Charles Whitlow, MD, is a colon and rectal surgeon with a focus on colon and rectal cancer at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Whitlow has expertise in treating the breadth of diseases of the colon, rectum and anus. He performs open and laparoscopic surgery. Additionally he performs advanced colonoscopic removal of colorectal polyps (endoscopic submucosal dissection/endoscopic mucosal resection) on polyps that might otherwise require colectomy. Dr. Whitlow also has particular interest in treating patients with diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease and anorectal fistulas. Dr. Whitlow received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1988. He completed his internship and residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He then completed his fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at Ochsner Medical Center in 1997. He is the chairman emeritus of the Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery and an associate medical director for surgical services. He has served on the executive council of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, as an editor of the ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery and as a past-president of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Whitlow is board-certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American Board of Surgery. He has been on staff at Ochsner since 2002