Dr. Caitlin Carmody Houghton, MD

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Get to know General Surgeon Dr. Caitlin Carmody Houghton, who serves patients in Newport Beach, California.

A reputable general surgeon, Dr. Houghton is an esteemed member of the Upper GI and General Surgery Division and serves patients at Keck Hospital of the University of California (USC) and Hoag Hospital locations.

Her clinical interests include benign and malignant disorders of the esophagus and stomach. These include the diagnosis and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, esophageal motility disorders, including achalasia, gastroparesis, and esophageal and gastric cancer.

Focusing on robotic surgery, Dr. Houghton is responsible for the development and growth of the residency program at USC, serving as the Director of Robotic Residency Training. She has been instrumental in starting the Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) program at USC and Hoag.

Holding an academic appointment, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of California. 

Throughout her academic career, Dr. Houghton graduated with honors from Wayne State Medical School in Detroit. She then completed her surgical residency at UC Irvine before heading to UC San Diego, where she completed a fellowship in minimally invasive and advanced endoscopic surgery. 

Following her training, she attained board certification in general surgery through the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge.

As a leader within the robotic foregut community, Dr. Houghton frequently trains and proctors surgeons implementing robotic technologies into their practice around the country. She is the Co-Chair of the Robotics committee and mentor for the American Foregut Society, member and speaker for the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, and on the Board for the Institute of Surgical Excellence. Her expertise is often utilized as a moderator for society meetings, focusing on her research in the clinical outcomes and safety advantages of the robotic approach in foregut surgery.

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. A general surgeon performs a wide range of abdominal surgeries for many forms of intestinal and abdominal wall neoplasms, gallbladder disease, gastric and pancreatic disease. They follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care. 

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