Hector E. Nazario, MD

Hector Nazario, MD, is a transplant hepatologist and Chief of Hepatology at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, and a physician partner at The Liver Institute. He is one of the few Spanish-speaking hepatologists in North Texas, and he has spent his career making sure patients who face the most barriers to liver care can get it, and understand it, in their own language.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Nazario has cared for adults at every stage of liver disease, from early fatty liver disease to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver transplant. His focus is on finding liver problems early, explaining them in plain terms, and building a care plan that fits each patient's life.

He completed his medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico and came to Texas to specialize in gastroenterology and transplant medicine. He is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Gastroenterological Association.

Areas of expertise

Dr. Nazario works closely with the transplant surgeons, cancer doctors, gastroenterologists, and fellow hepatologists at Methodist Dallas so patients get one connected plan. His areas of clinical focus include:

• Liver transplant
• Cirrhosis and its complications
• Liver cancer
• Viral hepatitis
• Bile duct and autoimmune liver diseases
• Other liver conditions

Bringing liver care closer to home

Advanced liver care is hard to find outside big cities, and many patients travel hours to see a specialist. Dr. Nazario sees patients in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, and Amarillo so people across North and West Texas can get care near where they live and work.

Personal life

Dr. Nazario grew up in Puerto Rico, where his father practiced medicine and taught him one rule: never forget the community that raised you. That rule still guides how he practices today, from the patients he sees in North Texas to the clinic he helped open on the island where he was raised.

Outside of medicine, he serves on the board of the Dallas Zoo, where his liver expertise has occasionally been called on to help care for primates.

Conditions treated

• Cirrhosis
• Fatty liver disease (MASLD and MASH)
• Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma)
• Hepatitis B and C
• Alcohol-associated liver disease
• Ascites
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• Hepatorenal syndrome
• Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
• Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC)
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)
• Bile duct diseases
• Drug-induced liver injury
• Hemochromatosis
• Polycystic liver disease

Procedures and services

• Liver transplant evaluation
• Pre-transplant care
• Post-transplant care

Interests

• Liver transplant
• Liver cancer
• Fatty liver disease
• Liver care for Spanish-speaking patients
• Liver care in Puerto Rico

Education

• Transplant hepatology fellowship — Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas
• Gastroenterology fellowship — University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Internal medicine residency — University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
• Doctor of Medicine — University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Professional memberships

• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
• American College of Gastroenterology
• American Gastroenterological Association