2009 News

Charles Leads Surgical Care Advancement Initiative in Malawi

Leena Patel — 2009-12-11T15:05:00Z

December 11, 2009 -- As part of UNC's surgical initiative in Malawi, Dr. Anthony Charles, UNC Trauma and Critical Care Surgery, and a volunteer surgery team from UNC travel to Malawi regularly to provide surgical care, but Dr. Charles aims to make adequate surgical care permanently accessible to Malawians. "Currently, there are only 15 trained Malawian surgeons of any specialty in the entire country of 14 million people." However, Dr. Charles hopes to change that by initiating a five-year surgical residency program to train Malawian doctors to become surgeons, implementing a patient data collection database to aid surgeons to provide the most effective care, and enouraging a long-term sustainablity of the changes through policy.

Best Doctors in America 2009-2010

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-11-12T21:25:00Z

Colon and Rectal Surgery	Mark J. Koruda, MD

Neurological Surgery	Matthew G. Ewend, MD

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery	Michael R. Mill, MD

Pediatric Surgery	William T. Adamson, MD J. Duncan Phillips, MD Richard W. Sutherland, MD

Surgery	David A. Gerber, MD Anthony A. Meyer, MD

Surgical Oncology	Benjamin F. Calvo, MD David W. Ollila, MD

Thoracic Surgery	Thomas M. Egan, MD Richard H. Feins, MD Michael R. Mill, MD

Urology	Culley C. Carson III, MD Raj S. Pruthi, MD Eric Wallen, MD

McPhail Presents Gallbladder Study at ACS Clinical Congress

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-10-15T15:30:00Z

Dr. Lindsee McPhail, a fellow in Laparoscopy and Advanced GI Surgery, reported results of a study involving patients treated for gallstones at the Oct. 14 session of the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. The study indicated that a more expedient referral for surgery could reduce pretreatment charges, for ER visits and diagnostic tests, by 50%. Read full article at Reuters.

Lee Article Published in the Journal of American Medical Association

Leena Patel — 2009-10-15T11:20:00Z

October 15, 2009 -- Clara Lee, MD co-authored an article discussing the need to evaluate surgical procedures based on maximization of benefits for the patients. The article entitled "Beyond Outcomes-The Appropriateness of Surgical Care" (.pdf) is published in the October issue of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA. 2009;302(14):1580-1581).

Damitz Promoted to Associate Professor

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-10-14T17:40:00Z

Heart Transplant Patient Finds New Enthusiasm For Life

Leena Patel — 2009-10-13T15:35:00Z

October 13, 2009 -- Russell Ford received a heart transplant at UNC Hospitals in July 2009 after suffering from congestive heart failure for 10 years. Dr. Michael Bowdish of the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery was his transplant surgeon. In "Family House Diaries," written by Elizabeth Swaringen for UNC Health Care, Mr. Ford tells the story of his illness, his surgery and the experience his family had at SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals. The Family House is a non-profit hospital hospitality house, offering housing and other support services to adult patients and their families.

Thoracic Surgeons Directors Association Renames Award to Honor Wilcox

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-30T15:15:00Z

The Thoracic Surgery Directors Association has renamed its Resident Award the Benson Wilcox Award for Best Resident Paper in honor of former TSDA president, Dr. Benson R. Wilcox. The award is presented annually at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting for the best scientific abstract submitted by a cardiothoracic surgery resident. Dr. Wilcox was instrumental in establishing TSDA and drafting the association’s Bylaws. A leader in cardiothoracic surgery education, Dr. Wilcox was TSDA’s first secretary/treasurer from 1977-1980. He also served as president-elect from 1983-1984 and as president from 1985-1986. TSDA remains committed to Dr. Wilcox’s goal to improve cardiothoracic surgery education.

Sheldon Cited in Articles on Health Care Reform

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-23T13:20:00Z

Sept. 23, 2009 -- Dr. George Sheldon has been cited in several recent publications and postings on health care reform, including front page articles in The News and Observer (Sept. 23) and General Surgery (Sept. issue). On July 8, Dr. George Sheldon emphasized the looming surgeon shortage to a House of Representative committee. He urged congressmen to take this shortage and its implications into consideration while working on health care reform.

Prostate Screenings Publicized on WRAL News

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-22T16:15:00Z

Dr. Raj Pruthi, Urologic Surgeon at UNC, emphasized the importance of early detection of prostate cancer on a WRAL News broadcast aired on Sept. 21. He recommended that all men should begin PSA and digital rectal exam screening by age 50, but African American men and others with a family history of prostate cancer should begin screening by age 40. The North Carolina Cancer Hospital at UNC is offering free prostate cancer screening on Sept. 23rd and 24th from 1 to 7 P.M., no appointment necessary. For additional information, please call 919-966-1315.

GoDuke.com: Keeping Up With Courtney Sommer

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-21T17:55:00Z

Duke Sports Information has published an interview with Dr. Courtney Sommer, a UNC General Surgery resident who was a three-time All-American field hockey player while an undergraduate at Duke University.

McLean Receives NIH Award

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-18T20:30:00Z

Sean McLean, MD, of Pediatric Surgery, has been awarded a two-year grant supplement for career development. Dr. Cam Patterson, division chief of Cardiology, is the principal investigator of the parent R01 and will serve as Dr. McLean's mentor. The project, entitled "The role of FGFR1 and FGFR2 in Repair of Damaged Intestinal Epithelium," covers the period 09/01/2009 - 08/31/2011 and was awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NC Biotechnology Center Gives Loan to Egan's Biotech Firm

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-16T15:15:00Z

The company plans to use the loan to finalize its business plan and prepare to seek financial backing from investors and federal grants. Until now, Dr. Egan's research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the UNC Lung Transplant Research Fund.

Dr. Egan is working to develop therapies that might thwart inflammation and related damage (ischemia reperfusion injury) that occurs as blood flow is restored to tissues after a period of restricted blood supply. The compounds he is developing might keep naturally occurring immune-system proteins from contributing to IRI, reducing tissue damage after organ transplants. The research also could be useful in treatment of patients who have had heart surgery, strokes and heart attacks.

Read the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's news release.

Carson Promotes Prostate Screening on NBC 17 News

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-16T14:45:00Z

NBC 17 News segment

Free Prostate Screenings

CT Surgery Launches 6-Year Integrated Residency Program

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-11T04:00:00Z

The curriculum includes rotations in vascular interventional radiology, endoscopy, cardiology, and endovascular surgery, and will provide residents with the background and experience using these new techniques in order to build a career as future “cardiothoracic specialists.” The program has been carefully designed to balance cardiovascular and thoracic care, and includes extensive exposure to fields relevant to thoracic surgery such as GI endoscopy, surgical oncology, and gastrointestinal (foregut) surgery. Completion of the program will lead to certification by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. At UNC, the new program shortens the current ABTS certification process by two years.

The new program will replace UNC’s traditional 3-year cardiothoracic surgery residency program and the general surgery residency that precedes it. UNC’s 3-year program will be phased out as residents in the integrated 6-year program fill the early years of the program.

Michael R. Mill, M.D., is chief of the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and is director of the residency program.

UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery faculty members believe that this tightly focused, comprehensive curriculum will produce better trained cardiothoracic surgeons and will be gratifying to the resident physicians who complete the program.

The field of cardiothoracic surgery has evolved tremendously over the decades, offering patients many more options for the treatment of intra-thoracic disease. The complexity of cardiothoracic surgery has increased and it has become more dependent upon a multi-disciplinary team approach, involving primary care physicians, cardiologists, pulmonologists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, radiologists, pathologists, cardiac perfusionists, nurses, clinical coordinators, social workers, and others. Hence, the objective of this training program is to provide a more comprehensive and rational immersion in the diagnosis and management of all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic diseases through multi-disciplinary training. All aspects of the new curriculum are based on proven models of education currently available at the University of North Carolina. The curriculum preserves the significant contribution of general surgery and vascular surgery training to the development of a well-rounded cardiothoracic surgeon.

For more information on the new program, click here.

Urology Clinic Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings

Robin S. Robinson — 2009-09-10T18:55:00Z

The Urology Clinic at UNC Hospitals will offer free prostate cancer screenings from 1 to 7 p.m. Sept. 23-24 for men 40 years old or older and younger men with a family history of prostate cancer. The screenings, which are being conducted as part of National Prostate Health Month, consist of a blood test and digital rectal exam. No appointment is necessary. For additional information, please call (919) 966-1315.