Shankar Raman, MD

MercyOne

A native of India, Dr. Shankar Raman is board-certified in general surgery and has additional subspecialty certification in the field of colorectal surgery. He completed his medical school training from JIPMER, among the top premier medical schools in India where he also did his initial surgical residency. This was followed by a short stint of 2 years in England where he obtained his certification from the Royal College of surgeons of Edinburgh. Shortly afterwards, he moved to the United States to complete his 3rd general surgery residency in New York City followed by a fellowship in colorectal surgery at Henry Ford in Detroit. Dr. Raman established the nationally accredited rectal cancer program at MercyOne in 2018, when Mercy became the 1st non-pilot hospital, and only the 5th overall in the country to achieve such national recognition. He has developed an expertise in taking care of complex patients through minimally invasive procedures, especially robotic surgery and has the largest volume and experience of robotic colorectal surgery in Iowa. Dr. Raman’s innovative surgical techniques have been widely published. He also serves as a reviewer for the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer through the American College of surgeons. He is passionate about surgical quality and safety and has been instrumental in developing surgical bundles to improve perioperative outcomes. He is very active in the surgical societies, serves on the editorial board of the diseases of the colon and rectum, and is the former chair of the self-assessment committee of the American Society of colon and rectal surgeons. Dr. Raman, his wife and their 2 girls have called Iowa home for the last 13 years. In his spare time, Dr. Raman enjoys reading, running, spending time with family, and of course video games.