Lilian Chen, MD, MSEd

Media Releases

Get to know Colorectal Surgeon Dr. Lilian Chen, who serves patients in Massachusetts. 

Dr. Chen is a board-certified colorectal surgeon who currently serves as Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program and Associate Director of Surgical Education at Tufts Medical Center. Tufts Medical Center is a hospital focused on providing excellent patient care and teaching future leaders. It is the principal teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

At the Tufts Medical Center Cancer Center in Stoneham, colon and rectal surgery is led by Dr. Chen. The Tufts Medical Center Cancer Center works to bring an unprecedented level of cancer expertise and personalized care to Stoneham and the surrounding communities. The Center offers hematology/oncology care, infusion services, laboratory services, as well as specialty surgical oncology services. 

Dr. Chen serves as an Assistant Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine – one of the ten schools that constitute Tufts University. Dr. Chen is a member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, formerly the American Proctologic Society, is a professional society for surgeons specializing in colorectal surgery. It is one of the older surgical societies, having been established in 1899. 

Dr. Chen earned her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire. She then went on to complete her residency and fellowship training at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. Dr. Chen is board-certified in colon & rectal surgery by the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery. The American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery was established to promote the health and welfare of the American people through the development and maintenance of high standards for certification in the specialty of colon and rectal surgery.

Dr. Chen is also board-certified in surgery by the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge.

Colorectal surgery is a field of medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology; however, this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify practices relating to the anus and rectum in particular. As a colorectal surgeon, Dr. Chen specializes in the preoperative, operative, and postoperative care of patients with colorectal disorders. Her clinical focus areas include minimally invasive and robotic colorectal surgery, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, anorectal disease, rectal prolapse, and sacral nerve stimulator for fecal incontinence.

In addition to English, Dr. Chen speaks Chinese-Cantonese and Chinese-Mandarin.

Recommended Articles

• Vitamin E May Not Prevent Heart Failure in Women

  According to a new study, vitamin E supplementation may not reduce the risk of heart failure in women. This study is the first of its kind, focusing on the effectiveness of vitamin E supplementation in the prevention of heart failure. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to protect the body from...

• What are the Symptoms of Melanoma?

  Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer that starts in the melanocytes, which are cells that produce pigments. It usually begins in tissues that are heavily pigmented, like moles and birthmarks. This form of skin cancer is often found in the chest, back, and palm, and in some rare cases, it...

• What Is Laser Blepharoplasty?

  Some people refer to it as the eye lid lift. Blepharoplasty is a cosmetic surgery involving the removal or spreading of muscles, skin, or fats of creepy, drooling, or dark eyelids. In case both eyelids are affected, the procedures of the upper eyelid and the lower eyelid are separately undertaken....

• In Sickness and In Health: Fibromyalgia and Marriage

  Navigating the ups and downs of a chronic illness is difficult. Patients can experience roadblocks and dead ends that can disrupt their daily lives. Disorders, like fibromyalgia, are very difficult to manage, especially when getting a diagnosis can take months, or sometimes years.  Thankfully,...

• What are the Causes and Symptoms of Pink Eye?

  Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is a contagious eye condition caused by the inflammation and infection of the conjunctiva. The conjunctiva is the transparent membrane covering the white part of the eye and the eyeball. Infection and swelling of the the mucous membrane becomes reddish, and the entire...

• What Are Congenital Cataracts?

  Cataracts can be present at birth – which is termed as congenital, and in other cases can develop later in life. Various studies have shown an estimation that one out of every 250 children will develop a cataract either prior to birth or during childhood. While the exact cause is unknown,...