Department of Surgery
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Specialties

Saad Liaqat Sahi, MD

Assistant Professor

  • Division of Acute Care and Regional General Surgery

Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Dr. Sahi’s childhood took him across continents—living in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Holland, and Canada—before settling in the United States as a high school sophomore. His upbringing has informed his worldview and perspective on community, while instilling in him a deep commitment to global health equity. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Philosophy from Northeastern University in Boston, graduating summa cum laude, and completed his medical degree at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine just outside Detroit. He then completed his general surgery residency at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, followed by fellowships in Global Health Equity and Global Surgery with the University of California San Francisco, which included three years of serving as a staff surgeon between rural Uganda and the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. He then returned to Boston to complete his Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery fellowships at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Sahi has committed his career to advancing the delivery of safe, affordable, and timely surgical care in communities that need it most.

sahi@surgery.wisc.edu
608-262-4468

600 Highland Ave., H4/370A, Madison, WI 53792

Education

  • MD, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI
  • Residency, General Surgery, Dell Medical School of The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
  • Fellowship, Global Surgery, University of California San Francisco, Navajo Nation; Mbale, Uganda
  • Fellowship, Global Health Equity University of California San Francisco, Mbale, Uganda
  • Fellowship, Surgical Critical Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • Fellowship, Acute Care Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Clinical Specialties

Certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Sahi specializes in the operative management of acutely ill patients including trauma surgery, surgical critical care, and emergency general surgery.

Research Interests

Dr. Sahi’s research focuses on global surgery and health equity, particularly in resource-constrained settings. He combines surgical innovation with public health through community empowerment and design-thinking to improve healthcare access and reduce disparities globally. Grounded in principles of decolonization and self-determination, his work examines how systems, supply chains, and infrastructure can support local capacity building for healthcare innovation and social advancement.

Recent Publications

  • Living the work: the HEAL Initiative as a model for perioperative health workforce transformation and health equity work.
    Percy S, Sahi S, Bua E, Shamasunder S, Lipnick M, Law T
    Can J Anaesth 2023 Jun; 70(6): 968-971
    [PubMed ID: 37217737]

  • Urethral Injuries: Diagnostic and Management Strategies for Critical Care and Trauma Clinicians.
    Patel AB, Osterberg EC, Satarasinghe PN, Wenzel JL, Akbani ST, Sahi SL, Emigh BJ, Wolf JS, Brown CVR
    J Clin Med 2023 Feb 13; 12(4)
    [PubMed ID: 36836030]

  • Cerebrospinal Fluid Cultures in Traumatic Brain Injury: Is It Worth It? A Two-Center Study.
    Dhillon NK, Sahi S, Barmparas G, Linaval NT, Lin TL, Lahiri S, Brown CVR, Ley EJ
    Surg Infect (Larchmt) 2021 Nov; 22(9): 923-927
    [PubMed ID: 33956527]

  • Incidence and Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury in Severely Injured Patients Using Current Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Definitions.
    Emigh BJ, Sahi SL, Teal LN, Blake JC, Heron CH, Teixeira PG, Coopwood B, Cardenas TC, Trust MD, Brown CV
    J Am Coll Surg 2020 Sep; 231(3): 326-332
    [PubMed ID: 32585304]

  • End-tidal carbon dioxide underestimates plasma carbon dioxide during emergent trauma laparotomy leading to hypoventilation and misguided resuscitation: A Western Trauma Association Multicenter Study.
    Campion EM, Robinson CK, Brant N, Ferrigno L, McIntyre R, Biesterveld B, Alam H, Callcut R, Mishra S, Platt B, Moore MM, Nahmias J, Grigorian A, Dance S, Britton L, Schroeppel T, Rodriquez J, Shatz D, Becker J, Spalding MC, Wolff TW, Privette AR, Eriksson E, Sahi SL, Patel A, Moore SM, Stiles AL, Moore EE, Cohen MJ, Sauaia A, Burlew CC, Urban S, Osi Udekwu P, Nguyen M, Dibbert A, Conroy A, Ross E, Nunez Garcia B, Albertson S, Dunn J, Alnachaoukati O, Stillman Z, Decker C, Heise H, Burton JS, Additional Study Group Members of the Western Trauma Association ETCO2 Study Group
    J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2019 Nov; 87(5): 1119-1124
    [PubMed ID: 31389913]

All Publications on PubMed