Fall 2017

Inside This Issue:

Faculty Notes ..................................... 7

Resident Notes ................................. 10

Photo Galleries ................................ 14

Chairman’s MessageAs summer comes to a close, we transition into a new

academic and fiscal year for the Department. During this time we also say goodbye to our graduating Chiefs who are highlighted in this newsletter. We have made great strides this year both financially and clinically. For the first time, at the institutional level, the Health System was named a “5 Star Hospital” and ranked number 9 out of 102 academic health care systems by Vizient, the premier

healthcare ranking system. We also received an “A grade” for the first time from another top quality measurement organization, the Leapfrog Group.

The Department exceeded the 10,000 case mark for the first time despite some temporary OR room closures over the year due to the Hospital fire and Hurricane Harvey. Under the leadership of Dr. Jeff Fair, we performed a record number of liver transplants. Dr. Alex Perez, our new Division Chief of MIS/GI Surgery, performed our first laparoscopic Whipple (pancreatic head resection) procedure.

Our Cardiac surgery program continues to grow with the initiation of the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program and creation of a new cardiac surgery fellowship training program which will start in 2018.

Our Department also expanded research funding to now rank 22nd in NIH grants among Departments of Surgery. As we continue to expand our clinical services across all three campuses we have many new recruits joining us includ-ing Drs. Suzanne Klimberg (Surgical Oncology Division Chief, Clinical Head of the Cancer Center), Patrick Walker (General Surgery, CMO Angleton Dan-bury), Whitney Jenson (Trauma), Trung Ho (Plastics), Julie Park (Plastics), and Mark Norris (Urology).

We are looking forward to reaching new heights in 2018 targeting 11,100 cases, expanding our research portfolio, and adding new educational programs. This issue of the newsletter highlights some of the events that mark this year and sets the stage for the year ahead.

Sincerely,

Douglas Tyler, M.D. John Woods Harris Distinguished ChairProfessor and ChairmanDepartment of Surgery

University of Texas Medical Branch

Higgins Gives Inaugural Vincent Conti Lecture ......6

Perez performs UTMB’s first laparoscopic Whipple procedure ..........3

Ortega gives SOM commencement address ............................2

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Ortega gives School of Medicine commencement addressby Kurt Koopmann

Regardless of whether the 225 graduates of UTMB’s School of Medicine end up working in a modern facility or one with just basic equipment, this year’s commencement speaker had some good advice.

Dr. Juan Ramon Ortega-Barnett, a UTMB neurosur-geon and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, addressed the 2017 class at this year’s com-mencement on June 3 at the Moody Gardens Convention Center in Galveston.

After completing his medical training, Ortega-Barnett lived for a year on a reser-vation in the remote northern mountains of Chihuahua, Mex-ico, as the doctor for the Tarahumara people. Living with only necessities and no communication with the outside world, he learned to practice medicine with very simple supplies.

“I would definitely recommend every graduate or stu-dent, if given the opportunity, to go and experience working as a doctor in an underserved area,” said Ortega-Barnett. “From my time with the Tarahumara, who are lovely people, I learned how to appreciate things that we take for granted, such as hot running water, a place to bathe, wash clothes, but above all I learned to appreciate things that really matter in life, like family and friends.”

Dr. Ortega-Barnett shares some advice with graduates.In his speech, Ortega-Barnett told graduates that per-sistence and hard work are worth it to be able to do what you love. After earning his medical degree and completing a neurosurgery residency in Mexico, he came to the U.S. Unfortunately, residency and specialty training conducted abroad are not recognized in this country, so Ortega-Bar-nett completed two additional residencies and a fellowship before becoming double boarded in neurosurgery. In all, he spent more than two decades training.

“Dream big, discover your passion, set your mind on a goal and work hard at it. Dreams do come true. Remember that where there is a will there is a way and you will reap what you sow,” he said.

Dr. Anita Mercado, associate professor in the Depart-ment of Internal Medicine, carried the ceremonial mace during the commencement ceremonies. The mace-bearing tradition dates back to medieval times, when a mace-bearer would walk ahead to ensure safe passage of the leader of a cathedral, kingdom or university.

The ceremony also included the announcement of several awards, including the introduction of this year’s Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumni Award winners: Drs. Milton L. Routt, Jr.; R. Bruce Shack; Ned Snyder III; Robert H. Squires, Jr.; and James R. Winn. The award is the high-est alumni honor bestowed by the university’s School of Medicine Alumni Association and recognizes outstanding service to the medical profession and to humanity.

The award honors the memory of Dr. Ashbel Smith, who arrived in Texas in 1837 and was instrumental in form-ing the Texas Medical Association. He was also a driving force behind the formation of UTMB in 1891.

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Galveston Campus recertified as Level 1 Trauma Center

New minimally invasive pancreatic surgery performed

The Galveston Campus has been recertified as a Level I Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee of the Committee on Trauma of the Ameri-can College of Surgeons.

This achievement recognizes UTMB’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients. UTMB is one of only 19 Level I trauma centers in the state and one of four in the Houston-Galveston region. UTMB is also the only Level I trauma center in a nine-county East Texas service region.

The first laparoscopic “Whipple” in Texas was performed at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Very few centers in the United States offer this cut-ting edge, minimally invasive or “laparoscopic” surgery. UTMB is the only center in Texas performing this pro-cedure and offers this type of advanced minimally invasive surgery to all patients in-cluding those needing major surgery of the pancreas, liver, stomach, gallbladder, and hernias

In June of 2017, a UTMB patient needing major surgery of the pancreas or “Whipple” benefited from this technique, which was developed and supported by a team of UTMB surgeons (Alexander Perez, MD, Douglas S. Tyler, MD, and Danny O. Jacobs, MD) when they were at Duke University in 2010.

Dr. Perez has performed more than 100 of these procedures. His results demonstrating a faster recovery with patients being able to go home several days earlier than compared to the standard surgery are published in the leading cancer sur-gery journal, Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2014.

Dr. Alexander Perez talks with the first patient to undergo a laparascopic “Whipple” procedure at UTMB.

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Tyler’s Harvey adventure featured on UTMB’s Facebook pageDr. Douglas Tyler, Chairman of the Department

of Surgery, was featured on UTMB Health’s facebook page following Hurricane Harvey in late August. The story and photos told of Dr. Tyler’s experience making the trip to the League City Campus during the storm to cover any surgical cases that came in. With the help of UTMB police and members of the facilities team he made it safely to the League City Hospital during the height of the hurricane. As you can see by the accom-panying photos taken in the Dickinson area, water was already rising across I-45 and the surrounding feeder roads and businesses.

Stephen B. Williams, M.D., Assistant Professor in Urology, was named to Texas Montly Super Doctors–Rising Stars list. The list appeared in the July 2017 issue of the magazine.

Williams named in Texas Monthly Rising Stars

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Cardiac Surgery faculty involved in first UTMB TAVR caseUTMB’s cardiology team successfully performed

their first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery this month.

The TAVR procedure is a minimally invasive proce-dure for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at intermediate or high risk for open heart surgery. Similar to placing a stent in an artery, the procedure replaces the damaged aortic valve by delivering an artificial, fully col-lapsible replacement valve to the damaged site through a catheter. Once in place, the new valve expands, pushes the old valve out of the way and the replacement valve takes over the job of regulating blood flow.

In addition to being a less invasive procedure than open heart surgery, significant benefits of the TAVR procedure include:

• Less time in the ICU• Shorter length of stay• Lower risk of infection• Less trauma• Faster recovery times• Lower chance of complications• One-eighth the blood loss of conventional open-

heart valve repairDr. Uma Rangasetty, assistant professor and as-

sistant director of catheterization laboratories, credits multidisciplinary teamwork for the procedure’s success.

Pictured above: Dr. Adnan Khan, Dr. Umamahesh Rangasetty, Dr. Ghan-nam Al-Dossari, Dr. Patrick Roughneen, Dr. Pranav Loyalka (Memorial Hermann proctor) and Dr. Syed Gilani

“I want to thank everyone including nurses, staff, fellows, the catheterization lab, cardiology and cardiothoracic di-visions, anesthesia and hospital administration. Our team is looking forward to doing more cases in the future as this therapy becomes a paradigm shift in the management of severe aortic stenosis.”

Aakash Gajjar, M.D., Assistant Pro-fessor in Colon and Rectal Surgery, was selected for the Texas Medical Association Leadership College, Class of 2018. The selection committee was so impressed with the applicant pool, they opted to extend invitations to 23 young physicians for this year’s program. The scholars kicked off their year with a Boot Camp session on

September 22-23 at the TMA Building. The TMA Lead-ership College (TMALC) was established in 2010 as part of TMA’s effort to ensure strong and sustainable physician leadership with organized medicine. TMALC graduates

Gajjar Selected for TMA Leadership Collegeserve as thought leaders who can close the divide among clinicians and health care policymakers, and as trusted lead-ers within their local communities.

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Robert Higgins, MD, Director of the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Mary-land, gave the inaugural Vincent Conti Lecture at UTMB on September 20, 2017. The title of Dr. Higgins’s talk was: “Leading from the Front–On Making Music in the Modern Healthcare Environment”. Higgins is a leading authority in the field of heart and lung transplantation, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and mechanical circulatory support. His scientific interests are broad and far-ranging, including the mechanisms of cell injury in failing hearts, health economics and policy, racial disparities in post-transplant outcomes, access to care, and improving outcomes among heart failure and cardiac sur-gery patients.

Higgins Gives Inaugural Conti Lectureship

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Faculty Notes

New Faculty

Trung Ho, M.D.Assistant ProfessorPlastic Surgery

Areas of Interest: Soft tissue reconstruction due to trauma and cancer resection; microsurgery; adult and pediatric hand and wrist injuries, degenerative conditions, and pe-ripheral neuropathies

Whitney Jenson, M.D.Assistant ProfessorTrauma and Acute Care

Areas of Interest: Acute care surgery, surgical critical care, point of care ultrasonography, surgical education

Research interests: Sepsis, nutrition, quality improvement

Mark Norris, M.D.Assistant ProfessorUrology

Areas of Interest: Management of kidney/ureteral stones; benign prostatic hyperplasia; incontinence; urologic can-cer; general urology

J. Patrick Walker, M.D.ProfessorGeneral Surgery

Areas of Interest: Surgical education, rural/community sur-gery, endoscopy, acute care surgery, evaluation of abdominal complaints, gallbladder disease, hernia

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Faculty Notes

New Faculty

V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., Ph.D.ProfessorGeneral Surgery

Areas of Interest: Prevention of lymphedema using Axil-lary Reverse Mapping (ARM) technique; needleless breast surgery; minimally invasive breast surgery; treatment of breast cancer with radiofrequency ablation; diagnosis of breast cancer with tears; high-risk management; breast pain; chest wall pain after surgery

Julie Park, M.D.Associate ProfessorPlastic Surgery

Areas of Interest: Reconstructive microsurgery, breast reconstruction, oncoplastic surgery to reconstruct defects after some lumpectomies, breast reduction, breast augmen-tation, abdominoplasty, and liposuction

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The following mentions of our Surgery faculty and staff appeared in the UTMB Health System Friday Focus.

Jennie Sealy is a beautiful, exceptional, well-run hospital, and my physicians Dr. Patrick Roughneen and Dr. Tom Blackwell are the best! Thank you! (Cardiology)

Dr. Peter Starr is outstanding, Dr. Abelardo DeAnda is amazing and all of the other doctors who treated me are a caring group and truly gifted. I love all of your doctors! Whoever put these teams together is excellent at their job! Everyone who cared for me went above and beyond their job descriptions and made me laugh when I wanted to cry, went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable, and assured me that they would be there if I needed them. They were the best surrogate family I could have asked for. I only wish I could send each one of them a thank you card to let them know how much of a difference they made my stay there and how much I appreciate each kind word and bright smile. They are each unique people with the gift of caring for people I hope God blesses them and their families. UTMB is already a blessing to so many. Oh, and I can’t forget transportation! Perry in transportation is amazing! He “had my back” and took great care shuffling me around the hospital when I first arrived! I love this hospital, all of its people and all it does to help those in need! (Thoracic Surgery)

Barbara Parish, Dr. Patrick Roughneen’s nurse prac-titioner is great. She’s caring, easy to talk to and always available when I need help. (Thoracic Surgery)

Dr. Robyn Roberts was professional and caring. She explained my options. She talked in general terms but quickly changed to technical terms as she gathered how I perceived and understood what she was explaining. (Uro-logical Surgery)

Dr. Grant Fankhauser has excellent interpersonal skills. He made sure all my questions were answered before he ended our appointment. I felt so comfortable and assured. (Vascular Surgery)

Kanika Bowen-Jallow, MD, MMS, Pediatric Surgery, received a 2017 President’s Cabinet Award for her project entitled “UTMB Tough and Tiny Program.” Below is a sum-mary of the project.Childhood obesity has become a nationwide health cri-sis and clinicians have found that minority children are particularly susceptible to the epidemic. To combat this issue, an after school program with a parental involvement component will be established to target children (ages 2- 11) with a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile. The Tough and Tiny Program will be held after school twice per month for qualifying children and their parents. During each one-hour session, parents will meet with physicians and UTMB students, eat a healthy dinner and learn about nutrition, diet and exercise while their children participate in fitness activities and group play facilitated by a certified instructor. Participants demonstrating weight loss will be rewarded with gift cards to a local sports store.

Shout Outs

Bowen-Jallow Receives Cabinet Award

Dr. Laila Rashidi went above and beyond. She showed up to introduce herself at 8 p.m. after flying home from Seattle all day following Hurricane Harvey. She answered all our questions and provided explanations as necessary. Thank you! (Trauma)

I considered going other places, but I was so impressed with Dr. Angelica Robinson, I stayed with UTMB. I don’t think I could have found a better team of physi-cians. Dr. Dr. Colleen Silva, Dr. Linda Phillips, Dr. Sunny Hatch, Dr. Issam Alalin and my chemotherapy nurse, Patrick Wroblewski. I was scared and he made it so much easier by reassuring me. (Oncology)

I have now been cancer-free for more than two years and I owe it to Drs. Aakash Gajjar, Bagi Jana and Todd Swanson. I see Dr. Aakash Gajjar every three months for a cancer check-up. I always receive excel-lent care from him and his staff. (Oncology)

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Resident Notes

Stewart Sworn Into the United States Navy

Thayer Awards for Excellence in Teaching

Dr. Laticia Stewart, PGY-2 General Sur-gery resident, was sworn into the United States Navy on Thursday, July 13, 2017. She will serve as a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve for the duration of her residency training. After com-pleting residency, she will go to San Antonio, Texas for a year to complete a trauma critical care fellowship at Fort Sam Houston. Following the completion of her fellowship training, she will serve five years as a Navy lieutenant. Dr. Stewart hopes to practice at either the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland or Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Caro-lina. Thank you for your commitment to serve, Dr. Stewart!

Three UTMB residents (two in the Department of Surgery) have been selected by the Osler Student Scholars in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine to receive Thayer Awards in Excellence in Teaching. Each honoree ex-emplifies sound scientific knowledge, compassion toward patients and dedication to learning and teaching. Awards will be presented during the residents’ respective department’s ward rounds. • Dr. Rishi Lall, Division of Neurosurgery• Dr. Sean McGill, Department of Psychiatry and

Behavioral Sciences• Dr. Christian Sommerhalder, Department of Surgery

Dr. Rishi Lall is presented with the award by Rosemary Beavers (MS4) at the Neuroscience Grand Rounds held on June 28, 2017.

Dr. Rishi LallNeurosurgery

Dr. Christian SommerhalderGeneral Surgery

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Plastic Surgery residents sweep awards at TSPS meeting This year, eleven UTMB plastic surgery residents and one general surgery resident were chosen to present their re-

search at the annual meeting of the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons. The meeting was held in Fort Worth during the weekend of September 15-17. Their research demonstrated the wide breadth of the field of plastic surgery, and included topics such as post-operative pain control in pediatric craniofacial surgery, vaginal rejuventation, the management of hyperhidrosis, insurance coverage of breast reduction mammoplasty, and prophylactic antibiotic usage, among others. Their research was conducted with faculty at UTMB, as well as those in private practice in the community and at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Houston. Three plastic surgery residents won all five of the resident awards given out at the meeting, and the residency program was awarded the Truman Blocker, Jr. Texas Residency Award.Below are the awards and photos from the meeting:1st Place Best Clinical Paper: Blake Sparks2nd Place Best Clinical Paper: Kristen Aliano1st Place Best Scientific Paper: Stephanie Nemir2nd Place Best Scientific Award: Blake Sparks Cronin Award: Stephanie Nemir

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Kerr Awarded Health System High Value Care Travel Grant

Williams and Kosarek Attend SIU and IBCN Meetings

Preston Kerr, MD, a Urology resident was awarded a 2017 UTMB Health System High Value Care Travel Grant to attend and present at the first annual High Value Practice Academic Alli-ance (HVPAA) National Research Symposium, held October 8-9, 2017 in Baltimore, MD. Kerr’s presentation was titled: “Increased Utilization of Positron Emission Tomography: Computed Tomography (PET/CT) Imaging and Its Economic Impact for Patients Diagnosed with Bladder Cancer.” The HPVAA is a national consortium of more than 80 academic institutions collaborating on quality improvement, research and education related to high-value health care. In anticipation of next year’s HPVAA National Research Symposium, the Health System will offer up to 10 travel stipends to presenters at next year’s event. If you are working on a value-improvement in health care project, please consider submitting your proposal to HPVAA – the abstract submission web-site will be updated and available January 1, 2018 with more details.

Christopher D. Kosarek, M.D., from the Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, received the Society of International Urology (SIU) U.S. Chapter Travel Scholarship Award. He was one of two selected from over 300 applicants to receive this award. We have secured this award now three years in a row! Under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen B. Williams, primary investigator, Dr. Kosarek presented six abstracts with three moderated sessions at the 2017 SIU Congress in Lisbon, Portugal. Four of the six presentations are now published manuscripts.Dr. Williams also presented his recently published work in the journal Urologic Oncology at the International Bladder Cancer Network (IBCN) meeting in Lisbon. Dr. Williams was nominated to serve on the board at the IBCN annual meeting and will also serve as the social media chair of the organization.

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Staff Notes

New Staff

Anita JacksonGrants & Contracts Specialist

Chad HughesAdministrative Coordinator, Transplant Surgery

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Photo Gallery – Department of Surgery Resident Graduation

Elizabeth Beste, MD

Cathline Layba, MD

Nina Tamirisa, MD

Philip Hamby, MD

Yesenia Rojas-Khalil, MD

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Shriners graduates: Christopher Lewis, MD, Ramón Zapata Sirvent, MD, Karel Capek, MD, and William Sherman, MD

Jeffrey Aycock, D.M.D. Sohum Desai, M.D.

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Olga Bachilo, M.D.

Kyle Keyes, M.D.

Nicholas Howland, M.D .

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Outstanding Intern – Keyan Mobli, M.D. Outstanding Resident – Rece Laney, M.D.

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Photo Gallery – Division of Plastic Surgery Resident Graduation

Jillian McLaughlin, M.D. (center) won the 2017 Resident of the Year Award. Pictured with McLaughlin are the 2017 graduates (left to right): Olga Bachilo, M.D., Nicholas Howland, M.D., and Mariela Lopez,, M.D.

Steven J. Blackwell, M.D. (third from the left) won the 2017 Out-standing Teacher Award. Pictured with Blackwell are the 2017 graduates (left to right): Nicholas Howland, M.D., Olga Bachilo, M.D., and Mariela Lopez,, M.D.

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Photo Gallery – LSTAR Lap Chole Demo Day, August 2

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Photo Gallery – Thomas Biggs, Jr., MD, Visiting Professor, June 21-23