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News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Matthew P. Jenkins, MD, has joined the Division of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Jenkins completed his general surgery residency at Temple University Hospital in 2013 and remained there for fellowship training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is board certified and sees patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Anirudh Kohli, MD, has joined the Division of Acute Care Surgery. Dr. Kohli completed his general surgery residency at the Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, followed by a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. He is board …

For Cygan Clan, Raising Funds Honors Sister And Strengthens Family Ties

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

On May 21, 2016, 250 participants and 70 volunteers came together for the second Amy’s Ride/Run/Walk, which raises money for pancreatic cancer research in honor of Amy Cygan Spier. One of 11 siblings, Amy was just 54 years old when she succumbed to pancreatic cancer in November 2014. For the brothers and sisters she left behind, the event is a labor of love.

The idea for a fundraiser began to take shape after the Cygans learned how comparatively little money is devoted to pancreatic cancer research. With a number of cyclists in the family, a bike ride seemed like a …

On The Job: Velvet Cain

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

While the Department of Surgery is renowned for operating on people, Velvet Cain specializes in another type of “surgery”: analyzing and managing complex numbers. As the Department’s Senior Financial Analyst, she is instrumental in planning budgets, tracking expenses, generating reports and monitoring various components of compensation for faculty and nonfaculty staff.

Velvet joined Jefferson in 1999 as a staff accountant in the Controller’s Office. She transferred to Jefferson University Physicians’ Finance Department in 2001 before assuming her current position in Surgery in 2007. While she has remained in the same role, her dayto- day work has changed dramatically over the …

Alliric Willis Leads Study Exploring Demographics, Disparities And Outcomes In Substernal Goiters

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Lack of iodine makes goiters— enlargement of the thyroid gland in the neck—common in some parts of the world. In the United States, salt is enriched with iodine, so the condition is far less common. When goiters do occur, it is typically due to other factors, such as Graves’ disease (overactive thyroid) or Hashimoto’s disease (underactive thyroid), as well as an individual’s anatomy or family history. And when goiters go untreated, they can grow down into the chest, spreading behind the breastbone and collarbone; in some cases, they grow all the way down to the arch of the aorta. These …

Meet The Interns

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The Department has welcomed a dynamic group of categorical interns including one graduate of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. The interns were selected from over 1200 applicants to our program. These doctors, who recently matched with Jefferson, started on June 20, 2016. Please welcome:

Peter Altshuler, MD Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Kashmira Chawla, MD Mayo Medical School

Thomas O’Malley, MD Tulane University School of Medicine

Arturo Rios Diaz, MD Universidad Central de Venezuela

Steven Woodward, MD University of Maryland School of Medicine

Alicja Zalewski, MD Rutgers University – New Jersey Medical School

We are also pleased to …

Smoking Cessation, Counseling & Therapy Program Helps Patients Kick The Habit

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

The Department of Surgery’s Smoking Cessation, Counseling & Therapy (SCCT) Program offers evidencebased strategies for quitting smoking, including one-on-one counseling, nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medication, such as Chantix and Wellbutrin, to reduce cravings and lessen withdrawal symptoms. Although the program started as a resource for patients preparing for cardiac or thoracic surgery, it is now available to many more patients—and nurse practitioners Chuck Rowland, MSN, CRNP, CTTS, and Sung Whang, MSN, CRNP, CTTS, are eager to spread the word.

Chuck and Sung are both Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialists (CTTS). They each completed an intensive 40-hour course offered by the …

Departmental Retreat: The Big Four And Integration, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Facs

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Fall is here, excitement is in the air, and we in the Department of Surgery have begun the journey towards clinical integration with our partners at Abington and Aria.

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, nearly 100 attendees joined us in the Hamilton Building for our second Department of Surgery retreat in the last 18 months. This retreat differed from our first as we focused on two topics: The Big Four and Jefferson Health System Integration.

The morning commenced with a reminder of our vision and mission statements, a review of the fiscal exigencies which prompted a need for change, and …

Surgeon Speaks

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Patients who undergo liver transplantation go from being very sick to reclaiming their lives. It’s a rapid and rewarding transformation. The notion that there are still places in the world where this surgery isn’t available is a problem. No one should die of liver disease because of lack of funding.

The city of Santa Cruz has surgeons who operate every day. They want to learn how to do liver transplants, but there wasn’t anyone to teach them. It’s an honor to work to help change that.

While our work in Bolivia may not be solving the problem globally, it is …

Stephen Dunn And Warren Maley Volunteer Transplantation Services, Expertise In Bolivia

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

More than 20 years ago, Stephen P. Dunn, MD, FACS, Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Jefferson, encountered a young liver transplant patient who had traveled from his home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. After inquiring why the boy hadn’t been transplanted in his home country, Dr. Dunn learned that while surgeons in Santa Cruz had a fair amount of experience with kidney transplants, they were not able to perform liver transplants. In order to have these life-saving surgeries, patients in Santa Cruz needed the funds not only to pay for the operation but also to …

News In Brief

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Alliric I. Willis, MD, has joined the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Willis completed his internship and then two years of surgical residency at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL), Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He then completed a two-year research fellowship in the Department of Surgery at Yale University prior to completing his residency training at WUSTL. Dr. Willis then completed an additional two-year fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is board certified and specializes in the areas of breast, melanoma and endocrine surgery.

Congratulations to Hitoshi Hirose, MD, PhD, FACS, on …

Those Who Give: Nearly 25 Years After Beating Colon Cancer, Grateful Patient Establishes Endowment To Support Cancer Research

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

James Gilmartin can’t believe he’s still alive.

When he was diagnosed with colon cancer in May 1991, Gilmartin was certain that his bout with the disease would have an unfavorable end; so certain that he left his job of 30 years as a public school administrator and began preparing for the worse.

“I didn’t know whether I’d be alive six months later, so I retired,” Gilmartin recalled.

His primary physician at the time – who happened to be a Jefferson graduate – reviewed Gilmartin’s test results and recommended Jefferson as the best place to receive cancer treatment.

Gilmartin was paired …

On The Job: Milagros "Milly" Yax And Dominique Vicchairelli

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

With more than 25 combined years of experience, Dominique Vicchairelli and Milagros “Milly” Yax have made helping others the focus of their careers. Before joining the Department of Surgery, Yax worked as a medical assistant, most recently with Jefferson Internal Medicine in Voorhees, NJ. Since becoming Clinical Coordinator in Surgery last November, she no longer checks patients’ vitals or assists physicians with exams – but she’s found a new way to make a difference. Yax is responsible for assisting patients of Harish Lavu, MD, FACS, and Jordan M. Winter, MD, FACS, who both specialize in pancreatic cancer surgery.

Since 2009 …

Changing Lives Through Research: Clinical Research Team Supports Over 100 Diverse, Complex Trials

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Faculty in the Department of Surgery are currently leading or participating in more than 100 clinical trials. Each has a distinct protocol and requires management of numerous components – from patient recruitment and informed consent to electronic data entry and management of subject care throughout the trial. All of these activities must comply with regulations imposed by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), National Institute of Health (NIH) Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which require the protection of Personal Health Information.

To navigate those complexities, the Department relies on the Clinical Research …

In The Spotlight: Dr. Angela A. Ramirez-Irizarry

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

While in San Juan last February for the American College of Surgeons’ 66th Annual Puerto Rico Chapter Meeting, Jefferson colorectal surgeon Gerald A. Isenberg, MD, FACS, met someone who made history at Jefferson: Angela A. Ramirez-Irizarry, MD, FACS, FACPS, DABPS. Dr. Ramirez introduced herself following Dr. Isenberg’s presentation on diverticular disease and shared her fond memories of Jefferson.

In 1961, Dr. Ramirez was accepted as the hospital’s first female resident in General Surgery. (It was the same year that Jefferson Medical College first accepted women.) Dr. Ramirez later became the first woman in Puerto Rico to be board certified in …

Overview: A Retreat Suggestion Comes To Fruition

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Within this issue of Surgical Solutions, a great story unfolds. A little over one year ago, in March 2015, we held the first Department of Surgery retreat in some years. Several great ideas “bubbled up” out of that retreat, some dealing with clinical matters, some with education, and some with fostering research. One of the intriguing ideas that came out of the retreat was the hope that the Department of Surgery could provide pilot or startup funds to help faculty bring their research ideas to fruition. I want to thank those members of the Department who pushed hard on this …

Surgeon Speaks: Ehyal Shweiki, Md, Bs Bioethics, Facs

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Becoming an accredited Level II Trauma Center requires an incredible amount of time and effort. At most hospitals, it takes 18 months to implement the necessary infrastructure and coordinate all of the supporting processes. However, administrators at Lankenau Medical Center, in Wynnewood, PA, had a more ambitious goal. They wanted to reach “Trauma Ready” status in just six months, and they came to Jefferson for help getting there. In partnership with Jefferson’s Division of Acute Care Surgery, the new Lankenau Medical Center Trauma Program opened on January 1, 2016.We’ll be undergoing a State survey of the Trauma Program in June …

Division Of Acute Care Surgery Brings Coordinated Care To More Delaware Valley Residents

Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Jefferson’s Division of Acute Care Surgery keeps expanding its reach. The Center City campus has long maintained a Level I Trauma Center. Paoli Hospital, part of Main Line Health in Chester County, has been a Level II Trauma Center led by Jefferson surgeons since 2010. Then, the 2015 merger with Abington Hospital brought its established Level II Trauma Center into the Jefferson Health fold. A second Main Line Health hospital, Lankenau Medical Center, is in the final stages of becoming an accredited Level II Trauma Center thanks to its partnership with Jefferson (see “Surgeon Speaks”). And, most recently, Aria Health …