Dr. John Powelson
Transplant Surgery
Indianapolis, IN
36 years experience male
Locations
IU Health Transplant
Indianapolis, IN
Phone
Practice website
Insurances accepted
Anthem Blue Preferred HMO
About
Bio
American but grew up in France. Went to French high school, Harvard College
Boston University medical school, University of Massachusetts surgical residency, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School transplant Fellowship.
He first practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, And then Indiana University medical Center where he currently is.
His practice consists of Transplant surgery (kidney and pancreas), laparoscopic donor nephrectomies, laparoscopic and open hernia surgery, and dialysis access vascular surgery
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Transplant Surgery
General Surgery
Languages spoken
English
Doctor Q&A
51 Answers
47 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Dietary fiber: Hemorrhoids are the result of straining during defecation. Sometimes, advanced hemorrhoids require surgery. Most of the time, the key is diet change. ... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Not necessarily. : Not necessarily.
Generally, a whole liver is transplanted, but it's possible to transplant a portion of liver. For example, if the recipient is sm... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Depends on organ: It really depends on organ to be transplantated. Some organs like kidney, depend mainly on time on the list, other organs depend on how sick you are (... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 59-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Go to ER: Bloody stools in a 59 yo requires evaluation. Evaluation needs to be immediate (that's the reason for er and not waiting until tomorrow) because the ... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Yes: Many blind type 1 diabetics undergo pancreas transplants, for instance. Some arrangements have to be made for taking meds and travelling to clinic, b... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
See long answer: 1. Liver irreversibly damaged by disease, or carrying a cancer that not treatable with conventional surgery.
2. Ability to withstand major surgery (... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Not really. : A groin hernia operation would not normally affect your penis. It can however cause temporary swelling of your scrotum (the sack containing your testi... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Yes: A pancreas transplant cures diabetes (dm) at the risk of major surgery and long term immunosuppression (is). If dm is advanced (hypoglycemic unawarene... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
A new pancreas: Organ transplantation is removing a healthy organ from a donor, and sewing it into the patient whose organ is not functioning.
Pancreas transplanta... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Probiotics, vegan : Probiotics bacteria can be added to your diet in pill form, based on theories that they help some bowel conditions although no definite studies for u... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
A matter of degree: Obese = very overweight.
Bmi correlates height and weight. Bmi between 25 and 30 is overweight. Bmi greater than 30 is obesity. With a lot of musc... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 61-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Atrial fibrillation : Your symptoms required a full evaluation. You could be describing intermittent atrial fibrillation which requires treatment. At age 61, however, a lot... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Try another drug : Propranolol is used to treat hypertension. It will generally lower your heart rate. A side effect, however, is bronchospasm (asthma) which could expl... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 60-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Yes: Prednisone has numerous side effects, including glucocorticoid side effects, like elevated blood sugar and diabetes; and minerolocorticoid side effect... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Do not take vit k: Vitamin k is an antagonist for coumadin (warfarin). Another words it counteracts the effect of coumadin (warfarin). So if you need Coumadin (warfarin)... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 16-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Plant-based diet: My guess is that your diet is low in fiber. A plant-based diet (whole, unprocessed plants, like vegetables, fruit, grain and nuts) is key to adding fi... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Abdominal organ: Abdominal organ in the back of the belly.
It is digestive organ: it secretes enzymes into the small bowel which break down food and help its absor... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Depends on the state: In some states, the patient's wishes, if clearly indicated (as on a driver's license) are sufficient, and final, for organ donation, no matter what th... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Same risks As withou: Same risks of taking them without a transplant. In addition if there is some sort of fungus or bacteria associated with the product this could increas... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Plant-based diet: No obesity if hunger matches calorie need. But sodas, refined sugars, meat and dairy mess up that match. Worse, cookies, fries actually cause hunger b... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Not true: You can get a pancreas transplant alone for complicated diabetes (usually hypoglycemia unawareness).
Or if you qualify for kidney transplant on the b... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Irregular: Atrial fibrillation is irregularly irregular, (no pattern to the rhythm). Three issues with af: rate. The rate of untreated af is typically around 150... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 54-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
No: Main kidney functions is waste product elimination. Creatinine = muscle waste product. Goes into blood stream, then filtered by kidneys and eliminated... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 54-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
No: Your lipid profile numbers are excellent.
Obesity is a threat to your health; probably led to hbp and diabetes. Better health in your case means ... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Usually for diabetic: A non-diabetic would not normally need to use a blood sugar meter, except possibly once for screening.
Blood sugar is best checked fasting.
Elevat... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Sleep at night: Most people need eight hours of sleep per night. If you are not giving yourself a chance to get that that's why you are sleepy. Get more sleep. If you... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
A: A healthy vegetarian diet: whole foods, not processed foods, with a variety of colors.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Take: Take a multivitamin because you could be low on vitamin b12.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Possibly: You may be having a fever. This could feel flulike without being the flu. A fever is always a reason to notify the surgeon. The surgeon may or may not... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Usually based on BMI: Bmi correlates height and weight. Bmi greater than 30 equals obesity. In some people with a lot of muscle this may not be accurate
waist to height ... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Several: Bmi is inaccurate if you're very muscular.
An alternative would be waist to height ratio. This should be less than 0.5.
Percentage body fat ca... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Abdominal organ: Abdominal organ.
It is digestive organ: it secretes enzymes into the small bowel which break down food and help its absorption.
It is also an e... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Humane: Humane society in your area: adopting a dog has been very helpful for veterans with ptsd.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
See a doctor: Bloody stool can be serious and needs evaluation. Bleeding from any orifice is potentially serious.
At age 18, my guess is that your diet is low ... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Premature ejaculatio: You're describing premature ejaculation which is unlikely to be related to your kidney transplant. The mayo clinic has a good online description of p... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Yes: I helped coordinate a multiorgan procurement from a brain dead donor. Both hands were procured. They went to a young patient who had lost both hands ... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Less than 10%: The question is about survival, which is usually measured as percentage of surviving (not failed) kidneys transplanted after a time period, usually on... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Yes if advanced DM: A pancreas transplant cures diabetes (dm) at the risk of major surgery and long term immunosuppression (is). If dm is advanced (hypoglycemic unawarene... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Heart disease: A pancreas transplant cures diabetes at the risk of major surgery and long term immunosuppression. If diabetes is not advanced, this is not worth the ... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Don't have steroids: Whey is protein extracted from milk. Creatine is not a protein but part of the energy pathways. Neither have steroids. In large quantities both could ... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Vegan diet : A diet high in fruits and vegetables helps to control hunger while providing good nutrition without empty calories. Population studies show that mult... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Depends on food: Foods with refined sugars (cookies, soda) and easy to absorb sugars (potato chips, fries) cause a high spike in blood sugar. This is a rush. A spike ... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Two types : First those related to immunosuppression. It affects t cell immunity so you can get viruses (like CMV and ebv) and rarely lymphoma. Second idiosyncrat... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
NO: Not possible for multiple reasons:
it s a major operation and anesthesia
could lead to termination of pregnancy.
The drugs needed to prevent rejec... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
No and yes: Kidney failure is often reversible. If not, renal replacement therapy (dialysis or transplantation) is required. Dialysis allows the patient to survi... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Need precautions. : C diff exists in spores which are readily transmitted if a bathroom is shared. So the three-year-old should have a dedicated area. The key is handwash... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Transfer: In medicine: a transfer from one body or body part to another of an organ (liver, heart, lung, kidney, pancreas bowel) or tissue (hand, face, hair).
... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Could be an ulcer: Your symptoms are not extremely specific. One possibility would be a duodenal ulcer. It tends to make you want to eat because the food buffers the sto... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Produced by liver: Dark green to yellowish brown fluid, produced by the liver for digestion of fats in the small intestine.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old female asked:
Dr. John Powelsonanswered
Transplant Surgery 36 years experience
Liver issue: Enzymes ast and alt are inside liver cells. When liver is injured by disease or medication, enzymes leak out, resulting in elevation. Can be due to m... Read More
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
2
Recommendations
413
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Powelson is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Powelson is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful!
Great info. Will check it out
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! thank you god richly bless you
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful!
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Boston University School of Medicine, MA
Graduated 1986MD
Medical/Graduate school
Boston University School of Medicine
Graduated 1986MD
Medical/Graduate school
Harvard College
Graduated 1980MD
Residency
UMass Memorial Medical Center
Awards
Excellence in Teaching, Indiana University Hospital Department of Surgery
Top Doctor, Indianapolis Monthly Magazine
Trustee Teaching Award, Indiana University Trustees and School of Medicine
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
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