Surgical Notes
From the Chair
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Colleagues,
This year has seen significant growth and accomplishments in the department with innovative programs. I am deeply appreciative of the tremendous effort by every member of the department. My very best wishes for the Holidays and I look forward to another outstanding new year.
Sincerely
,
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Paramedic Program Partnership with Fort Lee
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The
VCU Paramedic Program,
coordinated through CTCCE, recently trained 14 firefighters stationed at Fort Lee in an Intermediate to Paramedic Bridge Course.
On December 4th, representatives from Fort Lee and VCU will join 5 other bases to receive formal recognition through the 2017 Army-Community Partnership Award. The award will be presented by the Secretary of the Army.
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Executive Committee of State EMS Advisory Board
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In addition, Dr. Aboutanos will serve as the Coordinator of the Patient Care Committee with four additional committees underneath. Those include: the Medevac Committee; the EMS for Children Committee; the Trauma Systems Oversight and Management Committee; and the Medical Direction Committee.
Congratulations, Dr. Aboutanos!
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The Children's Hospital Foundation has pledged $2.9 Million to support urology services at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. This funding will support several initiatives over three years to include establishing a Children's Hospital Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology, recruiting for additional surgeons and a research coordinator, and expanding clinical programs.
"We are tremendously grateful for the foundations pledge of support for our pediatric urology services," stated Dr.
Anthony Herndon
, Professor and Chief of Pediatric Urology. “Although our annual clinic visits have more than tripled and surgeries have nearly doubled in less than two years, the demand for quality care continues to grow, particularly in some of our niche clinical programs. This support will help us expand and improve access to specialty care, positively impacting patients throughout the commonwealth and beyond.”
To read more of this incredible story,
click here
.
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Since his arrival in 2008, Dr.
Lance Hampton,
Associate Professor and Division Chair for Surgical Urology, has completed 1,000 robotic cases as of October 3rd. These cases include an outstanding surgery team, including Yolanda Brown, who serves as Specialty Team Manager, GU/Gyn/Robotics.
During a celebration hosted by the OR, Yolanda stated, "
With the hard work and dedication of Dr. Hampton, the robotics program at VCU Health has become a sought after in the community.
"
Want to see more pictures from the celebration?
Click here
!
Congrats, Dr. Hampton and team!
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OurHealth Richmond Magazine Bedside Manner Awards
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Dr.
Vigneshwar Kasirajan
, Stuart McGuire Professor & Chair of the Department of Surgery, was named a first place winner in the 2017 OurHealth Richmond Magazine Bedside Manner Awards. The acknowledgement honors medical providers, who are voted on by the community, for attributes like medical professionalism, and the ability to communicate with concern and empathy.
This is the fifth year OurHealth Richmond Magazine has offered the contest. More than 35,000 votes were cast for medical providers in more than 50 medical specialties. The voting process was open throughout May, via
ourhealthrichmond.com
.
Congratulations Dr. Kasirajan!
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General Surgery Fellowship Match
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Please join us in congratulating our General Residency Chiefs on their Fellowship Match!
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Amna Khokar
Endocrine Surgery
North Shore University Health System
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Chicago, Illinois
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Ashley Limkemann
Abdominal Transplant Surgery
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
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Amar Shah
Colon & Rectal Surgery
Swedish Colony and Rectal Clinic
Seattle, Washington
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Krista Terracina
Colon & Rectal Surgery
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Washington, D.C.
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Victoria Whitlow
Endocrine Surgery
Baylor Scott & White Health
Temple, Texas
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Injury & Violence Prevention in the News
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The first segment focused on the program's structure and included an interview with Dr. Aboutanos. The second segment focused on the mentorship between Ade Mason and Elijah Johnson, one of the youth participants in RVA Alternative Pathways.
The first segment can be watched
here
; the second
here
. The station also posted a 6-minute extended interview with Dr. Aboutanos and another with Elijah on their website
here
and
here
.
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American College of Surgeons Resident Competition
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The American College of Surgeons ACS Committee on Trauma State Paper Competition as well as the ACS Committee on Cancer State Paper Competition were held last week in Richmond. There,
Niluka Wickramaratne
won First Place in Basic Science for her paper titled, "Microcirculatory Effects of Polythylene Glycol 20,000 (PEG 20k) During Resuscitation of Hemorrhagic Shock." She will be presenting at the ACS Region 3 Competition in December.
In addition, we have been asked to make VCUHS the permanent location for the ACS State Paper Competition for both Trauma and Cancer thanks to the excellent coordination by Dr.
Stefan Leichtle
, Assistant Professor, and trauma program coordinators, Crystal Finegan and Karen Shipman.
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Center for Craniofacial Care, Fredericksburg
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Care just got closer to home for Fredericksburg families in need of craniofacial care or plastic/reconstructive surgery.
Dr.
Jennifer Rhodes
, Associate Professor and Director of the VCU Center for Craniofacial Care now sees children at a new Fredericksburg Multispecialty Center.
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American College of Surgeons Bulletin
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Dr.
Michel Aboutanos
, Professor and Chair for Acute Care Surgical Services recently joined a group from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) Injury Prevention and Control Committee to publish a paper in the American College of Surgeons Bulletin.
The paper, titled, "Violence Prevention Programs: A Primer for Developing a Comprehensive Program for Trauma Centers," details a comprehensive approach to instituting a sustainable Hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP).
To read the paper as published in the October issue,
click here
.
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2018 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Looking to the Future
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Niluka Wickramaratne has been selected to receive one of the 2018 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Looking to the Future Scholarships.
Funded by the STS and its members, this scholarship will cover registration fees and help support travel expenses for the STS
54th Annual Meeting
in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Congratulations Nina!
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Intern Interviews & Recruitment
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General Surgery Intern interviews will be held the weekend of December 8th and 9th. All faculty should have received an invitation via Outlook. Please respond to this invitation as soon as possible so we can ensure adequate faculty coverage and representation for the weekend.
Questions? Contact
Cindi Phares
, General Surgery Residency Coordinator, at 828-2755 or
[email protected]
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Abstracts are being solicited for the 19th Annual Rao R. Ivatury Trauma Symposium to be held on Friday March 23, 2018.
Hosted by the
Center for Trauma and Critical Care Education
& the
Division of Acute Care Surgical Services
, this event will feature
nationally recognized speakers and local experts discussing current issues throughout the trauma system, including pre-hospital, emergency, critical care, acute care, and rehabilitation.
Abstracts are due December 15th
.
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We hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Here are just a few things that we here in Surgery are most thankful for.
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You are cordially invited to the VCU Surgery End of Year Potluck.
Friday December 15, 2017 at 12:00PM
West Hospital 16th Floor Reception Area
To sign up to bring a dish,
click here
. Contributions
NOT
required to attend.
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Department of Surgery | Virginia Commonwealth University | (804)828-7874 | [email protected]
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