Ricardo J Bello, MD, MPH

Biography

Striving every day to deliver better health for patients

A simple philosophy guides Dr. Ricardo Bello while providing care for patients: “I try to be better every day,” he says. “That approach is key in all of medicine, but especially so in surgery.”

As a surgical oncologist with the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Bello helps patients in the most difficult moments of their lives. He treats people living with gastrointestinal cancers, including those impacting the liver, bile duct and pancreas.

That treatment requires the kind of care that relies on communication and teamwork with providers from a wide range of medical specialties.

“Treating and curing cancer requires a team of highly specialized experts,” he says. “I value my colleagues’ expertise and take pride in collaborating on how to provide the best care for each patient.”

Dr. Bello was born and earned his medical degree in Caracas, Venezuela. During his last year in medical school, he chose to do a rotation in a remote indigenous community in the Amazon, an experience that “helped shape him into the caring, thoughtful, hard-working individual he is today,” his brother Carlos wrote in a newsletter for the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine, where Dr. Bello completed his residency in general surgery.

After medical school, Dr. Bello continued medical training during residencies at Johns Hopkins University and UMass, followed by a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology and hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Throughout his education, Dr. Bello was honored with numerous awards for research, teaching and service, surgical excellence, and diversity in medicine.

Upon winning the distinction as Resident of the Month in the UMass Department of Surgery, Dr. Bello’s colleagues described him as a “kind, down-to-earth” doctor known for going “above and beyond” for patients.

“At each point in my medical training, I met mentors who modelled humane and excellent care, and always did the right thing for the patient,” Dr. Bello says. “I strive to follow their footsteps in helping patients.”

He’s also following in their footsteps by being a mentor to new doctors learning the field. As an assistant professor in the VCU Division of Surgical Oncology, he considers the teaching awards he’s earned during his career as some of his most valued accomplishments. Among them was a teaching honor he received during his fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Bello treats patients in Stony Point, Short Pump and downtown Richmond. He was drawn to VCU because of its long-established tradition of helping cancer patients and for its drive to provide innovative cutting-edge care. As a researcher, he’s interested in finding ways to make surgical procedures safer for patients.

“We’ve implemented a minimally invasive approach to procedures whenever possible,” Dr. Bello says. “That’s improved surgical outcomes for patients and helped them recover more quickly.”

When not at work, he enjoys the outdoors while hiking at Shenandoah National Park and state parks throughout Virginia.

Research Interests:

• Improving oncologic and perioperative patient outcomes for people with liver, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers.
• Improving access to care among patients with resectable and unresectable colorectal liver metastases.
• Reducing waste from surgical procedures.