News
In their quest for perfecting the artificial lung, Department of Surgery Chairman Joseph B. Zwischenberger, MD and Director of the Artificial Organ Laboratory Dongfang Wang, MD, PhD have patented and received FDA approval of a new device which greatly improves the oxygenation of blood for patients who suffer from severe lung failure. The device, a two-channel catheter (in scientific terms, double lumen cannula or DLC) expands the potential application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO.
In the winter of 2009, we reported that Surgery Department Chairman Joseph B. Zwischenberger, MD and Dongfang Wang, MD, PhD, director of the Artificial Organ Laboratory, were awarded a patent for the double lumen cannula. More recently [April 28, 2009], the team has been awarded another patent for a device and system that supports a failing heart.
The longer a laparoscopic colectomy for cancer takes, the less its advantages over an open colectomy in terms of morbidity and mortality, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.
The da Vinci Surgical System is a highly technical robotic system that has been utilized over the past decade for a variety of surgeries. The robotic system advances minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures, providing surgeons with greater range of motion, more dexterity and greater clarity in the 3-dimensional view of surgical areas. The patient benefits from its precise incisions, less invasion to the surgical site, shorter operating time, and more accurate excision capabilities.
May 18-19, 2012
The Annual AASA Eastern and Southern Regions Combined Retreat will be held May 18-19, 2012 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, Maryland. We are holding 30 rooms for the special nightly rate of $159. See the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront for more information.
A new lab in the surgery department headed by Hiroshi Saito, PhD is investigating and discovering important clues to the effects of aging on sepsis and systemic inflammation. The lab has numerous studies funded by prestigious organizations such as the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health. Working with Dr. Saito are Hitoshi Takahashi, PhD and Marlene Starr, a third year graduate student in molecular biology. The lab is one of a number that came from Texas with Dr. B.
Hong-Bo Zhao, MD, PhD has received a grant from the Children’s Miracle Network to help define genetic mutations in children with hearing loss. It is known that mutation of the connexin gene, which encodes intercellular communication proteins in vertebrates, accounts for 70-80 percent of hereditary hearing loss in children. Recently, by application of genoinformatics, a new chromosome called pannexin has been found in human and mouse genomes. In recent studies conducted by Dr.
Rachel Wallace, Administrative Support Associate to Surgery Chair Jay Zwischenberger, was recently interviewed about the role she and her toy poodle, Bella, play in brightening up the lives of young patients at Kentucky Children's Hospital. To read the original article and view the accompanying video, go to KyForward.
The Division of Plastic Surgery held the Annual Andrew M Moore Sr., MD, Visiting Professor Lectureship on April 29-30, 2011. This year’s Visiting Professor was Glenn W. Jelks, MD, FACS, Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery and Ophthalmology, NYU Medical Center, New York, New York.
Pictured left to right: Dr. Jared Nimtz, Dr. Jason Buseman, Dr. Glenn Jelks, Dr. Elizabeth Jelks, Dr. Patrick Wilson, Dr. Joe Hill and Dr. Brad Turner.