Surgeons’ Lives - Stuff that Matters

Dr John Hunter is a legendary figure in the field of minimally invasive surgery. In the 1980s, before anyone had ever heard of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, he was pursuing higher training in minimally invasive techniques such as endoscopic and laser surgery in a series of fellowships.
Born in New Hampshire, he graduated from medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and following residency in Utah, he spent his early Faculty career in Emory, Atlanta. He then headed west where he became Chair of the Department of Surgery in Portland, Oregon where he has been ever since.
Over several decades, he has seen the world from several viewpoints as an attending Surgeon, a departmental leader, a medical school, administrator and CEO of a healthcare system.
With this experience, he is more than able to discuss some of the challenges facing healthcare in the United States, as well as the problems facing all of the stakeholders involved in patient care.
Throughout his career, he has been a passionate advocate of maintaining the academic mission. He served as president of SAGES, as well as chairman of the American Board of Surgery.
His views on the transformation of medical care both good and bad are well worth listening to in this fascinating discussion.
If you prefer watching rather than listening, then don't forget that this podcast is available on the dedicated @Youtube channel
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https://www.ohsu.edu/people/john-g-hunter-md-facs
#surgery #leadership #healthcare #academicsurgery #SAGES

Mike Stoner is the Chief of Vascular Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center in upstate New York.
Born in Syracuse, he did his College and medical school training in Buffalo before residency and a vascular Fellowship landed him in East Carolina for his first Faculty job.
He soon discovered that this was the perfect clinical laboratory for the development of atherosclerotic disease, and led to a period of academic productivity that he was not expecting.
Eight years later, he returned to the northeast and joined the University of Rochester where he has been ever since.
In a wide ranging discussion today, he describes how vascular surgery has become transformed during his career from major operations and amputations to navigating the vascular system with wires, balloons, and probes as well as functioning as the delivery mechanism for a range of targeted therapeutic molecules.
Throughout his time and Rochester, he has dedicated much time to developing a culture that supports the success of colleagues at all levels. This is something that has become his main ambition in recent years.
Like many before him, the pandemic resulted in him exploring new hobbies. In this case, Mike and his wife became golfing novices and before long became huge enthusiasts - despite the early recognition that the game would likely always win.
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You prefer to watch rather than listen then do not forget that this interview is available on the dedicated @YouTube channel
#vascularhealth #vascularsurgeon #Rochester #culture #culturetransformation #leadership #research #golf #hobbies
 

Julio Garcia-Aguilar was born in a small village near Madrid, Spain with no specific background in the medical field. In search for higher education he went to the big city, where he soon graduated from medical school from the University of Madrid.Following the advice of mentors he moved to the United States for a period of Research. He's obvious talent was soon spotted before long, he found himself completing some residency years and then being recruited to complete a Colorectal fellow Northwell with Dr. Stan Goldberg and his colleagues. They were smart enough to make sure he didn't leave and he became an attending in Minneapolis where he commenced a lifelong passion for clinical trials that move the needle inpatient care.In this case, Julio was determined to change the approach to rectal cancer. Through a combination of dogged determination, stamina, and persistence. He has had multiple NCI grants and conducted several game changing clinical trials, which he established on a national Collaborative basis.  In recent years he has probably been best known for leading the northern hemisphere charge in terms of non-operative management of rectal cancer.However, there is much more to Julio than a hard-working Surgeon and researcher. Despite his early years near Madrid, he is a passionate Barcelona fan and continues to support his first love of Atlético Madrid. Although he is a little restricted by living in Manhattan he continues to be an enthusiastic cyclist.In this wide ranging podcast conversation, we cover many of these issues and some more as well. So please don't hesitate to subscribe to the channel and hit that button.If you prefer to watch rather than listen then the full video conversation is available on the dedicated #YouTube channelhttps://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/doctors/julio-garcia-aguilarhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/garcia-aguilar-julio-surgery-b3725973/#rectalcancer #surgery #lifestyle #mentor #colorectalsurgery #research #barça #athleticomadrid #realmadrid #MSKCC

Professor Frank Smith - Professor of Vascular Surgery - hails from the Midlands of the UK having been born and brought up in Birmingham, where his parents were both anesthesia doctors.
He spent a year of early life in San Diego when his father worked there with the legendary surgery Chair, Marshall Orloff and was left with a lifelong love for the USA.
As a medical school in Birmingham he flew below the academic radar but did develop a passion for parachute jumping at a competitive level and also qualified as a pilot.
Once he started his surgical training this true potential started to shine through. As a senior trainee he was "talent spotted" by the late Professor John Farndon who at that time was building an academic surgical unit in Bristol. He tapped Frank to be their vascular lead and from that perspective the rest is history.
Rising through the academic ranks in Bristol he began to engage with the Royal College of Surgeons of England where he now serves as a senior Vice-President.
He has been a dedicated leader in the field of surgical education and training and has sat on innumerable committees and boards serving all four Royal Colleges.
He shows no signs of slowing down although his sky-diving is less frequent these days. This is a man well worth hearing and one of the surgical "good guys".
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-smith-15b68b80/
https://coress.org.uk/professor-frank-smith/
https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/archive/welcoming-our-new-vice-president-2024/
#surgeonslives #stuffthatmatters #surgery #lifestyle #worklifebalance #skydiving #flying #royalcollege #training #education #surgicalresearch
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then don't forget that the full interview is available on all the dedicated #Youtube channel 
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Erin King-Mullins is quite a force of nature. Born in Florida to a Southern Baptist family she followed her sister into medicine and pursued a career in Colorectal surgery.
Initially following the standard employed surgeon model she began to realize that the system did not share her values.
Unlike many others Erin decided to strike out on her own by setting up her own single handed practice in urban Atlanta some 4 years ago. Supported by her husband's exceptional Excel spreadsheet skills she took the plunge and despite finding much of the experience terrifying, has never regretted the decision.
To say it has been a learning experience would be an understatement and during this wide-ranging discussion we touched on topics as different as battling prejudice, truly understanding what it takes to be loyal to personal values and of course the challenges of balancing all of this with the roles of being a wife and Mom.
And let's not forget that she would like to have Jesus and Dave Chapelle as dinner guests and get some straight answers from both of them.
Don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel and please send your comments. If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then this full interview is available on the YouTube channel.
#surgery #surgeonslives #stuffthatmatters #privatepractice #lifestyle #davechapelle #becomingindependant #beatingprejudice #tushytouchup
https://colowellness.com/erin-king-mullins-md/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekmullins/
https://health.usnews.com/doctors/erin-king-mullins-694529
 

Rowan Parks was born into surgery in Belfast, where his father George was a Colorectal Surgeon who became President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Growing up amidst the troubles in Belfast he decided to pursue a medical career and was accepted to his first choice of Queens University Belfast. A pretty standard training pathway followed but took an unexpected turn when he decided to spend a time in the HPB unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
He never returned to Belfast and 28 years later he is able to reflect on a career that reached many peaks and culminated in being elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Before the three years he spent representing the College around the world Rowan had become immersed in matters educational and training paradigms in Scotland and beyond.
In fact, he has recently returned to that first love since finishing his tenure as president. Along the way we discuss faith, nepotism, travel and missing talents!
If you prefer to watch rather than listen then don't forget that the entire podcast is available on the #SurgeonsLives channel on Youtube 
#surgery #royalcollegeofsurgeons #education #medicalpolitics #HPBsurgery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_Parks
https://surgery.ed.ac.uk/staff/profiles/rowan-parks
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowan-parks-2032116/
 

The latest episode of #Surgeonslives #stuffthatmatters is out now with valentine who talks us through a life journey from Cameroon to Chair!To describe Val Nfonsam as an over achiever would be too easy because he is much more than that. He is currently the Chair of Surgery at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia having moved there from a 2-year stint as Chair of Surgery in LSA, Louisiana.
However, when he was in school in his home country of Cameroon, Central Africa, his main concern was getting to high school and university.
High school and undergraduate studies were in neighboring Nigeria before he landed in Chicago in the winter. Postgraduate study was followed by a decision to go to medical school. He was no sophisticate in that process but due to a combination of hard work, talent and some luck he landed in the University of Illinois.
Residency soon followed before he went to the University of Arizona in Tucson for 11 years. His ambition to lead a Department landed him in LSU for 2 years before his current position.
The LSU experience was challenging and mistakes were made and lessons learnt in what Val describes as part of life's journey.Don't forget that is you prefer to listen rather than watch then the full interview is available on all your favorite podcast audio platforms such as Spotify and Podbean.#surgery #lifelessons #leadership #lifestyle #cameroon #morehousecollege #colorectalsurgery #mistakes https://www.msm.edu/about_us/FacultyD...https://www.msm.edu/Education/surgery...

This is a very special episode of #Surgeonslives #Stuffthatmatters
Matt Albert is one of the best known colorectal surgeons worldwide. A florida boy through and through he truly hit the big time with TAMIS which he co-invented but popularized around the world.
Always moving at maximum speed in everything he does he is a truly accomplished technical surgeon, a gifted teacher and a powerhouse of an intellect. I think he probably qualifies as a polymath being a single-fiber handicap golfer, deep sea fisherman, innovator and inventor was well as being an exceptional surgeon.
However, all of that comes with a cost for any person and Matt is no different in that regard. He has learnt the lessons of stress management over many years and sometimes the hard way.
In this interview, we cover some of those aspects of his life journey, the need for having fun to decompress and the benefits of engaging in therapy - "everyone needs a therapist" as he says.
Pease dont forget to like and subscribe to the channel and send lots of comments.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen then the full interview is available on the Youtube channel  https://x.com/TAMISYoda
#tamis #appliedmedical #surgery #stressrelief #stressmanagement #lifestyle #worklifebalance #colorectalsurgery #laparoscopictechniques

In the latest episode of #Surgeonslives #stuffthatmatters we meet Dr Mark Evers.
He is a surgical oncologist and cancer researcher who is the head of the Markey cancer center at the University of Kentucky? In the years he has been at the helm of the cancer center, he has led it to NCI Cancer Center designation in 2013 and ultimately Comprehensive Cancer Center designation 10 years later.
Mark grew up in the smallest of small towns in southern Tennessee and was the first of his family to go to college. An early mentor was Dr. Hiram Polk in Louisville before he spent 20 years at the university of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he was mentored successively by Dr. Jim Thompson, and then Dr. Courtney Townsend.
Anyone would have expected him to become a Chair of Surgery in a high-ranking Academic Medical Center but he decided to follow another path when recruited to become the director of the cancer center in 2009.
The conversation today was fascinating as he describes growing up from the humblest of backgrounds to becoming one of the true leaders in cancer medicine in the United States.
Throughout all of this time, he has been a passionate and dedicated Rolling Stones fan, having gone to more than 50 concerts over the years in multiple different countries around the world.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then you can find the full video interview of this podcast on the dedicated @Youtube channel. As always, please don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel and send me whatever comments you have in mind.
#surgery #nci #cancercenter #mentorship #rollingstones #universityofkentucky #smallbeginnings
https://www.lanereport.com/179579/202...
https://www.susweb.org/2021/10/20/sus...
 

Ashok Pathak from Hull in the UK, recently retired after a wonderful career as an Orthopedic Surgeon and leader in the creation of a career pathway for the Associate Specialty grade trainees.
Born and educated in India where his father was a chest physician and a man who taught the values of giving back to those in need. The family established a hospital to treat Tuberculosis - almost endemic in the early 1950's - and it grew to 150 beds at one point in time. All the treatment was totally free and Ashok still runs the charity today.
As a young Indian man, cricket was very important to Ashok to because a wicketkeeper and batsman playing first class cricket for his University and State. A passion for him as a young man, this is still his first love today and he has travelled to world watching many test matches live.
However, medicine (and surgery) was an even bigger draw so he moved to the UK and has basically spent almost all of his career in East Yorkshire - where we first met in 1993. During this interview, he describes the career challenges, casual (and not so casual) career racism he faced in the early days and the work he ultimately did as an advocate for parallel trained doctors within the NHS. He was awarded the MBE for his services to medicine in England and India.
Here is a man who understands the important things and values in life. Family, kindness, caring for those in need - truly #stuffthatmatters
Don't forget, if you prefer to watch rather than listen, the full interview is available on the @youtube channel for #Surgeonslives
#cricket #surgery #givingback #racisminsurgery #nhs #yorkshirecountrycricket #othopedicsurgery #familybusiness #charitymatters
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashok-pathak-243bb861/?originalSubdomain=uk
http://cricketbeyondboundaries.com/india-hull-medicine-cricket-and-charity-an-anglo-indian-affair/
https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/indianorigin-surgeon-honoured-with-mbe-in-uk/?ref=archive_pg