Steven D. Wexner
Steven D. Wexner is an American surgeon and physician who developed clinical scoring systems used in colorectal surgery. He is the Physician Executive Director and System Chair for Colorectal Surgery at MedStar Health, and Professor of Surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine, having previously served as Director of the Ellen Leifer Shulman and Steven Shulman Digestive Disease Center at Cleveland Clinic Florida from 2022-2025 and as chair of the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida from 1993 to 2024, and many other leadership roles at Cleveland Clinic Florida between 1988-2025.
His scoring systems—including the Wexner Incontinence Score, Wexner Constipation Score, and Pikarsky-Wexner Perianal Crohn's Score—are used for patient assessment and treatment planning. Wexner specializes in fecal incontinence and has contributed to surgical techniques and quality of life assessments for this condition. He has received 44 regional, national, and international research awards. Through his academic appointments, Wexner trains 15-20 surgeons annually and participates in medical conferences and lectures. He serves as a referral resource for complex colorectal cases. In 2020, he was elected vice-chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons for a one-year term. Since 1990, he has served as Symposium Director of the Cleveland Clinic Annual International Colorectal Disease Symposium. The Symposium was held in Fort Lauderdale or Boca Raton every year from 1990 to 2019. Since 2020, the Symposium has expanded to include host locations outside of the US with interruptions during the pandemic years of 2021–2022. Wexner was recognized as one of America's Leading Doctors 2025 by Newsweek and Statista.
Early life and education
Steven Wexner is the son of Judge Ira Howard Wexner, who served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York and Supervising Judge of the Nassau District and County Courts, and Arlene. His decision to pursue medicine was influenced by two childhood experiences: his grandmother's fatal heart attack and his sister's emergency hospitalization.Wexner received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1978. He earned his MD in 1982 from Weill Cornell Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency in 1987 at Roosevelt Hospital. In 1988 he completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, MN.
Career
In 1993, Wexner was named chairman of the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida, a position he held until 2024 when he became Emeritus Chair. While at Cleveland Clinic he also served as Chairman of the Division of Research and Education from 1995 to 2012, as well as Chief of Staff from 1997 to 2008. He served as Chief Academic Officer from 2008 to 2012. In 2012 He was appointed the Director of the Digestive Diseases Center. In November 2025, Wexner was appointed Executive Director and System Chair for Colorectal Surgery at MedStar Health, covering 10 hospitals in the Washington, D.C. region. He concurrently serves as Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair for Professional Development in the Department of Surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine.Wexner holds academic appointments as Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair for Professional Development at Georgetown University School of Medicine ; affiliate professor at Florida Atlantic University; clinical professor at Florida International University; affiliate professor of surgery at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida; clinical professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University; affiliate professor of surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; professor of surgery, University of Siena, Siena, Italy; visiting professor, Faculty of Medicine, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem; visiting professor at the University of Belgrade in Serbia; visiting professor in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London ; visiting professor at Tongji University Shanghai; honorary professor in the Department of Targeted Intervention, Division of Surgery & Interventional Science at University College London; and honorary professor at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.
As a founder of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer, he led a coalition to establish the accreditation program with the American College of Surgeon's Commission on Cancer. The NAPRC's goal is to implement educational and medical standards for rectal cancer treatment.
In November 2025, following his appointment as physician executive director and system chief of colorectal surgery at MedStar Health, Wexner appeared on FOX 5 DC discussing the rising incidence of colorectal cancer among younger adults. He attributed this trend to multiple factors including genetics, environment, and diet. Wexner emphasized that delayed diagnosis often occurs because symptoms in younger patients are frequently dismissed by both patients and providers. He has advocated for increased awareness of screening guidelines, and recommended colonoscopies starting at age 45, or ten years younger than the age of the youngest first-degree relative diagnosed with colorectal neoplasia. He has emphasized that colorectal cancer is one of the few truly preventable cancers, as removing precursor polyps during colonoscopy can prevent cancer development.
Innovation and research
Fecal incontinence research and treatment
Wexner has focused on research related to fecal incontinence treatment. His 1993 paper with Marcio Jorge on the etiology and management of fecal incontinence is among the most cited works in the field and contributed to current treatment approaches.Wexner has worked on the development and refinement of surgical techniques for fecal incontinence, including sphincteroplasty, sacral nerve stimulation, and artificial bowel sphincter implantation. He has published on the outcomes of these procedures and contributed to treatment algorithms used in clinical practice.
His research has included quality of life assessments for patients with fecal incontinence. His work has emphasized multidisciplinary approaches involving colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, pelvic floor physical therapists, and other specialists.
In 2022, Cleveland Clinic Florida received a $5 million gift to fund Wexner's research. In recognition of their generous contribution, Cleveland Clinic Weston recognized the Shulmans by naming the Digestive Disease Center the Ellen Leifer Shulman and Steven Shulman Digestive Disease Center.
In an with Local 10, Wexner shared that he has been seeing a higher frequency of colorectal cancer in younger patients, due to genetic drift as well as environmental and dietary factors. This is often misdiagnosed until the disease has become advanced, and so Wexner recommends beginning regular colonoscopy screenings earlier than guidelines currently advise. In another television interview in December that year, Wexner discussed again the challenges of diagnosing colorectal cancer in younger patients. He observed that symptoms in younger adults are frequently dismissed as hemorrhoids and that approximately half of colorectal cancer cases present without symptoms.
Clinical scoring systems
Wexner has developed clinical scoring systems used in colorectal surgery and gastroenterology. These scoring systems are used for patient assessment, treatment planning, and outcome evaluation.Wexner Incontinence Score
The Wexner Incontinence Score, also known as the Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score, is a scoring system for assessing fecal incontinence severity. Developed with J. Marcio N. Jorge, MD, this scoring system evaluates five parameters: type of incontinence, with each scored from 0 to 4, yielding a total score of 0-20. The score has been validated in multiple languages and is used for pre- and post-operative assessment of anal incontinence treatment outcomes.Wexner Constipation Score
The Wexner Constipation Score, also known as the Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score or Agachan-Wexner Score, is used for assessment of constipation severity. The score evaluates eight parameters including frequency of bowel movements, difficulty of evacuation, completeness of evacuation, abdominal pain, time spent on toilet, type of assistance required, unsuccessful attempts per 24 hours, and duration of constipation. Each parameter is scored 0-4, with a maximum score of 30. This scoring system is used in clinical practice for constipation assessment and treatment planning.Pikarsky-Wexner Perianal Crohn's Disease Score
In 2002, Wexner and colleagues developed a scoring system specifically for perianal Crohn's disease to predict surgical outcomes. This scoring system incorporates patient history and physical examination findings to assess disease activity and predict the likelihood of successful surgical intervention. Prior to its development, clinicians lacked reliable indices for evaluating perianal Crohn's disease severity and prognostic implications.Impact on clinical practice
These scoring systems have been adopted in multiple countries and translated into various languages. They are incorporated into clinical guidelines, research protocols, and electronic medical records. The development of these standardized assessment tools has contributed to the ability to measure treatment outcomes and compare results across institutions.In recent years, Wexner's scoring systems have been integrated into digital platforms, including the CareScore application, which provides medical professionals with access to colorectal scoring systems and classification metrics for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
J-pouch procedures
Wexner's work has focused on surgical techniques for the avoidance of permanent stomas in patients with colorectal cancer, ulcerative colitis, and fecal incontinence. He introduced a modification to the technique for creating an ileo-anal pouch, or j-pouch for ulcerative colitis, in which double stapling is used in place of sutures. He also worked on the colonic j-pouch for patients with rectal cancer. The J-pouch is an alternative to a permanent ileostomy or colostomy, allowing patients who have had their colons removed to continue to have bowel movements without an ostomy bag. This is now part of standard care for patients with rectal carcinoma.Minimally invasive surgery
Wexner established a laparoscopic colorectal surgery program at Cleveland Clinic Florida in 1991. He has utilized fluorescence imaging and indocyanine green during colorectal surgery, and contributed to FDA-approved protocols for bowel perfusion assessment. He has worked on transanal total mesorectal excision techniques and has collaborated with Karl Storz GmbH and Intuitive Surgical on surgical instrument development.Patents
Wexner has been granted six patents and has licensed intellectual property:Honors and awards
Wexner has received fellowship from five Royal Colleges: FRCS from the Royal [College of Surgeons in Edinburgh] ; FRCS ad eundum from the Royal College of Surgeons ; elected to the Royal College of Surgeons of England by unanimous vote of its council, the highest distinction conferred by the council; Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland ; Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow ; and Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England.He holds honorary memberships in surgical societies of 15 countries, including Israel, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, Wales, Chile, South Africa, Central America, Singapore, the German Surgical Society, the European Surgical Association, European Society of Coloproctology, the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Colorectal Society of Australia and New Zealand. In 2024, he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of The Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
Wexner received an honorary PhD from the University of Belgrade and the Maimonides Award from the American Jewish Committee. He was named Professor Emeritus of I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Master Clinician at Cleveland Clinic Florida, appointed as Honorary Professor at University College London, inducted as a member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, and appointed visiting professor in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
In 2025, Wexner was recognized as one of America's Leading Doctors by Newsweek and Statista. The listing was based on analysis of doctor performance data from Medicare Fee-for-Service claims and commercial data, recommendations and quality assessments from medical professionals, and certifications from American medical and surgical certification boards.
Wexner has received 4% national, international, and regional awards for his research.
Professional memberships and positions
Wexner is an active member of 43 learned societies and has held more than 70 appointed or elected offices in these societies.As of October 2020, Wexner is vice-chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons. Through this position he also serves as vice-chair of the executive committee of the Board of Regents, the vice-chair of the Finance Committee of the ACS, and the Regental Liaison to the ACS Board of Governors.
Wexner is the founding Chair of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer, a position he has held since 2017 and was reappointed to in 2023. He contributed to establishing this accreditation program with the American College of Surgeon's Commission on Cancer, which aims to implement educational and medical standards for rectal cancer treatment.
From 2011 to 2012, Wexner served as president of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, for which he gave a Presidential Address in 2012. Prior to that, from 2010 to 2011 he served as president of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. He also served as president of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons from 2006 to 2007. In 2007 he delivered the SAGES Presidential Address entitled "Trials and tribulations in the history of surgical innovation."
Additionally, Wexner served on the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons from 2012 to 2021, including as vice-chair from 2020-2021. Within this organization he is on the executive committee for the Commission on Cancer. He was also the founding chair of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer from 2018-2025.
Wexner has served as the president of other professional organizations, including the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Research Foundation, the Florida Gastroenterologic Society, and South Florida Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He served for six years as a governor to the ACS, was past chair of the ACS advisory council for colon and rectal surgery from 2001-2005, and was a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education residency review committee for colon and rectal surgery from 1999-2004. In addition to being licensed in multiple states in the United States, Wexner is licensed in the United Kingdom with the General Medical Council and he is listed as a colorectal surgeon on the specialist register.
Publications
Wexner is the co-editor-in-chief of Surgery. He has served on the editorial team for textbooks and has published textbook chapters. He is a reviewer for 31 journals and is on 33 editorial boards.As of 2025, Wexner has authored 1,112 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 101 and 41,216 citations. According to Elsevier's 2024 analysis of the Scopus database, he ranks 34th among surgeons in all specialties, 11th among all GI surgeons, and is the most cited living colorectal surgeon in the world. Among all scientists in all fields, he ranks #1,500 in the USA and #2,614 in the world with a D index of 121. He was named a 2024 Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS. He has edited 44 books and authored 274 textbook chapters and 215 editorials and/or invited commentaries.
In 2019, the Journal of Coloproctology published an analysis of the top 100 cited papers in benign anorectal disease which listed Wexner as the second most cited author, with 5 papers authored or co-authored by him among the top 100. His 1993 paper with Marcio Jorge, "Etiology and Management of Fecal Incontinence," was ranked as the most cited paper on benign anorectal disease. This paper established the Wexner Incontinence Score and treatment algorithms used in clinical practice.
Wexner also published studies which resulted in the eponymous Wexner Incontinence Score and the Wexner Constipation Score, as well as the Pikarsky Wexner Perianal Crohn's Score:
Selected books
- S.R. Steele, J.A. Maykel, S.D. Wexner,. Clinical Decision Making in Colorectal Surgery, 2nd ed. Springer Nature Switzerland.
- David E. Beck, Steven D. Wexner, Janice F. Rafferty . Gordon and Nivatvongs' Principles and Practice of Surgery for the Colon, Rectum, and Anus, 4th ed. Thieme.
- David E. Beck, Scott R. Steele, Steven D. Wexner. Fundamentals of Anorectal Surgery, 3rd ed. Springer Nature Switzerland. Steven D. Wexner, James W. Fleshman . Colon and Rectal Surgery: Abdominal Operations , 2nd ed. Wolters Kluwer. Steven D. Wexner, James W. Fleshman . Colon and Rectal Surgery: Anorectal Operations , 2nd ed. Wolters Kluwer.
- David E. Beck, Steven D. Wexner, et al.. The ASCRS Manual of Colon and Rectal Surgery, 2nd ed. Springer New York.
- Andrew P. Zbar, Robert D. Madoff, Steven D. Wexner. Reconstructive Surgery of the Rectum, Anus and Perineum. Springer. Steven D. Wexner, Andrew P. Zbar, Mario Pescatori. Complex Anorectal Disorders: Investigation and Management. Springer.
- Andrew P. Zbar, Steven D. Wexner. Coloproctology . Springer.
- N. Stollman, Steven D. Wexner. Disease of the Colon, 1st ed. Informa Healthcare. Steven D. Wexner, Graeme S. Duthrie. Constipation: Etiology, Evaluation and Management. Springer.
- G. Davila, G. Ghoneim G, Steven D. Wexner. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, 1st ed. Springer. Steven D. Wexner et al.. Diverticular Disease: Emerging Evidence in Common Conditions, 1st ed. Springer. Steven D. Wexner, Andrew P. Zbar, Mario Pescatori. Complex Anorectal Disorders. Investigation and Management, 1st ed. Springer. Steven D. Wexner, B. MacFadyen . Laparoscopic Surgery of the Abdomen. Springer-Verlag.
- P. Boulos, Steven D. Wexner. Current Challenges in Colorectal Surgery, 1st ed. W. B. Saunders. Steven D. Wexner,. Protocols in General Surgery: Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery.
Selected articles
Wexner has published articles in scientific journals and books, including over 780 manuscripts and 26 editorials or commentaries in the last twenty years.He has co-authored articles on COVID-19 response, contributions of women to colorectal surgery, and racial disparities in colorectal surgery outcomes:
In addition to the articles above, some of Wexner's recent articles are listed below:
AIS Channel
Wexner is a contributor for the AIS Channel, an educational platform for surgical training. Since 2014, AIS has provided audiovisual recordings and broadcasts of procedures, techniques, and new developments in surgery. AIS works with hospitals and surgical societies. Wexner has participated in broadcasts covering topics including robotic colorectal surgery techniques and healthcare diversity issues.Educational contributions
Since 1990, Wexner has served as Symposium Director of the Cleveland Clinic Annual International Colorectal Disease Symposium. The symposium was held annually in Fort Lauderdale or Boca Raton from 1990 to 2019 for over 35 years, and has since included international locations.Wexner contributes to the AIS Channel, an educational platform for surgeons. Since 2014, he has participated in broadcasts covering robotic colorectal surgery techniques and healthcare diversity topics. He has delivered over 2,292 scientific lectures, held over 80 visiting professorships, and trains 15-20 surgeons annually through fellowship programs. He has served as an educator to surgeons internationally and maintains an active social media presence.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wexner created the "A Surgeon's Voice" video series as ACS Regent, conducting over 100 interviews with surgeons globally about pandemic experiences, which received over 300,000 views. This series included an interview with Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky on the development of their COVID-19 vaccine.