Mika Varma, MD
Professor
Surgery
School of Medicine

She is also a specialist in advanced laparoscopic and robotic colorectal surgery, using minimally invasive techniques to treat many of these diseases. Dr. Varma is the director of the UCSF Center for Pelvic Physiology, which evaluates patients with fecal incontinence, constipation, pelvic floor prolapse, rectal cancer, and anal fistulas. She is a member of the clinical team of the UCSF Women’s Continence Center and the UCSF Center for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease.

Dr. Varma earned her medical degree at Brown University School of Medicine in Providence, R.I. She completed her residency in general surgery at UCSF and spent a year at the University of Minnesota to obtain specialized training in colon and rectal surgery. She returned to the faculty at UCSF in 2000, where she completed a fellowship in Clinical Outcomes Research and Epidemiology. Her research interests include the assessment of clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients with colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases, and defecation disorders.

• Robotic transanal excision of rectal lesions: expert perspective and literature review.
  Journal of robotic surgery 2022 Watanaskul S, Schwab ME, Chern H, Varma M, Sarin A
• Robotic repair of perineal hernias: a video vignette and review of the literature.
  Surgical endoscopy 2022 Watanaskul S, Schwab ME, Colley A, Chern H, Varma MG, Hoffman WY, Sarin A
• Proof-of-concept for intervention to prevent post-operative ileus in patients undergoing ileostomy formation.
  Perioperative medicine (London, England) 2022 Greenberg AL, Kelly YM, Sarin A, Varma MG
• Organ Preservation in Patients With Rectal Adenocarcinoma Treated With Total Neoadjuvant Therapy.
  Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2022 Garcia-Aguilar J, Patil S, Gollub MJ, Kim JK, Yuval JB, Thompson HM, Verheij FS, Omer DM, Lee M, Dunne RF, Marcet J, Cataldo P, Polite B, Herzig DO, Liska D, Oommen S, Friel CM, Ternent C, Coveler AL,…
• Comparison of advanced techniques for local excision of rectal lesions: a case series.
  BMC surgery 2022 Schwab ME, Hernandez S, Watanaskul S, Chern H, Varma M, Sarin A
• Risk factors and outcomes associated with postoperative ileus following ileostomy formation: a retrospective study.
  Perioperative medicine (London, England) 2021 Greenberg AL, Kelly YM, McKay RE, Varma MG, Sarin A
• Survival impact of bowel resection at the time of interval cytoreductive surgery for advanced ovarian cancer.
  Gynecologic oncology reports 2021 McNamara B, Guerra R, Qin J, Craig AD, Chen LM, Varma MG, Chapman JS
• Perfusion Assessment in Left-Sided/Low Anterior Resection (PILLAR III): A Randomized, Controlled, Parallel, Multicenter Study Assessing Perfusion Outcomes With PINPOINT Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging in Low Anterior Resection.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2021 Jafari MD, Pigazzi A, McLemore EC, Mutch MG, Haas E, Rasheid SH, Wait AD, Paquette IM, Bardakcioglu O, Safar B, Landmann RG, Varma MG, Maron DJ, Martz J, Bauer JJ, George VV, Fleshman JW, Steele SR, …
• Vitamin D Levels in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Before and After Treatment Initiation.
  Journal of gastrointestinal cancer 2019 Savoie MB, Paciorek A, Zhang L, Van Blarigan EL, Sommovilla N, Abrams D, Atreya CE, Bergsland EK, Chern H, Kelley RK, Ko A, Laffan A, Sarin A, Varma MG, Venook AP, Van Loon K
• Consolidation mFOLFOX6 Chemotherapy After Chemoradiotherapy Improves Survival in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Final Results of a Multicenter Phase II Trial.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2018 Marco MR, Zhou L, Patil S, Marcet JE, Varma MG, Oommen S, Cataldo PA, Hunt SR, Kumar A, Herzig DO, Fichera A, Polite BN, Hyman NH, Ternent CA, Stamos MJ, Pigazzi A, Dietz D, Yakunina Y, Pelossof R, …
• Does Extended PET Acquisition in PET/MRI Rectal Cancer Staging Improve Results?
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2018 Bailey JJ, Jordan EJ, Burke C, Ohliger MA, Wang ZJ, Van Loon K, Varma MG, Hope TA
• Consensus Statement of Definitions for Anorectal Physiology Testing and Pelvic Floor Terminology (Revised).
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2018 Bordeianou LG, Carmichael JC, Paquette IM, Wexner S, Hull TL, Bernstein M, Keller DS, Zutshi M, Varma MG, Gurland BH, Steele SR
• Expert Commentary on Rectal Prolapse.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2017 Varma MG
• SNMMI Comment on the 2016 Society of Surgical Oncology "Choosing Wisely" Recommendation on the Use of PET/CT in Colorectal Cancer.
  Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine 2016 Zukotynski K, Jadvar H, Hope T, Subramaniam RM, Van Loon K, Varma M, Niederkohr RD, PET Center of Excellence
• Characteristics Associated With Successful Fitting of a Vaginal Bowel Control System for Fecal Incontinence.
  Female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgery 2016 Matthews CA, Varma MG, Takase-Sanchez MM, Hale DS, Van Drie D, Muir T, Wells E, Jannelli M, Richter HE
• Successful implementation of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program shortens length of stay and improves postoperative pain, and bowel and bladder function after colorectal surgery.
  BMC anesthesiology 2016 Sarin A, Litonius ES, Naidu R, Yost CS, Varma MG, Chen LL
• A Novel Decision Aid for Surgical Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: Results of a Pilot Study.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2016 Cohan JN, Ozanne EM, Sewell JL, Hofer RK, Mahadevan U, Varma MG, Finlayson E
• The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons' Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Constipation.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2016 Paquette IM, Varma M, Ternent C, Melton-Meaux G, Rafferty JF, Feingold D, Steele SR
• Impact of a Novel Vaginal Bowel Control System on Bowel Function.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2016 Varma MG, Matthews CA, Muir T, Takase-Sanchez MM, Hale DS, Van Drie D, Richter HE
• Impact of Surgery on Relationship Quality in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis and Their Partners.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2015 Cohan JN, Rhee JY, Finlayson E, Varma MG
• Differences in Symptom Severity and Quality of Life in Patients With Obstructive Defecation and Colonic Inertia.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2015 Chou AB, Cohan JN, Varma MG
• Faecal incontinence in men referred for specialty care: a cross-sectional study.
  Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland 2015 Cohan JN, Chou AB, Varma MG
• Impact of Patient Age on Procedure Type for Ulcerative Colitis: A National Study.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2015 Cohan JN, Bacchetti P, Varma MG, Finlayson E
• Outcomes Analysis of Biologic Mesh Use for Abdominal Wall Reconstruction in Clean-Contaminated and Contaminated Ventral Hernia Repair.
  Annals of plastic surgery 2015 Sbitany H, Kwon E, Chern H, Finlayson E, Varma MG, Hansen SL
• Effect of adding mFOLFOX6 after neoadjuvant chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer: a multicentre, phase 2 trial.
  The Lancet. Oncology 2015 Garcia-Aguilar J, Chow OS, Smith DD, Marcet JE, Cataldo PA, Varma MG, Kumar AS, Oommen S, Coutsoftides T, Hunt SR, Stamos MJ, Ternent CA, Herzig DO, Fichera A, Polite BN, Dietz DW, Patil S, Avila K, …
• The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons' Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Fecal Incontinence.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2015 Paquette IM, Varma MG, Kaiser AM, Steele SR, Rafferty JF
• Outcomes after ileoanal pouch surgery in frail and older adults.
  The Journal of surgical research 2015 Cohan JN, Bacchetti P, Varma MG, Finlayson E
• A vaginal bowel-control system for the treatment of fecal incontinence.
  Obstetrics and gynecology 2015 Richter HE, Matthews CA, Muir T, Takase-Sanchez MM, Hale DS, Van Drie D, Varma MG
• The evolution of evaluation and management of urinary or fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
  Current problems in surgery 2015 Steele SR, Varma MG, Prichard D, Bharucha AE, Vogler SA, Erdogan A, Rao SS, Lowry AC, Lange EO, Hall GM, Bleier JI, Senagore AJ, Maykel J, Chan SY, Paquette IM, Audett MC, Bastawrous A, Umamaheswaran …
• The evolution of evaluation and management of urinary or fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
  Current problems in surgery 2015 Steele SR, Varma MG, Prichard D, Bharucha AE, Vogler SA, Erdogan A, Rao SS, Lowry AC, Lange EO, Hall GM, Bleier JI, Senagore AJ, Maykel J, Chan SY, Paquette IM, Audett MC, Bastawrous A, Umamaheswaran …
• Perineal flap reconstruction following oncologic anorectal extirpation: an outcomes assessment.
  Plastic and reconstructive surgery 2015 Wang ED, Conkling N, Xu X, Chern H, Finlayson E, Varma MG, Hansen SL, Foster RD, Hoffman WY, Sbitany H
• Treatment of fecal incontinence: state of the science summary for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases workshop.
  The American journal of gastroenterology 2014 Whitehead WE, Rao SS, Lowry A, Nagle D, Varma M, Bitar KN, Bharucha AE, Hamilton FA
• Simple interventions for complex complications: moving surgery forward.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2014 Cohan JN, Varma MG
• Impact of depression and anxiety on the quality of life of constipated patients.
  Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings 2013 Albiani JJ, Hart SL, Katz L, Berian J, Del Rosario A, Lee J, Varma M
• Exacerbation of symptom severity of pelvic floor disorders in women who report a history of sexual abuse.
  Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960) 2012 Imhoff LR, Liwanag L, Varma M
• Outcomes after rectal cancer surgery in elderly nursing home residents.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2012 Finlayson E, Zhao S, Varma MG
• Fecal incontinence decreases sexual quality of life, but does not prevent sexual activity in women.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2012 Imhoff LR, Brown JS, Creasman JM, Subak LL, Van den Eeden SK, Thom DH, Varma MG, Huang AJ
• Practice parameters for anal squamous neoplasms.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2012 Steele SR, Varma MG, Melton GB, Ross HM, Rafferty JF, Buie WD, Standards Practice Task Force of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
• A randomized controlled trial of anorectal biofeedback for constipation.
  International journal of colorectal disease 2011 Hart SL, Lee JW, Berian J, Patterson TR, Del Rosario A, Varma MG
• Development and assessment of the constipation-related disability scale.
  Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 2011 Hart SL, Albiani JJ, Crangle CJ, Torbit LA, Varma MG
• Practice parameters for the management of rectal prolapse.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2011 Varma M, Rafferty J, Buie WD, Standards Practice Task Force of American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
• Chromosomal copy number alterations are associated with tumor response to chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer.
  Genes, chromosomes & cancer 2011 Chen Z, Liu Z, Li W, Qu K, Deng X, Varma MG, Fichera A, Pigazzi A, Garcia-Aguilar J
• Gender-specific differences in pelvic organ function after proctectomy for inflammatory bowel disease.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2011 Wang JY, Hart SL, Wilkowski KS, Lee JW, Delmotte EC, del Rosario KM, del Rosario AS, Varma MG
• Sew or staple: does it make a difference?
  Inflammatory bowel diseases 2010 Varma MG
• Age differences in patients evaluated for constipation: constipation characteristics, symptoms, and bowel and dietary habits.
  Journal of wound, ostomy, and continence nursing : official publication of The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society 2010 McCrea GL, Miaskowski C, Stotts NA, Macera L, Paul SM, Varma MG
• Validation of the risk index category as a predictor of surgical site infection in elective colorectal surgery.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2010 Pastor C, Baek JH, Varma MG, Kim E, Indorf LA, Garcia-Aguilar J
• An increase in compliance with the Surgical Care Improvement Project measures does not prevent surgical site infection in colorectal surgery.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2010 Pastor C, Artinyan A, Varma MG, Kim E, Gibbs L, Garcia-Aguilar J
• Pelvic floor disorders and quality of life in women with self-reported irritable bowel syndrome.
  Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 2009 Wang J, Varma MG, Creasman JM, Subak LL, Brown JS, Thom DH, van den Eeden SK
• A valid and reliable measure of constipation-related quality of life.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2009 Wang JY, Hart SL, Lee J, Berian JR, McCrea GL, Varma MG
• Gender differences in self-reported constipation characteristics, symptoms, and bowel and dietary habits among patients attending a specialty clinic for constipation.
  Gender medicine 2009 McCrea GL, Miaskowski C, Stotts NA, Macera L, Paul SM, Varma MG
• Treatment of transsphincteric anal fistulas: are fistula plugs an acceptable alternative?
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2009 Wang JY, Garcia-Aguilar J, Sternberg JA, Abel ME, Varma MG
• Hospitalized ulcerative colitis patients have an elevated risk of thromboembolic events.
  World journal of gastroenterology 2009 Wang JY, Terdiman JP, Vittinghoff E, Minichiello T, Varma MG
• Factors that increase risk of colon polyps.
  Clinics in colon and rectal surgery 2008 Grahn SW, Varma MG
• A review of the literature on gender and age differences in the prevalence and characteristics of constipation in North America.
  Journal of pain and symptom management 2008 McCrea GL, Miaskowski C, Stotts NA, Macera L, Varma MG
• Pathophysiology of constipation in the older adult.
  World journal of gastroenterology 2008 McCrea GL, Miaskowski C, Stotts NA, Macera L, Varma MG
• Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease.
  World journal of gastroenterology 2008 Hwang JM, Varma MG
• Implementation of quality measures to reduce surgical site infection in colorectal patients.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2008 Wick EC, Gibbs L, Indorf LA, Varma MG, Garcia-Aguilar J
• Obstructive defecation in middle-aged women.
  Digestive diseases and sciences 2008 Varma MG, Hart SL, Brown JS, Creasman JM, Van Den Eeden SK, Thom DH
• Fecal incontinence: does age matter? Characteristics of older vs. younger women presenting for treatment of fecal incontinence.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2008 Wang JY, Patterson TR, Hart SL, Varma MG
• Review article: self-report measures to evaluate constipation.
  Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 2008 McCrea GL, Miaskowski C, Stotts NA, Macera L, Hart SA, Varma MG
• The constipation severity instrument: a validated measure.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2008 Varma MG, Wang JY, Berian JR, Patterson TR, McCrea GL, Hart SL
• Dartos muscle interposition flap for the treatment of rectourethral fistulas.
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2007 Varma MG, Wang JY, Garcia-Aguilar J, Shelton AA, McAninch JW, Goldberg SM
• Small bowel bezoar in a patient with Noonan syndrome: report of a case.
  MedGenMed : Medscape general medicine 2007 Bitton A, Keagle JN, Varma MG
• Fecal incontinence in females older than aged 40 years: who is at risk?
  Diseases of the colon and rectum 2006 Varma MG, Brown JS, Creasman JM, Thom DH, Van Den Eeden SK, Beattie MS, Subak LL, Reproductive Risks for Incontinence Study at Kaiser (RRISK) Research Group
• Faecal incontinence in adults.
  Lancet (London, England) 2004 Madoff RD, Parker SC, Varma MG, Lowry AC
• Gross versus microscopic pancolitis and the occurrence of neoplasia in ulcerative colitis.
  Inflammatory bowel diseases 2003 Mathy C, Schneider K, Chen YY, Varma M, Terdiman JP, Mahadevan U
• Conserved motifs in somatostatin, D2-dopamine, and alpha 2B-adrenergic receptors for inhibiting the Na-H exchanger, NHE1.
  The Journal of biological chemistry 2003 Lin CY, Varma MG, Joubel A, Madabushi S, Lichtarge O, Barber DL
• Local therapy for rectal cancer.
  Surgical oncology 2001 Visser BC, Varma MG, Welton ML
• Local excision of rectal carcinoma.
  Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960) 1999 Varma MG, Rogers SJ, Schrock TR, Welton ML
• Evaluation of plasma insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 as a potential predictor of preeclampsia.
  American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 1993 Varma M, de Groot CJ, Lanyi S, Taylor RN