ScrubCast Stanford Surgery

This episode of Scrubcast features Dr. Benjamin Levi, our honored guest at the 2024 Emile F. Holman Lecture. He shares insights on his motivation for merging plastic surgery with critical care, emphasizing the holistic care of burn patients from acute treatment to long-term reconstructive surgery.

Levi’s primary research focus is on heterotopic ossification. He explains how injuries can lead to bone formation in unintended locations and the implications for patient care. He highlights how each of the places he’s lived, worked, and studied contributed uniquely to his research and clinical practice.

00:00 Welcome to Scrubcast: A Deep Dive into Surgery Research
00:19 A Unique Path: From Plastic Surgery to Critical Care
04:18 Exploring the Impact of Geographic Diversity on Medical Research
08:38 Unraveling the Mysteries of Heterotopic Ossification
15:04 Personal Reflections: Influential Surgeons and Life Advice
17:07 Engaging the Next Generation: What Makes an Exceptional Presentation

Register for Holman Day here: https://surgery.stanford.edu/holman/2024.html A recording of the podium presentations including Dr. Levi’s lecture will be posted after the event.

In this episode of Scrubcast, host Rachel Baker interviews Dr. HyeRan Choo, a clinical associate professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University. Dr. Choo discusses her journey into dentistry and orthodontics, which began in Korea.

Dr. Choo is doing innovative work treating Pierre Robin Sequence—a rare congenital condition—using a non-surgical method. This novel approach, developed to alleviate the condition's characteristic symptoms without surgery, scoops the tongue out of the airway, allowing immediate relief for affected babies. So far, Dr. Choo has treated 25 babies with the Orthodontic Airway Plate.

The episode concludes with Dr. Choo sharing valuable advice and acknowledging her mentor, Dr. Park.

00:00 Welcome to Scrubcast
00:11 Meet Dr. HyeRan Choo
01:09 The Journey to a Non-Surgical Breakthrough for Pierre Robin's Sequence
03:57 The Revolutionary Orthodontic Airway Plate: A Game-Changer for Babies
07:43 Expanding the Horizon: Future Steps and Challenges
11:37 Reflections and Advice: Learning from a Mentor
13:07 Wrapping Up

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month! In this episode of Scrubcast, host Rachel Baker interviews Dr. Cindy Kin, an associate professor in Stanford University's Department of Surgery. Dr. Kin delves into her choice to specialize in colorectal surgery and shares insights on the increasing trend of colon cancer in younger patients. She discusses the importance of early detection and elaborates on her research to improve patient outcomes post abdominal surgery through 'prehabilitation.'

Dr. Kin also talks about her role as the Director of Wellness at Stanford and her efforts to improve the well-being and work-life balance of fellow physicians. Only a few months in, she has already kicked off several new projects. She explains “Tell Us About It;” a new program developed in conjunction with our Quality Improvement team.

With the advent of GLP1s like Ozempic, aren’t Bariatric Surgeons out of a job?

We take a deep dive into obesity treatments with Dr. Dan Azagury, an Associate Professor in the Division of General Surgery and Chief of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Stanford University's Department of Surgery. We discuss topics such as how GLP1s were discovered and the benefits and risks of GLP-1 agonists. We also touch on the importance of holistic treatment for obesity and how medication and surgery are just two of the mechanisms for weight loss in their arsenal.

To close out the show, Dr. Azagury shares his admiration for Dr. Claude LeCoultre, who was Head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Geneva from 1991 to 2004, and—of course—the best advice he’s received in 10 words or less.

You can learn more about Stanford Medical Weight Loss program here: https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/bariatric-surgery/medical-weight-loss-program.html

In this extended episode of Scrubcast, host Rachel Baker interviews Dr. Varya Kirchner, an associate professor in the Division of Abdominal Transplantation at Stanford University. They discuss the latest advancements in medicine, with a focus on autologous islet cell transplant, a new procedure being done at Stanford.

The conversation explores the process, recovery, and potential for the procedure, as well as the meaningful collaboration between the various specialties involved. HPB Surgeon Dr. Brendan Visser along with Interventional Radiologists Drs. Avnexh Thakor and Alex Vexeridis describe their contributions to the transplant process.

Dr. Kirchner also recognizes the contributions of significant mentors in her career, shares advice she received, and discusses plans for developing a pediatric transplantation program.

00:02 Introduction to Scrubcast and Guest
00:22 Dr. Kirchner's Journey into Transplant Surgery
01:29 Understanding Islet Cells and Their Importance
02:21 The Process of Autologous Islet Cell Transplant
03:10 Challenges and Impact of Chronic Pancreatitis
07:40 Bringing the Procedure to Stanford
08:51 The Role of General Surgery in Transplantation with Dr. Brfendan Visser
16:07 The Role of Interventional Radiology in Transplantation with Drs. Avnesh Thakor and Alex Vezeridis
23:10 The Future of Autologous Islet Cell Transplant
26:11 Identifying Candidates for Autologous Islet Cell Transplant
31:12 Conclusion and Future Plans

Can you teach an old drug new tricks?

In this episode, we interview Dr. Nazish Sayed, an assistant professor in the Division of Vascular Surgery and the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University. Dr. Sayed has a unique role as a research faculty in the Department of Surgery and his expertise in vascular disease. We talk about the beneficial effects of statins on vascular function (in addition to their well-known cholesterol control function) and how statins can prevent cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Sayed et al published a paper in Nature Cardiovascular Research in May 2023 on statins at the molecular level (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44161-023-00267-1), and we discuss the challenges faced in getting the paper published (four years!). The episode concludes with a discussion of Dr. Joseph Wu, Dr. Joseph Woo, and Dr. Sayed's future research plans.