Vascular Surgery Division Offers New Techniques & Patient Services

Advanced aortic aneurysm repair techniques in use at LSU Health Shreveport are much easier on patients who once would have required major open surgery. Wayne Zhang, MD, Associate Professor and Vascular Division Chief, with the assistance of Amy Coulter, MD and Tze-Woei Tan, MD, both Assistant Professors, are now performing complex repairs using new, less-invasive techniques.

The Snorkel (or Chimney) technique was recently used on a 61-year-old patient with recurrent abdominal aortic aneurysm. The Snorkel technique involves deploying a branch-artery stent to clear the partially or totally covered vessel to extend the proximal landing zone of the endograft.

The vascular team has also utilized new fenestration techniques on multiple patients to treat suprarenal aortic abdominal aneurysms and thoracoabdominal aortic

aneurysms. The techniques were used on patients with aneurysms extending up to and including the celiac, superior mesenteric, and kidney arteries. With this new minimally-invasive approach, the surgeons were able to preserve the patients’ important visceral arteries. All patients did well postoperatively.

In addition, LSU's vascular team is the first group in Northwest Louisiana to offer a new procedure to patients with end stage renal failure. The HeRO Graft (Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow) is a device that is surgically implanted under the skin and provides an additional option to traditional catheters for hemodialysis. The HeRO Graft is designed to be a long-term solution for patients who are dependent on hemodialysis and not able to have a fistula or graft because of blocked or narrow veins. Because it is completely under the skin, the HeRO Graft has a significantly lower infection rate compared with catheters. Also, early access AV grafts can be placed in selected patients to enable early access of fistula for hemodialysis within 48 hours of surgery to avoid the need for the placement of a dialysis catheter.

Finally, a new Vein Clinic is now available every Tuesday afternoon beginning at 12:30 pm to provide convenient and comprehensive vein care to patients. Several methods to treat varicose veins are used, for both medical and cosmetic purposes: varicose vein injection, varicose vein removal, saphenous vein treatment with radiofrequency ablation, and skin graft for venous ulcers.

L-R: Drs. Tze-Woei Tan, Amy Coulter and Wayne Zhang in the vascular suite at LSU Health Shreveport.

SURGEONS’ LOOPA PUBLICATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY ALUMNI & SUPPORTERS

Volume 5, I ssue 1 Spr ing/Summer 2013

Chairman’s MessageBenjamin L i , MDJohn C. McDonald Chair in SurgeryProfessor and Chairman

It's graduation time again. The 2013 graduating class is a larger class, as six Chief Residents will be completing their general surgery training. Five of our graduates will be entering fellowship training. They are Catherine Parker (Breast Oncology), Ashley Northcutt (Trauma/Critical Care), David

Neel (Vascular), Tim Matatov (Plastics), and Landon Humphrey (Vascular). Their future fellowship appointments are highlighted in the next section. Darin Doumite, a native of Kinder, LA, will be returning to south Louisiana to practice general surgery in Jennings. We wish the graduates our best, thank them for their dedication and devotion to LSU, and look forward to hearing about their continued successes. Please stay in touch with your LSU family.

We are delighted to welcome our incoming PGY 1 residents. Four of the five categorical general surgery residents are our own graduates. They are Amos Sit, Justin Rudd, Ronald Mowad, and Lloyd Jones, Jr. They will be joined by Aras Emdadi, who is a graduate of Touro University of College of Osteopathic Medicine. Additionally, two students matched in our preliminary general surgery spots. They are Derek Palmer from St. Matthews University and Brittany Costello from the University of Louisville. We look forward to your being a part of our LSU Surgery family.

As usual, our medical students and residents represented our institution quite well at this year’s joint annual meeting of the LA-Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and the Surgical Association of Louisiana. Together with our faculty members, they were responsible for six oral presentations, two quick shot presentations, and five poster presentations. Jane Sugar (PGY 4) won the best poster presentation for her work entitled, “Do January Vacation Schedules Affect Resident Performance on the ABSITE?” Additionally, Sergei Kalsow (PGY 4) and Matt Sanders (PGY 3) regained the championship for the statewide Surgical Jeopardy. This makes three of the last four Surgical Jeopardy Bowls. Congratulations and thanks to all for your hard work and dedication.

Finally, Shelley Humphrey, who has served as our Department’s Coordinator of Information, Public Relations, Publications and Marketing for the past five years, will be leaving us in May. With her husband, Landon Humphrey, they will be heading to Temple, Texas. Ms. Humphrey has done a spectacular job for our department in coordinating meetings, hosting functions, initiating and maintaining this publication, Surgeons’ Loop, and helping in our efforts to maintain contacts with you, our alumni. Thank you, Shelley, for a job well done and best wishes for your future endeavors. We look forward to your and Landon’s continued contact and support of our department’s activities and growth.

Graduation Events

Scheduled for June 21, 2013The successful completion of surgical residency training is an accomplishment worthy of celebration. Alumni and supporters are welcome to join our residents, guests, faculty and staff to acknowledge this milestone in training. Abramson Visiting Professor LectureMedical School Building, 3-322 June 21 from 11:00 am-12:00 pm

Elliot L. Chaikof, MD, PhDSurgeon-in-Chief & Chairman Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Department of Surgery Johnson & Johnson Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School Boston, Mass

Resident Graduation Ceremony East Ridge Country Club June 21 at 6:30 pm All Alumni are invited to attend

2013 GraduatesDarin Doumite, MD - General Surgery, Private Practice, Jennings, Louisiana Landon Humphrey, MD - Vascular Fellowship, Scott & White Hospital, Temple, TexasTim Matatov, MD - Plastic Surgery Fellowship, Tulane Medical Center, New Orleans, LouisianaJ. David Neel, MD -Vascular Fellowship, University of Missouri, Columbia, MissouriAshley Northcutt, MD - Trauma Critical Care Fellowship, Shands Jacksonville, University of Florida, Jacksonville, Florida Catherine Parker, MD - Breast Fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Call 318.675.6100 for information.

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Brad E. Snyder, MDAssistant Professor of SurgeryDirector, Clinical Research for the Minimally Invasive Surgeons of Texas (MIST)The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

A L U M N IS P O T L I G H T

John C. McDonald Surgical Society Holds 4th Annual EventNew Surgical Society officials take officeThanks to all Surgical Society officers, members, and guests who made the 4th annual event such a success. This year's CME and dinner program was held at Ernest's Restaurant, where 60 members and guests enjoyed wonderful food and fellowship.

This year's CME speakers included Kevin Sittig, MD, FACS, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, Professor of Surgery and Director of Regional Burn Center, Kerry Byrnes, MD, General & Vascular Surgery at Green Clinic in Ruston, LA, and Amy Coulter, MD, Assistant Professor in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

Philip A. Cole, MD, FACS, Whitney Boggs, Jr. Professor in Colon & Rectal Surgery, Professor of Clinical Surgery & Division Chief also served as the 2012 Surgical Society President. New officers were elected by the Executive Committee last fall, and officially took office in April. Newly appointed officers of the Society include:

Quyen D. Chu, MD, FACS - PresidentRamon Romero, MD, FACS - Vice PresidentKatie Whitlock Kimbrough, MD - TreasurerJulie Mook, MD - Secretary

Interested in joining the Society??Membership dues are $100 annually. Visit our website at www.lsuhscshreveport.edu/Surgery/SurgicalSociety.aspx to find a downloadable application.

Membership is limited to surgeons whose training has included basic general surgery training which makes them eligible for board certification in General Surgery or other subspecialties.

Graduated Surgery Residency from LSU Health Shreveport in 2007

Authored How to Win: On the American Board of Surgery Certifying Exam

Brad Snyder, MD and his contributing author, Alex Nguyen, MD met in 2007 during their fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Texas in Houston. While studying for their certification, they agreed there was a profound lack of well-organized, comprehensive study guides for the exam and co-wrote How to Win. The book includes 145 subjects of content, 26 bulleted descriptions of the most commonly probed surgical procedures, and 69 of the most commonly asked subjects over the last ten years.

All proceeds from the book go to the Make a Wish Foundation.

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Honors/ Appointments

Navdeep Samra, MD, Assistant Professor, was inducted as a Faculty Member into Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. Membership in the society confers recognition for a physician’s dedication to the profession and art of healing.

Quyen D. Chu, MD, FACS, Charles Knight Professor in Surgery, Associate Professor & Division Chief, was elected to serve as a mentor for the 2013 International Development and Education Award (IDEA) program. He will mentor Dr. Michael Misauno from Nigeria during his 3-day visit to LSU Health Shreveport. Dr. Chu was also selected by the American College of Surgeons Community Surgeons Travel Award to mentor Dr. Adesoji Ademuyiwa from Nigeria as well as serve on the ACS Emerson Scholar-in-Residence Committee.

Roger H. Kim, MD, FACS, Assistant Professor, was elected to the Association for Academic Surgery Membership Committee, to serve from 2013-2015.

Lucas Duvall, MD, Assistant Professor, was inducted as a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Wayne Zhang, MD, Associate Professor and Vascular Division Chief, was appointed as an Editorial Board Member for Life Science Journal beginning January 2013.

Printing for the newsletter sponsored by LAMMICO

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Surgery Residents Represent Department at Louisiana Chapter of ACS Sergei Kalsow, MD, PGY 4 and Matthew Sanders, MD, PGY 3, won the Resident Surgical Jeopardy Tournament held at the 2013 Joint Annual Louisiana Chapter American College of Surgeons and Surgical Association of Louisiana Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Arielle DuBose, MD, PGY 3, presented, “Is Surveillance Mammogram Useful in Detecting Occult Recurrences in Women Previously Treated for Primary Breast Cancer?” and “Is chronic kidney disease an independent risk factor for mortality in breast cancer?” Jane Sugar, MD, PGY 4, won best poster presentation for “Do January Vacation Schedules Affect Resident Performance on the ABSITE?” Co-authors of the research include Philip A. Cole, MD, Quyen D. Chu, MD, Benjamin Li, MD, and Roger H. Kim, MD.

Surgical Resident Education

Front L-R: Arielle DuBose, Jane Sugar. Back L-R. Sergei Kalsow, Matthew Sanders.

The Resident Education Fund, which was established in 2010 by Christopher Sockrider, MD and Michael Gibson, MD (class of 2003), is continuing to grow. Friends and alumni have generously donated over $18,000 to help with surgical educational expenses such as software, books, and research presentation opportunities for our residents. Despite recent budget cuts, our goal to educate the surgical leaders of tomorrow has not changed, and with your help, our residents will have the best opportunities for training and education. Visit Foundation's website at www.lsuhsfoundation.org and choose “Donate Now” to make a secure online payment. You can designate your donation to Department of Surgery Resident Education Fund # 2146.

Thank you to all those who have been so generous in helping us achieve and exceed our educational goals for our residents.

R e $ i d e n t E d u c a t i o n F u n d G o i n g $ t r o n g

Representatives of the Department of Surgery recently attended Surgical Education Week in Orlando, FL. This annual conference is comprised of several components – the Association of Surgical Education, the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, and the Association of Residency Coordinators in Surgery. Issues and changes that affect residency training as well as medical student education are discussed with experts from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the American College of Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, as well as other program directors, coordinators and other educators. In attendance this year were Philip Cole, MD, Program Director; Roger Kim, MD, Assistant Program Director; Katie Whitlock Kimbrough, MD, Assistant Clerkship Director, and Gail Nightengale, Residency

Coordinator. Also attending were Ryan Tubre, MS 4, who presented a poster entitled “Construct Validity of a Virtual Reality Colonoscopy Simulator across Multiple Disciplines”, Jane Sugar, MD, PGY 4, who presented a abstract on “Effect of January Vacations and Prior Night Call Status on Resident ABSITE Performance” and Miles Sugar, MD, PGY 2. Valuable information was gleaned regarding the ACGME’s Next Accreditation System (NAS), upcoming Milestones documentation requirements for residents, new Board requirements for qualifying and certifying exams, as well as a myriad of other developing issues. A highlight of the conference was the APDS Keynote Address presented by world famous High Altitude Mountaineer, Ed Viesturs, who presented a talk with the same title as his book, No Shortcuts to the Top.

Surgical Education Week Held in Orlando

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2013 ACS Travel Fellowship to JapanQuyen D. Chu, MD, FACS, Charles Knight Professor in Surgery, Professor & Division Chief, was awarded the 2013 American College of Surgeons Japan Traveling Fellowship Award and just recently returned from the two week fellowship.

During his stay, Dr. Chu presented "Adjuvant versus neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer" at the 113th Annual Congress of Japan Surgical Society in Fukuoka, Japan and "Should all patients with resectable pancreatic cancer undergo neoadjuvant therapy?" at Jikei University in Tokyo, Japan. He also visited three hospitals, Tokyo University, Jikei University, and Kyushu University.

The purpose of the annual fellowship is to encourage international exchange of surgical scientific information.

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PAIDShreveport, LA

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LSU Health - ShreveportDepartment of Surgery1501 Kings Hwy.Shreveport, LA 71103