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Full Issue: Volume 20, Number 1 - Spring 2024

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

A publication for friends and colleagues of Jefferson’s Department of Surgery

In This Issue

Cover Story Nader Hanna, MD, Named Inaugural Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology - Page 1

Overview Our Jefferson Bicentennial: Thank You Dr. George McClellan - Page 2

Leadership Jefferson Health Names Enterprise Surgeon Leaders - Page 2

Clinical Integration New Center Offers State-of-the-Art Treatment for Chest Wall Disorders - Page 3

Please Welcome New Faculty - Page 3

Those Who Give Paying it Forward: Grateful Alumna Funds Surgical Pilot Grants - Page 4

News in Brief News in Brief - Page 4

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Talar Tatarian, MD, served as Program Chair for The Women’s Leadership in Surgery Society (WLISS) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. last September. She was joined by three of our residents – Drs. Fari Fall, Sneha Alaparthi, and Isheeta Madeka.

Keshava Rajagopal, MD, PhD, was awarded a $125,000 grant from the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust for the project entitled “Allosteric modulation of beta2-adrenergic receptor to enhance cardiac function.”

Michelle Hughes, MSN, RN, CBRN, was recently certified as one of the first certified burn nurses by the American Burn Association (ABA). Hughes is the Burn Nurse Coordinator at the …

Paying It Forward: Grateful Alumna Funds Surgical Pilot Grants

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Knowing Jefferson’s reputation for training successful surgeons, Shaheen Timmapuri, MD, MBA, was thrilled to match in surgery at Jefferson Medical College, now Sidney Kimmel Medical College, in 2000. Although it’s been nearly 20 years since she completed her residency, she still vividly recalls the quality of her experience.

Dr. Timmapuri notes that she not only received an excellent clinical education, but also learned valuable lessons in compassion, respect, teamwork and integrity. She also remembers a specific incident that helped her achieve her goal of becoming a pediatric surgeon.

“This was before residency included a mandatory year of research,” she explains. …

New Faculty

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Abdelsalam Elshaikh, MD, has joined the Division of Vascular Medicine. Dr. Elshaikh is a graduate of the University of Gezira Faculty of Medicine in Sudan. He then went on to complete an internal medicine internship at Beaumont Health in Dearborn, MI, and his internal medicine residency at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, PA. Following residency, he worked as a hospitalist for two years before completing a vascular medicine fellowship at the University Hospitals of Cleveland Medical Center. He cares for patients at the Jefferson Vascular Center in Center City.

Rakesh M. Suri, MD, DPhil, has joined …

New Center Offers State-Of-The-Art Treatment For Chest Wall Disorders

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Patients with chest wall conditions and injuries can now obtain comprehensive care through the Jefferson Center for Chest Wall Disorders.

Led by Olugbenga Okusanya, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, the Center offers innovative procedures for Pectus Excavatum, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), Slipping Rib Syndrome, as well as rib and sternum fractures and several other non-cancerous chest wall conditions.

“The center formalizes our team-based approach to getting the best outcomes for patients,” Dr. Okusanya explains.

Dr. Okusanya routinely collaborates closely with his partners in thoracic surgery: Drs. Nathaniel Evans, Tyler Grenda, and John Jacobs. The team also includes trauma surgeons Drs. …

Jefferson Health Names Enterprise Surgeon Leaders, Charles J. Yeo

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The past nine years have brought a series of mergers and acquisitions that dramatically expanded the physical footprint and clinical resources of Jefferson Health. What started as an academic medical center in Center City Philadelphia has grown to a robust network of 17 hospitals and physician practices serving patients in five Delaware Valley counties, and beyond.

Jefferson Health’s growth has fueled new opportunities to improve patient care, clinical research and medical education. Achieving those goals requires thoughtful integration of people, processes and technology—with strong leadership to guide the journey.

In January, Jefferson Health formally named an Enterprise Surgeon Leader for …

Our Jefferson Bicentennial: Thank You Dr. George Mcclellan, Charles J. Yeo

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

1824 was a leap year. Lord Byron died in Missolonghi, Greece. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna. And a surgeon, Dr. George McClellan, five years out of medical school himself, had the vision and aspiration to make Philadelphia the only U.S. city with two medical schools. McClellan was a Yale graduate (chemistry, 1815) attended Penn Med (’19) and due to the politics of the time and his ties to the Presbyterian church, chose to affiliate this new Philadelphia medical school via a charter with Jefferson College – a prior log cabin school located 312 miles away – in the sleepy …

Nader Hanna, Md, Named Inaugural Chief Of The Division Of Surgical Oncology

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

In January, Jefferson Health and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College, in collaboration with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, named Nader Hanna, MD, as the inaugural chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Vice Chair for Cancer Services in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Hanna is also serving as the Enterprise Surgeon Leader for Surgical Oncology (see article on page 2).

The newly created division shares faculty members and advanced practice clinicians with other divisions covering complex general surgical oncology and breast surgery, as well as melanoma, gastrointestinal, colorectal, peritoneal and endocrine surgical oncology specialties, among others.

In his new …

Full Issue: Volume 19, Number 1 - Summer 2023

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

A publication for friends and colleagues of Jefferson’s Department of Surgery

In This Issue

Cover Story
Nicoletti Kidney Transplant Center Takes Swift Action to Address Equity in Transplantation - Page 1

Overview
Health Care Worker: Burnout Versus Moral Injury - Page 2

Please Welcome
Our Categorical Interns - Page 2

Education
‘General Residency Survival Guide’ Offers Practical Advice - Page 2

Changing Lives Through Research
Jefferson Breast Surgeon Selected for Second Cohort of Robert A. Winn Career Development Award - Page 3

On the Job
New Faculty - Page 3

Giving Opportunity
Honickman Center to Include Employee Wellness Space - …

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Scott W. Cowan, MD, has been promoted to Professor. Dr. Cowan is also the Enterprise Medical Director of Risk Management for Jefferson Health.

Hien Dang, PhD, was awarded a National Institutes of Health R01 grant supporting “Deciphering the role of NELFE in modulating MYC signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma.” Dr. Dang is one of 11 scientists selected for the inaugural cohort of Cancer Moonshot Scholars, President Biden’s program to support outstanding early-career researchers.

Aditi Jain, PhD, has been promoted to Research Assistant Professor. She was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Investigator-Initiated Small Research Grant (R03) entitled “Elucidating the …

Honickman Center To Include Employee Wellness Space

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Jefferson’s Honickman Center is being built to create an exceptional patient experience that combines comfortable, healing spaces with the convenience of many care services in a single location. In addition to supporting patients’ health and well-being, the building will offer an abundance of resources to support employee wellness.

“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed just how difficult it can be to work in healthcare,” explains Catriona McDonald Harrop, MD, Senior Vice President of Jefferson Medical Group and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine. “The pandemic also compounded longstanding challenges related to stress and burnout among care teams.”

Alongside growing emphasis on more holistic …

New Faculty

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Kenneth A. Andreoni, MD, has joined the Division of Transplant Surgery as Surgical Director of our Kidney Transplant Program. Dr. Andreoni is a graduate of Yale University School of Medicine. He then went to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he completed his surgical residency, a research fellowship in Transplant Immunology and an Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery fellowship. From there, he went on to complete an additional fellowship in Clinical Transplantation at the Division of Abdominal Transplantation at Ohio State University. He cares for patients at the Nicoletti Kidney Transplant Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Wassim G. El-Habre, MD, has joined the …

Jefferson Breast Surgeon Selected For Second Cohort Of Robert A. Winn Career Development Award

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation established the Robert A. Winn Career Development Award (CDA) to increase diversity in clinical trials and transform the clinical research landscape. The program aims to improve representation among two key populations: patients participating in trials as well as the clinicians and scientists leading clinical trials. Assistant Professor of Surgery Adeseye Adekeye, MD, PhD, is one of 64 early-stage investigators selected for the second cohort of the Winn CDA program. The program funds $120,000 a year for two years, with the awardees spending at least 40% of their time on the program. Dr. Adekeye and the …

‘General Residency Survival Guide’ Offers Practical Advice

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

There were no work-hour restrictions when Professor of Surgery Alec C. Beekley, MD, was completing his own surgical training in the 1990s. Back then, he says, it wasn’t uncommon to be at the hospital for days at a time or to work for 30 hours straight.

“The old adage in surgery was, ‘if you’re only on call every other night, you miss half the good cases,’” he says. Today’s surgical residents are training in a different era – one in which there’s greater awareness of the risk of burnout among healthcare providers. There are also restrictions on the number of …

Our Categorical Interns

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

• Itohan Aikhionbare, MD, Northeast Ohio Medical University
• Mia Brownfield, MD, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Saba Daneshpooy, MD, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
• Candice Dunn, MD, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-Piscataway
• Mitchell Hirsch, MD, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
• Deirbhile Martin, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
• Aakash Shingala, MD, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine

Jefferson Abington Hospital

• Hudson Carter, MD, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Gianfranco Galantini, MD, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
• Nnenna Nwaelugo, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Jesse Ottaway, MD, …

Health Care Worker: Burnout Versus Moral Injury, Charles Yeo, Md, Facs

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Much has been written about health care worker (HCW) burnout – defined as a constellation of symptoms which include exhaustion, cynicism and decreased productivity; it has been clearly linked to increased rates of depression, suicide and departure from health care employment. Surveys show that large percentages of HCWs report burnout. We have all read the various studies.

But Talbot and Dean* suggest a different perspective – they opine that the concept of burnout resonates poorly with many HCWs, as it suggests a failure of resilience, grit and resourcefulness (traits present in most HCWs; learned and practiced through long training and …

Nicoletti Kidney Transplant Center Takes Swift Action To Address Equity In Transplantation

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The general public may assume that waitlists for organ transplantation follow a simple tenet: The sicker a patient, the higher their position on the waitlist. But for decades, a formula for kidney transplantation was disadvantaging Black patients. The calculation adjusted these patients’ kidney function scores up, which delayed their placement on the list to receive a transplanted kidney.

The Nicoletti Kidney Transplant Center (NKTC) at Jefferson adopted a race-neutral calculation in 2021. In the summer of 2022, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the nonprofit that serves as the nation’s transplant system under contract with the federal government, mandated …

Grateful Patient Supports Dr. Plestis And Jefferson Aortic Center

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

For Renée Cardwell Hughes, April 30, 2021, started as an ordinary Friday. She arrived early to her office at Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), the workforce development corporation where she was president and chief executive officer.

The day took a turn just before 9 a.m. – when Hughes experienced crushing pain while walking from the ladies’ room back to her office.

“It felt like Wonder Woman had slammed her shield into my chest,” she recalls.

Security footage shows Hughes, who was alone on the fourth floor, stumbling in the hallway. She made it back to her office, where she collapsed …

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

At the 20th Annual Jefferson Gala on November 30, Nathaniel R. Evans III, MD, received the 2022 Achievement Award in Medicine. This award honors a physician who has embraced Jefferson’s mission, provided exemplary care to their patients, and has been a recognized leader in their field. Dr. Evans is Director of the Division of Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery and Chief of Cancer Services at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

Taki Galanis, MD, has been promoted to Associate Professor. He sees patients at the Jefferson Vascular Center in Center City.

Amanda Kohli, PA-C, received the Jefferson Enterprise Advanced Practice Providers (APP) Award …

Full Issue: Volume 18, Number 1 - Winter 2023

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

A publication for friends and colleagues of Jefferson’s Department of Surgery

In This Issue

Cover Story
Enterprise Collaboration Drives Surgical Quality, Safety Across Jefferson Health - Page 1

Overview
The Phillies, the Union, the Eagles and Jefferson Health - Page 2

Please Welcome
Our Categorical Interns - Page 2

Education
Jefferson Hosts Meetings of Two National Surgical Societies - Page 2

Changing Lives Through Research
Thoracic & Esophageal Surgery Team Conducts Diverse Research Studies to Improve Patient Care - Page 3

On the Job
New Faculty - Page 3

Correction
Summer 2022 Issue: Changing Lives Through Research - Page 3 …

New Faculty

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

John D. Jacob, MD, has joined the Division of Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery. Dr. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in the Philippines. He completed his general surgery residency at Abington Memorial Hospital in 2016 followed by a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and a thoracic surgery fellowship at the Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Jacob is based at Jefferson Abington Hospital and also sees patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Methodist Hospital, Jefferson Health – Northeast and Jefferson Health – Einstein.

Heather …

Correction - Summer 2022 Issue: Changing Lives Through Research

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

An article last Summer incorrectly stated that the Jefferson Molecular Profiling of Pancreatic Cancer (JMP PaC) Program was developed by a handful of researchers in the Department of Surgery.

The program was spearheaded by Hien Dang, PhD, Director of the Division of Surgical Research, in collaboration with surgeons Charles J. Yeo, MD, Wilbur Bowne, MD, and Harish Lavu, MD. Senior leadership also includes representatives from non-surgical specialties: Babar Bashir, MD, and Jennifer M. Johnson, MD, PhD (Medical Oncology); Wei Jiang, MD, PhD (Pathology); and Christopher McNair, PhD, Associate Director for Data Science at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

Jefferson Hosts Meetings Of Two National Surgical Societies

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

In September 2022, the Department of Surgery hosted annual meetings for two surgical societies – both of which were the first in-person conferences since 2019.

Annual Conference of the Women’s Leadership in Surgery Society: September 10–11, 2022

Achieving pay equity. Building resilience and leadership skills. Deciding whether, when and how to start a family (and then managing the demands of work and home). Such challenges are common to many working women; they can be even more complex for female surgeons.

Those challenges were among the topics covered at the Annual Conference of the Women’s Leadership in Surgery Society (WLISS). Launched …

Thoracic & Esophageal Surgery Team Conducts Diverse Research Studies To Improve Patient Care

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Surgeons Nathaniel R. Evans III, MD, Tyler R. Grenda, MD and Olubenga T. Okusanya, MD, provide thoracic and esophageal surgical care to patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City, and throughout Jefferson Health. They also lead and participate in a variety of research initiatives aimed at further optimizing that care. As Dr. Evans, who leads the Division, notes, “Our research portfolio has become very diverse, running the gamut from simple to very complex questions.”

Past clinical trials have worked to enhance care to patients with esophageal and lung cancer. For example, one aimed to identify which patients with …

The Phillies, The Union, The Eagles And Jefferson Health, Charles Yeo, Md, Facs

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

We are in the midst of a very successful spectator sports year in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies defied the odds, ended the regular season strong, and treated us to a World Series spectacle – playing baseball in November. (The World Series is now a November event; so much for the old moniker “Mr. October.”) The Union were there right up to the last minutes, in the MLS Cup, the championship game. Finally, the Eagles won the National Football Conference championship and headed to Super Bowl LVII.

The winning analogy is to Jefferson Health and our Department. We …

Our Categorical Interns

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

• Allison Doermann, MD, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Lindsay Edwards, MD, Chicago Medical School
• George Ibrahim, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Haley Kittle, MD, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
• Ellius Kwok, MD, Penn State University College of Medicine
• Meghan Maceyko, MD, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
• Khaled Noueihed, MD, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Jacob Woodroof, MD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Jefferson Abington Hospital

• Jennifer Dai, MD, Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Brian Lifschutz, DO, Des Moines University College …

Enterprise Collaboration Drives Surgical Quality, Safety Across Jefferson Health

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Hospital-acquired infections, such as pneumonia, can affect a patient’s length of stay, cost of care and risk of mortality following surgery. In 2016, a Department of Surgery team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City launched a program aimed at reducing the incidence of postoperative pneumonia and respiratory failure. By applying a care bundle called ICOUGHSM, a significant decrease in postoperative pneumonia and respiratory failure has been observed through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicator reporting system.

More recently, a multidisciplinary team – including nurses and physicians, as well as speech and swallow experts – …

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Francesco Palazzo, MD, has been promoted to Professor of Surgery.

Drs. Adam Bodzin, George Koenig, and Dawn Salvatore, have been promoted to Associate Professor of Surgery.

T. Sloane Guy, MD, MBA, was recently appointed Vice Chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery and Clinical Director, Cardiac Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Chair of Surgery at Jefferson Health – Abington, Orlando Kirton, MD, was named a 2022 History Maker by the Philadelphia Tribune.

General Surgery resident, Sunjay Kumar, MD, was named the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Guidelines Fellow for …

Full Issue: Volume 17, Number 1 - Summer 2022

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

A publication for friends and colleagues of Jefferson’s Department of Surgery

In This Issue

Cover Story
Jefferson Aortic Center Targets ‘Silent Killers’ with Individualized Care, Innovative Research - Page 1

Overview
Finally -- A Measure of Normalcy - Page 2

Please Welcome
New Faculty - Page 2

Research
Pancreatic Researchers Advance Next-Generation Molecular Profiling - Page 2

On the Job
Meet the Staff - Page 3

Education
Residency Program Receives Five-Year Accreditation, Reorganizes to Serve Growing Program - Page 3

Those Who Give
Naming Opportunities at New Jefferson Specialty Care Pavilion - Page 4

News in Brief
News in Brief …

Residency Program Receives Five-Year Accreditation, Reorganizes To Serve Growing Program

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The General Surgery Residency Program within the Department of Surgery received full accreditation for five years from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in January 2022. In March, the Residency Program completed a successful match—selecting seven categorical residents from about 1,600 applications. And in June, it said goodbye to longtime Residency Program Administrator Donna Guinto, who retired after 38 years with Jefferson.

Since Guinto became coordinator in 1994, the Department of Surgery’s Residency Program has grown in length (from five to six years), number of residents (from six to seven) and complexity (with more guidelines from ACGME and …