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Loyola University Medical Center
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am excited to present to you the first edition of the quarterly Loyola Surgery Newsletter. The past 3 years have brought many exciting events along with the welcoming of fresh new faces to The Department of Surgery. Our faculty has grown by greater than 20 new surgeons. We have moved from #46 to #14 in national ranking for NIH funding in Departments of Surgery and are now ranked #2 in Chicago. We have reinstituted our Bariatric Program under Dr. Chand as of July, 2012 and are now applying for Centers of Excellence designation from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Under the direction of Dr. Lu, we have achieved a new record for liver transplants at Loyola, 33 in FY13. We anticipate volume to grow for all abdominal transplants. It is our goal to keep you up to date and highlight events as they occur in our upcoming editions of the newsletter. As always, we thank you for your support of our efforts in providing cutting edge patient care, conducting meaningful scientific research, and educating the next generation of leaders in American Surgery.
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Pappas' Expertise in GI Surgical Oncology Benefits Loyola Patients
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Sam Pappas, MD
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Sam G. Pappas, MD, FACS, has brought his expertise in surgical oncology to Loyola University Health System. He is an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and Section Head of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology.
His medical interests include surgical treatment of pancreas, liver, stomach, bile duct and esophagus cancers. He also is a leading expert in robotic surgery for patients with gastrointestinal cancers.
In addition to his surgical skills, he is a renowned researcher and teacher having been an invited lecturer and presenter at medical conferences around the world. He has authored and reviewed several books on surgical oncology. His research has been published in numerous scholarly journals including the American Journal of Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology, International Journal of Surgical Oncology, Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
He is affiliated with several professional societies. He is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American Pancreatic Association, the Central Surgical Society, the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group and National Surgery Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project.
Before joining Loyola, Pappas was on the faculty of Medical College of Wisconsin. He earned his medical school degree from Rush Medical College and completed his residency in general surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital of Northwestern University where he has also completed a basic science surgical oncology research fellowship. His clinical surgical oncology fellowship was at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
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Loyola Surgical Residents Win 'Jeopardy'-Style Tournament
A team of surgical resident physicians took first place in a "Jeopardy"-style tournament during the 2013 annual meeting of the Metropolitan Chicago Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.
The tournament was modeled after the television quiz show, in which contestants are given clues in the form of answers and must phrase their responses in question form.
Topics included basic science, clinical and operative questions, historical questions and questions about the American College of Surgeons.
Each team included a fourth-year resident, a third-year resident and a first- or second-year resident. "We had a great time," said Loyola team member Dr. Michael Anstadt, a fourth-year general surgery resident who will be chief administrative resident during his fifth year.
Anstadt's teammates were third-year general surgery resident Dr. Jennifer Plichta and first-year general surgery resident Dr. Julia Ng.
There were five other teams - from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Metropolitan Group Hospitals surgical residency program.
Loyola, Northwestern and Mount Sinai survived the first round. In the second round, Loyola defeated Northwestern and Mount Sinai to win the tournament.
"They were well-prepared and exhibited an impressive array of knowledge," said Dr. Gerard V. Aranha, a professor in Loyola's Department of Surgery. "They made Loyola proud."
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Keeley Winner Visits Premier Endovascular Program in Zurich By: Patty Fogarty
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Ryan Plichta, MD
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"An outstanding opportunity to broaden and advance my experience in endovascular cardiac surgery," is the way Ryan Plichta, MD, education chief resident, department of general surgery, describes his visit to the University of Zurich Hospital in Switzerland.
Dr. Plichta is the latest recipient of the John J. Keeley, MD Traveling Surgical Fellowship, which provides a deserving general surgical resident or fellow funding to visit a prominent surgical program. The objective is to increase his or her knowledge base and to bring new or alternative surgical viewpoints back to the department of surgery.
Dr. Plichta chose Zurich because of Volkmar Falk, MD, PhD, chairman, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, University of Zurich Hospital. Dr. Falk is an expert in the field of minimally invasive and trans-catheter cardiac surgery. He is also the former co-director the Leipzig Heart Center in Germany, well known for its case series of more than 3,500 video-assisted mitral valve repairs.
"Within this field, there is much that is changing and evolving," says Dr. Plichta. "There is a move toward more minimally invasive cardiac and thoracic procedures, and the epicenter of this movement is the European Union."
Much of Dr. Falk's practice is made up of patients who are very sick, often too sick for traditional open surgery. Over his nine-day stay, Dr. Plichta worked with Dr. Falk every day in the O.R. and saw numerous minimally invasive cardiac procedures.
Another reason Dr. Plichta chose Zurich was his interest in trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), a cutting-edge endovascular technique that allows correction of aortic stenosis, in even the most high-risk patients. Originally developed in Europe, and still under investigation in the U.S., TAVI has been shown to be an effective alternative for high-risk patients who are not suitable surgical candidates. However, patient selection for TAVI is critically important. While there may be fewer bleeding complications and no need for cardiac bypass, there is an increased risk of stroke and other vascular complications. "Their use of TAVI is very similar to what is going on at LUHS," says Dr. Plichta. This modality requires great collaboration between the cardiology service and the cardiac surgeons, which is believed to lead to overall better patient care and better outcomes. Dr. Plichta noted other interesting similarities and differences between Loyola and the University of Zurich Hospital. "At both institutions, the outstanding care provided is a direct result of a strong leader, Dr. Bakhos at Loyola and Dr. Falk in Zurich," says Dr. Plichta. "Both places excel because of the great teams they put in place."
The two centers did not differ much with regard to off-pump surgery, which is limited to patients needing a single coronary bypass. However, minimally invasive mitral valves are being done on a daily basis in Zurich. According to the literature, one of the downsides of this procedure is the extra pump time and total O.R. time. "But, Dr. Falk's team is doing these cases incredibly quickly and incredibly well," says Dr. Plichta. "The average case I saw was certainly no longer than an open case and possibly faster."
One notable difference was operating room turnover. In Zurich, patients have IV lines placed, are sedated and intubated just outside the O.R., even before the first case is completed. This requires doubling the anesthesia teams. "They really have it down to a science and are able to do a lot of cases in very little time," says Dr. Plichta.
However, the main benefit to minimally invasive techniques is that patients leave the hospital sooner, but in Zurich (and other socialized medicine systems), the rules for reimbursement require patients to stay a minimum number of days (usually 7-10), regardless of whether they are medically cleared for discharge earlier. This obviously offsets the benefits of using minimally invasive techniques.
Since returning to Loyola, Dr. Plichta has started his fellowship in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. "This was a spectacular way to begin my fellowship," says Dr. Plichta. "I learned a lot about what it takes to implement change in a surgical program, and how important it is to assemble a good team to deliver care that is second to none."
"This fellowship really sets Loyola's surgery department apart from other programs. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Keeley, and to the Keeley family, for this great honor."
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Victor G. Cimino, MD, Profiled in Chicago Medicine Magazine
The Director of the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is profiled by Chicago Medicine Magazine. Read the entire profile here.
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"Honey Badgers" Resident Softball Team  The Surgery "Honey Badgers" Residents took on the Anesthesia "Sons of Pitches" Residents on June 9, led by team captain Michael Hurtuk. Pictured from left to right are: Front Row: Ann Evans, DO; Second Row: Kevin Phelan, MD, Michael Hurtuk, MD, MS, David Yonick, MD, MS, Ryan Plichta, MD, Matthew Pittman, MD; Third Row: Christopher Wybourn, MD, Benjamin Degner, MD
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Congratulations are in order...
Todd Baker, MD, has matched his first choice for Plastic Surgery Residency to Cleveland Clinic Foundation for 2014.
Bernadette Aulivola, MD, is the recipient of the SVS 2013 Women's Leadership Grant.
Kay Muthu, PhD, has received NIH funding for her R01 grant, Mechanisms of Impaired Erythropoiesis in Post Burn Anemia of Critical Illness.
Elizabeth Berger, MD, has been selected as the American College of Surgeons Clinical Scholar in Residence for 2014-2016 in the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, American College of Surgeons.
Michael Anstadt, MD, was awarded the 2013 competitive AAST Resident Scholarship which provides funding for attendance to the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Critical Congress of Acute Care Surgery. Dr. Esposito sponsored Dr. Anstadt for this award.
Jill Ippolito, a PhD student in Integrative Cell Biology working in Dr. Kovacs' lab, received funding for her NIH F31 pre-doctoral fellowship. The title of her project is "Ethanol, Lung Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Pulmonary Inflammation After Burn Injury".
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Comings and Goings
A big welcome to our new physicians!
Paul Crisostomo, MD, joins the Vascular and Endovascular Therapy Division and comes to us from Indiana University where he completed his Vascular Surgery Fellowship.
Diego di Sabato, MD, joins the Intra-Abdominal Transplant Division and comes to us from Northwestern University where he completed his fellowship in Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery.
Franklin Wright, MD, joins the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Burns. He joins the division after completing his Surgical/Critical Care Fellowship here at Loyola.
Anthony Baldea, MD, joins the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Burns. He joins us from the University of California-Davis Medical Center where he completed his Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.
Shelley Noland, MD, joins the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and comes to us from University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA where she completed her Hand Surgery Fellowship.
Parit Patel, MD, joins the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and comes to us from New York University/Langone Medical Center in New York, NY where he completed a Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship.
Please welcome the new residents joining us in 2013
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Timothy Ade
| Jessica Laorden | | Petar Bajic | Alaina Lasinski | | Kristen Ban | Belinda Li | | Zachary Bastian | Sungho Lim | | Adrienne Cobb | Yuda Liu | | Justin Dvorak | Maria Mora-Pinzon | | Konstantin Garibashvili | Sean Nissoiy | | Elizabeth Grindstaff | Kaya Shah | | Eric Kirshenbaum | Gail Ukatu |
Please bid farewell to residents leaving us in 2013
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Elio Beta
| Paige Quintero | | Brian Dougherty | Kanta Saha | | Diana Flint | Arpeet Shah | | Mark Folkertsma | Areck Ucuzian | | Marah Hehemann | Michelle Van Kuiken | | Michael Hurtuk | Jorge Weber | |
Grace Liniewska
| David Yonick | | Ryan Plichta | Kyna Zacharias |
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I hope you've enjoyed this first edition of our Loyola Surgery Newsletter. We look forward to keeping you informed on our many upcoming events and activities.
Sincerely,
Paul Kuo, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery
Loyola University Medical Center
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