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UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society Holds Annual Meeting, Inducts New Members, Passes Leadership Baton

This year’s annual meeting was held on May 17, 2013 at the Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel in San Francisco. The didactic program, “Surgical Education & Training in the 21st Century”, was presented in tandem with the UCSF 2013 Post Graduate Course in General Surgery, chaired by Hobart W. Harris, M.D., M.P.H. The annual Naffziger Lecture, “The Surgeon as a Leader: Improving Quality, Decreasing Costs” was given by Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, (pictured left) Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington. The highlight of the Annual Naffziger Dinner at One Market Restaurantwas the induction of seven graduating UCSF Chief Residents as members of the Society. The Society’s new President for 2013-2014, Carlos U. Corvera, M.D., was formally introduced and the new Executive Council installed. The dinner also featured updates by Dr. Nancy Ascher, Professor & Chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery, and warm anecdotes from other surgeons in attendance.

Full Summary and Highlights of the 2013 Naffziger Annual Meeting 

2013-14 UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society Executive Council

UCSF Bariatric Surgery Program Excellence Highlighted in Moving Patient Story

Stanley M. Rogers, MD

That’s when he discovered the UCSF Bariatric Surgery Program, a Level 1 accredited center for weight-loss surgery by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network of the American College of Surgeons, which means they provide complete bariatric surgical care. It is a nationally certified “center of excellence,” which offers a multidisciplinary approach to weight loss. “James had relatively advanced obesity,” says Stanley M. Rogers, MD

The story of James Dials’, a gregarious 62-year-old limousine driver who weighed 4oo lbs. and was down on his luck is riveting. “My life was very uncomfortable,” Dials said. “I was a diabetic and I injected insulin. I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. I was on all kinds of medications.”

, chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and director of the Bariatric Surgery Center and Liver Tumor Ablation Program at UCSF Medical Center. “And we know that weight loss either with or without surgery can significantly impact those medical problems, and can make these medical problems called co-morbidities go away as weight loss occurs.”

“I have all sorts of choices now,” he said. “It’s like a kid getting a new toy on Christmas. That’s how life is to me now. Everything is new in life now. I have more self-esteem and I care more about myself. I ask for help now and I stay teachable.”

Read the full story in UCSF News

President’s Message (2012- 2013)

Dear UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society Members,

I hope all of you received my December 28, 2012 “Save the Date” message and have made plans to attend our annual meeting and dinner. This year we are pleased to be collaborating with the UCSF Department of Surgery, scheduling the Naffziger program in conjunction with the Department’s 2013 Post Graduate Course in General Surgery. Drs. Nancy Ascher and Hobart Harris have been extremely helpful in planning this year’s meeting.

We have arranged for Friday May 17th to be our Naffziger Day with the Naffziger program running from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (see attached program for the entire 2-day PG graduate course, with our Friday Naffziger program highlighted). As Naffziger members, you are welcome to attend ANY of the PG Course lectures, either before and after our Naffziger program, free of charge.

For those who have chosen not to attend any or all of the clinical lectures from 7:00-10:00, we have reserved a “break out” room where we hope some of you may be able to gather with colleagues that you haven’t seen in a while ( i.e., a reunion). Some of you have requested such a gathering place in the past.

We have tried to design a program that will be of general interest to you, whatever your special clinical interests, type of practice, private or academic, urban or more rural.

Highlights of the program include:

  • Brief reports from selected UCSF residency graduates who are 1, 5, 10, 15 and 45! years out. They will talk about the challenges and opportunities they see. We hope this will provoke a dialogue with all of you.
  • An outstanding panel comprised of Drs. Blaisdell, Lewis, Deveney, Ascher and Pellegrini. They will discuss the challenges we face with surgical GME, training and continuing education in the 21st Century. Again, we will seek your input.
  • Annual Business Meeting (Lunch included) – lots of important things to discuss and decide regarding our future.
  • The old Naffziger Rounds, which we are re-establishing with an electronic twist. You will be presented several challenging cases and will have an electronic voting device at your seat. You will be ask “what would you do?” and we will be able to project collated (not individual) opinions – the “Collective Naffziger Intelligence”
  • Our 2013 Naffziger Lecturer whom I’m delighted to tell all of you about. He is Carlos Pelligrini, M.D., FACS, Professor of Surgery/Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington, and President-elect American College of Surgeons.
  • Dr. Pelligrini’s topic is The Surgeon as a Leader; Improving Quality, Decreasing Costs, highly relevant for all of us facing the changing landscape of health care in the U.S.

Past Naffziger President James Macho and President-elect Carlos Corvera have been extensively involved and enormously helpful in creating this program as has Annette Bronstein who found One Market for us.

I’ve heard from many of you a desire to try something new for our Naffzger dinner to enliven your SF trip for our meeting. To that end, our annual Naffziger dinner at 6:30 PM will be at a new (for us) and exciting location, with no added cost beyond previous dinners.

One Market Restaurant  1 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94105

Based on last year’s dinner attendance, we should have plenty of room. However, we ultimately have a limited seating capacity. So if you and your significant other want to attend the dinner, please RSVP ASAP to ensure your place.

I am personally excited about this year’s Naffziger Day and hope to see many of you on May 17th. Let’s continue the rejuvenation of our UCSF surgical heritage as led by Presidents Blaisdell and Macho over the past several years.

There should not be a more proud and sustainable society of surgeons than we, who have had the privilege and great fortune to train at UCSF.

Best wishes,

A. Brent Eastman, MD, FACS, FRCSEd (Hon)
President, UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society
President, American College of Surgeons

Building a Personal Connection: The Mentoring Philosophy of Nancy Ascher, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Nancy Ascher

Dr. (Nancy) Ascher excels in her role as Chair of Surgery, not only for her inexplicable foresight, but because she stays connected to trainees and students. This year, Dr. Ascher received the Francis Moore Excellence in Mentorship in the Field of Transplantation Surgery Award from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Residents and fellows noted that Dr. Ascher is an effective mentor because she treats them like colleagues and not just trainees. Residents and fellows felt “immersed and integral in the program which empowered them and helped their growth.” Dr. Ascher emphasizes that a meaningful mentor-mentee relationship allows an honest exchange about the student’s career path and the mentor’s willingness to be that student’s advocate.

But how personal can a mentorship be, or is it strictly a professional relationship? Dr. Ascher believes that “elements of caring, friendship come from a good mentorship.” However, she acknowledges the fine line that exists to protect the privacy and separate personal lives of the mentor and mentee. The role of an effective mentor is not to judge the mentee but to get to know the student, so that the mentor can advise the student appropriately. Opening up to a mentor helps students understand what’s realistic and reasonable for them.” Excerpted from Synapse, the UCSF student-run weekly

Read more

UCSF Department of Surgery Presents 26th Annual Dunphy Resident Research Symposium

The UCSF Department of Surgery presented the annual Resident Research Symposium funded by the UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society on April 9, 2013, an event that showcases the research of residents, fellows and medical students in the Department of Surgery and honors the life and accomplishments of J. Engelbert Dunphy, a legendary surgeon and former Chair of the Department. The award for “Best Abstract” went to Robert Bell, MD with runners-up Jessica Beard, MD, MPH and Randi Smith, MD MPH. Xiaoti Xu, MD received the award for “Best Quick Shot”. Jack Harbell, MD and Cristina O’Donohue, MD received Honorable Mention certificates for their presentations.

More about the 2013 Winners
Complete List of 2013 Resident Research Abstracts

Maurice Galante, M.D., Legendary Surgeon and Renaissance Man, Dies

Dr. Maurice Galante

Dr. Maurice Galante, whose professional career at UCSF spanned an incredible 44 years (1945-1989), passed away on February 5, 2013. Dr. Galante was born in Rhodes in 1919 and came to the United States alone to receive his undergraduate and medical education. He entered his residency training in general surgery at UCSF in 1945. He subsequently became a member of the Department of Surgery faculty. As a faculty member at UCSF, Dr. Galante was celebrated as a master surgeon and for his varied interests in medical ethics, music and the arts. His reputation with patients was legendary and his grateful patients helped him and the Department of Surgery establish the Galante Lecture Program, The Galante Research Program and the Maurice Galante Distinguished Professorship.

Alden H. Harken, M.D. Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Society of University Surgeons

Alden H. Harken, M.D.

“Alden H. Harken, M.D. was recently honored with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of University Surgeons (SUS). Dr. Harken is Chief of the UCSF-East Bay Surgery Program, and Chief of Surgery and Chair of the Surgery Department at Alameda Health System’s (AHS). Over the course of his career, His contributions to the field of cardiac electrophysiology include influential early work around mapping and surgical ablation for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Dr. Harken’s work in this area helped our understanding of the pathophysiology of ventricular tachycardia and shaped today’s methods of ablative treatment of ischemic ventricular tachycardia. According to SUS, “Dr. Harken’s energy, insight, enthusiasm and innovative work have created a legacy that will influence the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias for many years to come. He has clearly been a pioneer in the field, and has been a true role model for his colleagues in the SUS and AAS.” *Excerpts from news release for Alameda Health System’s (AHS)

A. Brent Eastman, M.D., FACS Installed as 93rd President of American College of Surgeons

A. Brent Eastman, MD, FACS

“A. Brent Eastman, MD, FACS, a general, vascular, and trauma surgeon from San Diego, CA, was installed as the 93rd President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during Convocation ceremonies at the 2012 Clinical Congress. Dr. Eastman is corporate senior vice-president and chief medical officer of Scripps Health, the N. Paul Whittier Endowed Chair of Trauma at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, and a clinical professor of surgery-trauma at the University of California, San Diego…

A dedicated trauma surgeon, Dr. Eastman was a particularly active member of the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT). He was COT Chair from 1990 to 1994 and helped to create and was the first Chair of the COT Trauma System Consultation Committee (1999–2003). Furthermore, he has served as an instructor for the internationally acclaimed Advanced Trauma Life Support® course since 1982.” Excerpted from Bulletin of American College of Surgeons

Read full announcement at ACS website

Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D., Demonstrates Utility of Bariatric Surgery in Successful Organ Transplantation

Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D.

“Bariatric surgery has been widely accepted in the medical field, but now we’re trying to apply it to specific patient groups,” said Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D., a former UCSF MIS/Bariatric surgical fellow**, whose outstanding work led to a faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery.

In a pilot study of 26 morbidly obese patients waiting for a kidney or liver transplant, Dr. Lin and colleagues in the UCSF Bariatric Surgery Program showed that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure that removes most of the stomach and reshapes it into a small tube or sleeve, significantly improved the chances of undergoing successful organ transplantation. “The reason why physicians are skittish about bariatric surgery for organ transplant is that these patients have more medical comorbidities,” said Lin, who is the lead author of the study. “But our study shows that it is safe to proceed.”

* Excerpts Above from American Society For Metabolic And Bariatric Surgery

**Minimally Invasive and Bariaric Surgery Fellowship underwritten by Foundation for Surgical Fellowship

A. Brent Eastman, M.D. Discusses Quarterback Trauma and NFL Injuries at Commonwealth Club of CA Forum

A. Brent Eastman, M.D.

“The recent wave of lawsuits filed on behalf of former NLF players has brought to the forefront the dangers of sports injuries, as well as the question of liability. From broken noses to broken feet and everything in between, get an up-close-and-personal view of the health and safety issues related to playing in the National Football League. Six-time Pro Bowl selection and Chargers legend Dan Fouts will be joined by John York, M.D., Co-chairman, San Francisco 49ers; Chairman, NFL’s Health & Safety Advisory Committee and Jed York, CEO, San Francisco 49ers, as well as Eastman, A. Brent Eastman, M.D., Trauma Surgeon, Chief Medical Officer and Corporate Sr. Vice President, Scripps Health, whose expertise as a trauma surgeon has made him a leader in the field of emergency medical care.” Excerpts from Commonwealth Club website.

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