Omar Awais, DO

Dr. Omar Awais is an expert in complex re-do esophageal surgery and leads the thoracic surgery programs at the uptown Pittsburgh hospital UPMC Mercy and the eastern-Pittsburgh suburb hospital of UPMC East. Dr. Awais is also considered one of the leaders in all aspects of minimally invasive and robotic surgery. He is particularly recognized for his outstanding clinical outcomes in re-do minimally invasive esophagectomy and re-do giant paraesophageal hernia surgery and roux-en-y surgery for benign thoracic disease. He completed his medical education and general surgery training in New York City, followed by cardiothoracic surgery training at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was recruited to join the faculty upon graduation. In addition to his complex and busy thoracic surgery practice, Dr. Awais is a noteworthy educator, currently serving as the Program Director of our Fellowship Council accredited Advanced Minimally Invasive and Robotic Thoracic Surgery Fellowship program. He has been recognized for his teaching as a past recipient of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery Faculty of the Year Award and the UPMC Mercy General Surgery program Daniel J. Dillon Award for excellence in surgical teaching across all surgical sub-specialties in 2021. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Society of University Surgeons, and is extensively involved in hospital patient safety and quality leadership efforts at UPMC Mercy.