Dr. Richard Berri treats peritoneal mesothelioma at the Van Elslander Cancer Center in Michigan. He is known for his experience with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and revered for bringing this important treatment to Michigan.

About Dr. Berri

Dr. Richard Berri came to the Van Elslander Cancer Center in 2011, where he established the first HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery program in the state of Michigan. He received specific training performing HIPEC procedures through his fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

  • Medical Degree and Residencies

    M.D., Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Berri completed his residency at Ascension St. John Hospital in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, and his fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

  • Professorship

    Director of surgical oncology and the peritoneal malignancies program Ascension St. John Hospital, Van Elslander Cancer Center.

Since the Van Elslander Cancer Center HIPEC program’s inception, Dr. Berri has treated patients who have come to see him not just locally, but from across the nation and world. Now the program is one of the highest volume nationally recognized HIPEC programs in the country.

Dr. Berri advocates a collaborative and comprehensive approach to finding the best treatment plan for his patients. He seeks to provide his patients with the best surgical care and outcomes possible and to prolong and improve their quality of life.

“I have assembled a leading team at this institution that I feel is second to none,” Dr. Berri said. “All of these members work together and are completely dedicated to ensuring the best possible quality of care and successful outcomes.”

Throughout his career, Dr. Berri has been recognized for his leadership, his attention to clinical care and surgical excellence, and his compassion with patients, staff, the hospital as a whole, and the community.

Dr. Berri’s Accomplishments

Dr. Berri considers his patients to be his greatest accomplishment.

“It has been a privilege to help treat their disease, improve the quality of their life and prolong their survival,” he said.

His other accomplishments are as follows:

  • Established the first HIPEC program in Michigan
  • Instrumental in making it the one of the highest volume nationally recognized HIPEC programs in the country
  • Recognized for leadership, clinical and surgical excellence, dedication and compassion

Get Connected To Dr. Richard Berri

Photograph of Dr Berri
Dr. Berri is highly experienced in treating peritoneal mesothelioma using cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. Since returning to Michigan, he established the first HIPEC program in the state. Dr. Berri has played a pivotal role in making this program one of the highest volume HIPEC programs in the nation.

Why Choose Dr. Berri?
  • Highly experienced in performing HIPEC
  • Willing to collaborate with other healthcare professionals
  • Passionate about treating patients
  • Works with a specialized HIPEC team




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St. John Hospital & Medical Center

19229 Mack Ave. Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

Doctors: Dr. Richard Berri

Focus: Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Ascension St. John Hospital is the largest provider of inpatient care in southeast Michigan. Ascension St. John Hospital provides comprehensive prevention, primary care and advanced treatment programs like cytoreduction with HIPEC.

  • Ascension St. John Hospital is home to southeast Michigan’s first and only HIPEC program.
  • Dr. Berri has built one of the highest volumes nationally recognized HIPEC programs in the country.

Dr. Berri and HIPEC

Dr. Berri was first exposed to patients with peritoneal mesothelioma and HIPEC in 2008, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. It was through that training that he developed a strong interest in HIPEC.

“I began to operate on and take care of patients with mesothelioma and developed a strong interest in the treatment needed and how best to ensure patients with peritoneal mesothelioma would receive the best care with the highest quality outcome,” Dr. Berri said.

In 2010 he returned to Michigan and found that there was no formally established multidisciplinary HIPEC program in the state. So, he went about creating one.

“There was an obvious need to serve patients here who needed that type of treatment,” Dr. Berri said. “My main goal was to build a program here in Michigan that offered the equivalent level of care as any cancer center in the nation, thus allowing patients to stay home with family and friends and receive the highest quality of care.”

Furthermore, the Michigan program now offers a full one day evaluation. Patients seeking HIPEC treatment can meet with and be evaluated by the entire multidisciplinary team and receive a recommendation for the best treatment course, all in one day.

“Eighty percent of our patients come from surrounding institutions in the state, region, nation and internationally, and we strive to provide them with the best experience and treatment,” Dr. Berri said.

Since its inception, the HIPEC team has evaluated close to 300 patients.

“I personally see all the patients preoperatively, and follow them closely postoperatively in the hospital,” Dr. Berri said. “This allows for early recognition of any potential complication.”

Dr. Berri’s published data for patients undergoing HIPEC shows a zero percent 90-day mortality rate with an 11 percent rate of major complications and an 8.2 day length of stay after surgery.

“Our morbidity and mortality from the procedure is well below the national average,” Dr. Berri said.

“It’s very, very worth it to explore all of your treatment options,” Dr. Berri said in an interview about HIPEC with dailyrx.com. “As medicine continues to evolve and even for patients who have stage 4 metastatic disease, we still have many options to treat them to extend their lives — and this is one of them. Awareness and the ability to communicate and talk about these options and be evaluated is extremely important.”

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