Lance J. Hampton

Dr. Lance Hampton currently serves as a Professor of Surgery/Urology and as the Division Chief of Urology at VCU Health where he has worked for the last 14 years. Prior to his arrival at VCU, Dr. Hampton completed his medical education at Texas Tech University and his urology residency at the University of New Mexico. While at the University of New Mexico, Dr. Hampton was instrumental in the initiation and continuation of the first true laparoscopic urology program in the state. He was also recognized as the Pfizer Scholar in Urology for his contributions to urologic knowledge and care to his patients during this time. Dr. Hampton then joined a small private urology practice in the beautiful mountain city of Flagstaff, Arizona. It was in Flagstaff, that Dr. Hampton’s passion for patient care and also improving health care for his community began. He was able to continue his work with laparoscopic surgery for patients in northern Arizona including expanding care for the Native American Hopi and Navajo nations. During this time, he served on the medical executive board of Flagstaff Medical Center and on countless community organizations. He also was on the editorial board of the Arizona Daily Sun.

Following his passion for oncology care and minimally invasive surgery, Dr. Hampton then completed an advanced urologic oncology and robotic surgery fellowship at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California and accepted the position of Director of Robotic Surgery at VCU Health in 2008. While at VCU, Dr. Hampton has been instrumental in expanding the indications for robotic surgery to include numerous different surgical services including urology, gynecology, pediatric surgery, transplant surgery, and thoracic surgery. VCU is now recognized as one of the preeminent robotic surgery centers in the US. Having performed over 2000 cases himself, Dr. Hampton continues to innovate surgical options for patients of central Virginia.

Dr. Hampton currently holds the Barbara and William Thalhimer Eminent Scholar Professorship in urology and has been the Division Chief of Surgical Urology for over a decade and has seen the urology faculty grow to 13 faculty and multiple practice locations. Because of his deep respect of our nation’s veterans, he has maintained a surgical practice at the Central Virginia Veteran’s Hospital (previously Hunter McGuire VA Hospital) for 14 years as well.

Outside of urology, Dr. Hampton’s passions include philanthropy to multiple organizations including VCU Health, VCU athletics, and the YMCA. He and his wife, Suzie, have personally established and funded an endowment to increase the number of underrepresented minority urology residents at VCU and elsewhere. Dr. Hampton was instrumental in establishing a relationship between VCU Health and Hue University School of Medicine and Pharmacy in Hue, Vietnam. He has travelled to Vietnam countless times to expand this relationship and to help train and teach urology residents and faculty in Vietnam. Personally, Lance and Suzie have been married 30 years and have one son, Davis, who is a proud recent graduate of the VCU Richard Robertson School of Media and Culture. The Hamptons love to travel the world and learn about other cultures and traditions. They have been to all 7 continents and continue to bring this experience back to Richmond.