Ja'Karri M. Thomas

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Ja’Karri M. Thomas is a health services researcher and surgeon-scientist whose work sits at the intersection of surgical oncology, health economics, and robotic surgery. Her research focuses on evaluating the cost-effectiveness and clinical outcomes of minimally invasive and robotic approaches in complex gastrointestinal and hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) procedures. In her landmark study, “Cost Analysis of Pancreaticoduodenectomy at a High-Volume Robotic Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery Program” (38 citations), Thomas challenged prevailing assumptions by demonstrating that robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy can be cost-comparable to open surgery in high-volume centers, offering critical insights for hospital administrators and policymakers. She extended this line of inquiry to esophageal surgery in her work on robotic versus non-robotic transhiatal esophagectomy (10 citations), where she compared perioperative outcomes and costs. Thomas’s contributions are particularly impactful because they provide evidence-based guidance for adopting advanced surgical technologies without exacerbating financial burdens on healthcare systems. Her work is essential reading for researchers and clinicians navigating the complex trade-offs between innovation, cost, and patient outcomes in modern surgery.