Volume 27 | August 2, 2019
Surgical Notes
Residential Governor's School for Medicine & Health Sciences
VCU Surgery recently hosted students from the 2019 Summer Residential Governor's School for Medicine and Health Sciences as they participated in live-stream surgery observation with several of our team members. The students, all between grades 10 and 11, provided amazing feedback about their experiences. Some of their comments are below:

Stephanie  - On Wednesday, July 3rd, I watched the live-stream of a cholecystectomy, otherwise known as a gallbladder removal. Even though we were unable to physically go into the OR, we were able to see the live-stream of the surgery from a deep and up-close camera inside the patient’s body, which was actually a better view of the operation than we would have had if we had actually gone inside. A medical resident, Dr. Wayne Tse , was with us in the live-stream room through it all, guiding us through the entire process of the surgery and answering any questions we had, including those pertaining to the use of the recently adapted da Vinci surgical robot used to complete the operation, a luxury we would not have received had we been shadowing the attending surgeon, Dr. [Chandra] Bhati , directly in the OR. All in all, I am extremely grateful and delighted I was able to see this surgery, as it was a unique and special opportunity.

Olivia  - The most interesting day of the week for me was Wednesday, July 3 rd , when we observed a live feed surgery. Dr. Bhati, a transplant surgeon, performed a cholecystectomy on a patient via a da Vinci robot. As we sat in a viewing room watching the OR through a live stream, our group was able to interact with a general surgery resident, Dr. Wayne Tse, to inquire about what was going on during the surgery. He described the procedure in detail along with Dr. Bhati, who spoke from the OR and Dr. Tse would answer any questions we asked about the gallbladder and adjacent organs. He explained how Dr. Bhati maneuvered the tools with the robot such as the Harmonic scalpel that simultaneously cut and cauterized tissue. This experience inspired me to do more research regarding procedures and look for more opportunities to observe surgeries.

Rena  - On Friday of week two, I visited the OR to watch the right robotic partial nephrectomy with the da Vinci. This was undoubtedly my favorite experience so far in the Governor’s School. Upon arriving, we met a third-year urology resident, Dr. Sam Weprin , who explained the surgery. I really enjoyed the fact that the resident explained the anatomy and the procedure before it started. I loved being able to watch and know what I was looking at…from the kidney to the mass. This really introduced me to the urology field and how it can be applied to remove cancerous masses.   

Jeni - Once the surgery actually began, we sat in a room that resembled a classroom; here, one of the urology residents explained what the procedure was and how it was performed along with answering any of our questions. Although we were only watching the surgery on the two screens, I loved to watch the precision in which the surgeon and the robot worked. We were given an inside view of the operation, allowing us to see each process. The resident was extremely helpful in explaining where we were in the body and exactly what we were looking at. I’ve always been interested in going into surgery, so this opportunity helped solidify that .

Well done, team! And special thanks to Susan Haynes for coordinating this event.
Expanding Organ Access Through Hepatitis C Kidney Transplant
"The VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center has developed and studied a unique process that is behind the safe and effective transplantation of hepatitis C kidneys, which expands organ access while also reducing treatment costs for patients.

The clinical research involved transplantation of a deceased donor’s infected kidney into a recipient who does not have hepatitis C. As part of Hume-Lee’s trial protocol, patients receive oral direct-acting anti-viral medication prior to the transplant to prevent the transmission of hepatitis C from the donor to the recipient. This approach has allowed most patients to avoid hepatitis C treatment. Study results showed that after successful treatment there is an extremely low chance of hepatitis C reoccurrence in the recipient’s bloodstream — just 10 percent.

The focus on treatment before receiving a hepatitis C kidney separates the VCU efforts from other protocols. This has been effective in preventing the virus, but also has resulted in a decrease in hepatitis C prevention medication following a transplant, saving patients an average of $40,000 and sparing them the side effects of those treatments. In other protocols, all patients receive a mandatory 12 weeks of anti-viral medications..."

To continue reading this story from VCU News, click here .
Annals of Surgery
Congratulations to Dr. Guilherme Campos and the Bariatric Surgery team for their recent publication in Annals of Surgery. Their paper, "Changes in Utilization of Bariatric Surgery in the United States from 1993 to 2016 - a extensive and detailed analyses of the HCUP-NIS dataset" discusses changes in perioperative outcomes and utilization of bariatric surgery in the US from 1993 to 2016.

Additional authors include Drs. Jad Khoraki (postdoctoral fellow), Guilherme Mazzini (Assistant Clinical Professor), Bernardo Pessoa (Visiting Scholar) and Luke Wolfe (Assistant Professor and biostatistician).

Congratulations Dr. Campos and team!
Fellowship in American College of Critical Care Medicine
Congratulations to Dr. Paula Ferrada , Professor with the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, for her recent acceptance for Fellowship in the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM). Her acceptance is based on her "commitment to the ideals and practice of multiprofessional critical care... [and] her achievements in fostering the ideals of critical care through your leadership, program development and participation in local, regional, and national critical care related organizations including the Society of Critical Care Medicine."

Dr. Ferrada will be awarded at the American College of Critical Care Medicine Convocation and Society of Critical Care Medicine awards ceremony in Orlando, Florida this coming February.

Congratulations, Dr. Ferrada! Well deserved!
Association for Academic Surgical Administrators
Tina Hamlet, Associate Administrator for the Divisions of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Urology, was recently recognized by the Association for Academic Surgical Administrators.

In 2007, she moved to the Department of Surgery as the division coordinator for Urology. She completed her master’s degree in Executive Leadership from Liberty University in 2016 and then assumed the role of Associate Administrator for the Division of Urology. As of today, Tina will also be the Associate Administrator for Plastics & Reconstructive Surgery. 

Way to go Tina!
Oxford Global Surgery Group
Dr. Sudha Jayaraman , Associate Professor and Co-Director of the VCU Program for Global Surgery, has been selected as a VCU Faculty Scholar to participate in Oxford's Harris Manchester College Summer Research Institute.

Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues at the Oxford Global Surgery Group , Dr. Jayaraman was one of two invited speakers at the University of Oxford Global Surgery and Anaesthesia's "Global Surgical Network Meeting." Her topic was: "A global surgery career and thoughts on the future."

Congratulations, Dr. Jayaraman!
Global Surgery Research Resident
General Surgery Resident  Ashley Rosenberg , MD recently presented her research at the VCU Institute for Women’s Health 2019 in Norfolk, VA. Ashley, under the guidance of Dr.  Sudha Jayaraman , presented 2 posters entitled "Developing Sustainable Prehospital Obstetric and Neonatal Care in Rwanda - A collaboration between SAMU, Ministry of Health of Rwanda and Virginia Commonwealth University” and "Prehospital Emergency Obstetric Care in Kigali, Rwanda”
 
Additionally, Ashley traveled to Ecuador to work with Dr. Edgar Rodas and the Cinterandes Foundation. She developed public health materials for the foundation and participated in a surgical mission in the Amazon Rainforest of Southern Ecuador.
Research News
The  VCU Libraries Open Access Fund  is open for applications for fiscal year July 2019 – June 2020. The Open Access Publishing Fund supports the publication of research articles in peer-reviewed journals that are available to all on the web without charge.

Some open access journals charge author fees to cover the costs of peer review and other services common to all scholarly journals. The Open Access Publishing Fund helps subsidize these fees, thus minimizing the financial barrier to publishing in open access journals. 

VCU Libraries has provided open access funding since 2015, and during that time has assisted with the publication of 99 peer reviewed open access articles from VCU authors. VCU Libraries also advances open access through institution memberships, library collections, consortia, outreach, and Scholars Compass.

Contact VCU Libraries  if you are interested in how VCU Libraries can open up your work to a wide world of readers and increased impact. For more information, click here .
New Faculty
Welcome to the Department of Surgery's newest faculty!
Dr. Rebecca Zee
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Urology

Dr. Zee received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University and Boston University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in urology at UVA and her fellowship in pediatric urology at Children's National Medical Center. Her academic interests include prenatal hydronephrosis, robotic urologic surgery, vesicoureteral reflux, correction of urinary tract obstruction, hypospadias, undescended testis and resident education. She is involved in the Societies for Fetal Urology Prenatal Hydronephrosis Registry and have an interest in quality improvement.
Dr. Vinay Kumaran
Associate Professor, Transplant Surgery

Dr. Kumaran has a medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India, where he also served a residency. He completed his fellowship training at the Thomas Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is a founding member of the Liver Transplantation Society of India and is a member of the International Liver Transplantation Society and American Society of Transplant Surgeons. An expert in living liver donation, he has performed more than 700 living liver surgeries and has been a consultant to medical centers establishing living liver donor programs.
Monthly Wellness Note
VCU Employee Well-Being Programs has released its program for August events and activities.


Note that employees are now asked to RSVP via Talent@VCU.

Questions? Contact Cindi Phares at [email protected] .
Upcoming Events
Richmond Heart Walk
October 5, 2019
Monroe Park

Join Senior Leaders from across the institution to include Dean Buckley and our very own chair, Dr. Kasirajan, as they walk to raise awareness for cardiovascular health.

Can't join? Donate!

For information about registering or to donate, click here .

This event is locally sponsored by VCU Health!
Research Open Forum
Monthly, 2nd Mondays
4:00 - 5:00 PM
West 16 Conference Room (16-103)

All are encouraged to attend!
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Department of Surgery | Virginia Commonwealth University | (804)828-7874 | [email protected]