Robert Yacavone, MD,

Fellowship trained in Gastroenterology / Advanced Endoscopy at Mayo Clinic

Board Certified in Gastroenterology (American Board of Internal Medicine)

Gastroenterology

Advanced / Therapeutic Endoscopy

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

Endoluminal stenting

Dr. Yacavone graduated from Brown University with a BA in Business Economics in 1990. He attended medical school at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and graduated with an MD degree in 1994. He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1997. Dr. Yacavone completed his Gastroenterology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN and did Advanced Endoscopy fellowship training at Mayo for specialized training in EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasound) and ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography). While in Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota for coursework in Clinical Outcomes Research. Dr. Yacavone was an Instructor in Medicine at Mayo Medical School from 1999-2000 during his fellowship training. While at Mayo, he co-authored several published articles related to advanced endoscopy and outcomes research in gastrointestinal endoscopy, and successfully earned grant support from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and industry sources.

Dr. Yacavone began his gastroenterology career in private practice. Following basic fellowship and advanced endoscopy training, he joined a private gastroenterology/multispecialty group practice in Sarasota, FL in 2000. From 2000-2005, Dr. Yacavone served as a community resource for tertiary center-level advanced endoscopy care in southwest Florida. In 2005, he was recruited to Kalispell Montana, where he performed the first EUS procedures in the state. Over the course of his 10 years in practice in Montana (MT), Dr. Yacavone developed a statewide referral center for advanced endoscopic procedures. He served as the Chief of Gastroenterology and Chief of Medicine at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The availability of EUS, advanced ERCP, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for Barrett’s esophagus (introduced to MT in 2011), and gastrointestinal luminal stenting procedures allowed for growth of the center in Kalispell. In 2011, Dr. Yacavone joined with the first 2 Surgical Oncologists in the state of MT to restructure as The Northwest Center for Specialty Oncology Care. This unique center offered multidisciplinary expertise to patients with complex malignant and premalignant gastrointestinal conditions from throughout the state of Montana and neighboring regions.

In 2015, Dr. Yacavone and his family relocated to Massachusetts. Dr. Yacavone joined Pentucket Medical Associates and Partners Community Physicians group and served as the Medical Director of Gastroenterology Services at Lawrence General Hospital (LGH) during 2015-2016. In 2015, he performed the first Endoscopic Ultrasound procedures in the Merrimack Valley at LGH.

Dr. Yacavone was recruited to the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in February 2017, with the primary task of growing an advanced endoscopy outreach program for the Hallmark / Melrose Wakefield Hospital system. Between March 2017 and March 2022, Dr. Yacavone performed over 1000 advanced endoscopic procedures through direct referral in that outreach program. In February 2018, Dr. Yacavone was appointed Director of the Endoscopy Unit at Tufts Medical Center, and oversaw a great number of operational changes within the Unit and GI Division as a whole, including: The opening of the Marlene Neely Center for Digestive Health (August 2019); Significant growth in inpatient and outpatient procedural volume and complexity; Collaboration with the Weight and Wellness Center to advance bariatric endoscopic services at Tufts; Development and implementation of several initiatives to improve patient adherence to colon cancer screening and surveillance guidelines and to improve patient experience with colonoscopy; Collaboration with endoscopy unit nursing and hospital nursing leadership to expand nursing workforce, services, and educational opportunities; Launch of transnasal (unsedated) upper endoscopy procedure for screening and surveillance of esophageal diseases; Expansion in ERCP services through the addition of enhanced digital cholangioscopy and electrohydraulic lithotripsy; and Introduction of PEG-T, a novel procedure for the placement of stomach feeding tubes for patients with cancers of the head / neck and esophagus while decreasing the risk of tumor spread. Dr. Yacavone served as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Tufts Medical Center from 2019 through 2022.

Dr. Yacavone is Board-certified in Gastroenterology through the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). His particular interest and focus is in the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of biliary tract diseases (bile duct stones, bile duct infection, bile duct cancer), and pancreas disease (pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis). Dr. Yacavone performs colonoscopy for colon cancer screening and performs advanced colon polyp removal (endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic full-thickness resection) which allows some patients with large precancerous polyps to avoid the need for surgery. He helps patients with certain types of cancer, in conjunction with the patient’s oncologist and surgeon, to develop a treatment plan using endoscopic ultrasound for the staging of disease extent. Dr. Yacavone has extensive experience with endoscopic ablation of Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition of the esophagus related to chronic acid reflux disease. He performs endoscopic stent placement to relieve cancerous blockages of the esophagus, small intestine, and colon.

In his spare time, Dr. Yacavone enjoys music, the outdoors, fitness training, and spending time with his blended family (wife Lisa and five children) and friends.