Health
UHL surgeon Professor Calvin Coffey receives Cleveland Clinic honour
UHL surgeon Professor Calvin Coffey receives Cleveland Clinic honour
UHL surgeon and Academic Head of Surgery, Professor Calvin Coffey awarded the highest honour at the Cleveland Clinic
Academic Head of Surgery at University Hospital Limerick and Foundation Chair of Surgery at the University of Limerick, Professor Calvin Coffey has been recognised as one of the world’s leading master clinicians.
Professor Coffey has been awarded the Ian Lavery Master Clinician in Colorectal Surgery Lectureship and Visiting Professorship. The award is the highest honour bestowed by the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world’s foremost surgical institutions.
The UHL surgeon said he was delighted to receive the award “in recognition of our work at University Hospital Limerick”.
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Professor Coffey said, “On behalf of the team of people I work with, I’m delighted to receive the 2025 Ian Lavery Master Clinician Award in recognition of our work at University Hospital Limerick. The award acknowledges the ongoing commitment of us all here at UHL and across the acute hospitals of the Mid West, and the University of Limerick, to provide surgery of the highest international standards.”
This prestigious award, established to celebrate the legacy of Dr Ian C Lavery, honours a Cleveland Clinic alumnus who exemplifies surgical excellence, innovation, and mentorship. Dr Lavery, a pioneer in colorectal surgery, transformed the treatment of colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, and is revered globally for his clinical skill, humility, and dedication to teaching.
Prof Coffey joins a distinguished lineage of recipients, recognised not only for their technical mastery but also for their impact on surgical education and patient care.
His own contributions include leading the introduction of robotic-assisted colorectal, urological, and gynaecological surgery at UHL, positioning the hospital as a national leader in minimally invasive surgery.
In 2017, Prof Coffey gained international acclaim for reclassifying the mesentery as a new human organ, reshaping abdominal anatomy and prompting updates to authoritative texts like Gray’s Anatomy.
Building on this research, Prof Coffey developed a surgical technique involving mesenteric removal during bowel resection, dramatically reducing Crohn’s disease recurrence rates from 40 per cent to 4 per cent.
His work is also recognised by the Swedish Surgical Society, which awarded him the Bengt Ihre Lectureship and Silver Medal in 2022.
For Professor Coffey, the Ian Lavery Master Clinician Award is a personal honour that also recognises the high standards of the work that he and his colleagues do in UHL and UL every day, with the true prize being the benefits for patients, whether here in the Mid West or nationally and internationally.
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