0
5.0
he said what he would do in detail and that put my mind at ease. he assured me that he would be doing the surgery and no one else.

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Learn about location

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Vollmer is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

My research

Ecker BL, McMillan MT, Vollmer CM, and the Distal Pancreatectomy Study Group. Risk factors and mitigation strategies for pancreatic fistula after distal pancreatectomy: Analysis of 2,026 resections from the international, multi-institution distal pancreatectomy study group. , Oral Presentation at the 51st Annual Pancreas Club Meeting. Also an Oral Presentation at the American College of Surgeons' 2017 Clinical Congress: 2017

Concours S, Kirkland M, Schuricht A, Dempsey DT, Vollmer CM, Drebin JA, and Lee MK. Repeat cholecystectomy for the retained gallbladder remnant: presentation and management. , Submitted to the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress. San Diego, CA: 2017

Valero V, Grimm JC, He J, Cameron JL, Wolfgang CL, Vollmer CM, and Weiss MJ. Predictors of index hospitalization costs following major pancreatic resection. , Oral presentation at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress. San Diego, CA: 2017

Maggino L, Ecker BL, Pitt HA, and Vollmer CM. Impact of operative time on outcomes after pancreatic resection: A risk-adjusted analysis using the ACS-NSQIP database. , Oral presentation at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress. San Diego, CA: 2017

Castillo-Angeles M, Calvillo-Ortiz R; Watkins AA, Acosta D, Chan C, Vollmer CM, and Kent TS. Assessment of patient health literacy: An international survey of HPB surgeons. , Submitted to the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress. San Diego, CA: 2017

Kantor O, Talamonti MS, Pitt HA, Vollmer CM, Riall TS, Hall BL, Wang CH, and Baker MS. Using the NSQIP Pancreatic Demonstration Project to Derive a Modified Fistula Risk Score for Preoperative Risk Stratification for Patients Undergoing Pancreatocoduodenectomy. , Submitted to the 2017 ACS NSQIP Annual Conference. New York, New York. : 2017

Ecker Brett L, McMillan Matthew T, Asbun Horacio J, Ball Chad G, Bassi Claudio, Beane Joal D, Behrman Stephen W, Berger Adam C, Dickson Euan J, Bloomston Mark, Callery Mark P, Christein John D, Dixon Elijah, Drebin Jeffrey A, Castillo Carlos Fernandez-Del, Fisher William E, Fong Zhi Ven, Haverick Ericka, Hollis Robert H, House Michael G, Hughes Steven J, Jamieson Nigel B, Javed Ammar A, Kent Tara S, Kowalsky Stacy J, Kunstman John W, Malleo Giuseppe, Poruk Katherine E, Salem Ronald R, Schmidt Carl R, Soares Kevin, Stauffer John A, Valero Vicente, Velu Lavanniya K P, Watkins Amarra A, Wolfgang Christopher L, Zureikat Amer H, Vollmer Charles M Characterization and Optimal Management of High-Risk Pancreatic Anastomoses During Pancreatoduodenectomy. , Annals of surgery: 2017

McMillan Matthew T, Malleo Giuseppe, Bassi Claudio, Sprys Michael H, Ecker Brett L, Drebin Jeffrey A, Vollmer Charles M Pancreatic fistula risk for pancreatoduodenectomy: an international survey of surgeon perception. , HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, 19(6): 2017,515-524

Kantor Olga, Talamonti Mark S, Pitt Henry A, Vollmer Charles M, Riall Taylor S, Hall Bruce L, Wang Chi-Hsiung, Baker Marshall S Using the NSQIP Pancreatic Demonstration Project to Derive a Modified Fistula Risk Score for Preoperative Risk Stratification in Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy. , Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 224(5): 2017,816-825

Shrikhande Shailesh V, Sivasanker Masillamany, Vollmer Charles M, Friess Helmut, Besselink Marc G, Fingerhut Abe, Yeo Charles J, Fernandez-delCastillo Carlos, Dervenis Christos, Halloran Christoper, Gouma Dirk J, Radenkovic Dejan, Asbun Horacio J, Neoptolemos John P, Izbicki Jakob R, Lillemoe Keith D, Conlon Kevin C, Fernandez-Cruz Laureano, Montorsi Marco, Bockhorn Max, Adham Mustapha, Charnley Richard, Carter Ross, Hackert Thilo, Hartwig Werner, Miao Yi, Sarr Michael, Bassi Claudio, Büchler Markus W Pancreatic anastomosis after pancreatoduodenectomy: A position statement by the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS). , Surgery, 161(5): 2017,1221-1234