Surgeons’ Lives - Stuff that Matters

Matt Weiss is the deputy physician in Chief and Director of Surgical Oncology at Northwell Health Cancer Institute. He is an internationally recognized surgical oncologist with a special interest in pancreatic cancer and particularly interested in outcomes and matters of quality.
His early career followed a very traditional academic pathway culminating in a long period on Faculty at Hopkins where his senior mentor was Dr. John Cameron. As everyone knows, there is an expectation that Hopkins surgeons will become a Chair of a university department so it was a surprise for many when Matt changed direction and joined Northwell Health a few years ago.
As he describes in this fascinating interview, he was unable to resist the opportunity of improving cancer outcomes from within a large system like Northwell Health that cares for so many lives. Of course, he's still harbors ambitions on the academic front and believes that one day he will become a Chair when the time is right.
But for now he is passionately engaged in the vision of a system approach.
Of course, there is more to this man than his surgical career. A worryingly, good golfer, he is a lapsed fisherman and overcame his midlife crisis by buying a Porsche. He is also a fan of the Rolling Stones.
Don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel and send your comments. If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then this interview is available the #surgeonslives @YouTube channel.
https://www.northwell.edu/find-care/find-a-doctor/dr-matthew-john-weiss-md-1568416618
https://x.com/surgeonweiss
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-weiss-b1155a6/
#northwellhealth #pancreaticcancer #Hopkinssurgery #academicsurgery #research #surgeryrecovery #cancer #rollingstones #fishing #familytime
 

Samir Pathak is an HPB surgeon from Leeds in the UK. The family business has been medicine for several generations, but he has also been brought up immersed in the Indian culture of cricket - and in his family's case charity.
n this truly fascinating interview, he discusses his early surgical career and training. This was impacted by having undergo multiple operations before the age of 10. He also describes another family passion which is cricket -where he almost made the first class level.
A truly challenging experience for him was being asked to Chair a committee, investigating the accusations of institutional racism in Yorkshire County Cricket Club. To call that task, a poisoned chalice would be an understatement, but he speaks quite openly about the experience, both good and bad, including the inevitable frustrations of political interference and how it has guided his future approach in his work life as well as outside.
His grandfather and father have been involved in a tuberculosis treatment charity in India which is still helping people today. For his part, Samir has established a charity that brings the most under privileged children possible to the UK within a cricket environment in a way that truly changes the direction of their lives.
This is not the typical interview from Surgeons Lives, but I think you will find it fascinating and I hope you will agree that Samir has established a very high bar to be admired.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, don't forget that the full interview is available on the #Surgeonslives #YouTube channel.
Please don't forget to like and subscribe and comment about this interview.
https://yorkshireccc.com/news/club-statement-2/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samir-pathak-08525236/
https://x.com/drsampathak?lang=en
#surgeryrecovery #racism #cricket #pancreaticcancer #neilsmart #research #surgery #surgeonslives #stuffthatmatters #charity #givingback #familybusiness
 

Dr. Sherry Wren is a Professor of of Surgery at Stanford in California but in this interview with Surgeons Lives it's evident that she is a lot more than that.
An early career was spent chasing the academic pinnacle of being a Department Chair, but after a number of years of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride, she experienced an epiphany that made her realize that this was no longer the most important thing to her in life.
Today, she remains a busy and active clinical surgeon over the last decade or more, her real passion has developed in the arena of global and humanitarian surgery. She started by making brief visits to conflict zones around the world providing direct clinical care, but soon realized that teaching people how to deliver care was far more beneficial as a long-term investment.
She continues with this passion today. During the conversation today, we hear about her early experiences growing up in Chicago, pursuing a profession with very few women in sight and her personal enthusiasm for sci-fi literature, good food, and regularly spending time on dive boats in exotic locations such as Indonesia.
Don't forget if you prefer to watch rather than listen, this entire interview and all the others from this series can be found on the dedicated @Youtube channel @surgeonslives.
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#globalsurgery #scifi #americancollegeofsurgeons #humanitariansurgery #surgery #leadership #academicsurgery #womeninsurgery #lifestyle #careerambition #departmentchair
https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/bulletin/2022/nov-dec-clinical-congress-2022-highlights/sherry-m-wren-md-facs-fcs-ecsa-elected-as-acs-secretary/
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/doctors/w/sherry-wren.html
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-m-wren/
 
 

Latest episode of #surgeonslives #stuffthatmattersAgree with him or not, it cannot be denied that Lord Ara Darzi has definitely seen under the hood at the inner working of central government when it comes to setting policy and the delivery of healthcare within the UK. In this - the second episode with Ara - he describes how he came to become part of Government for two years, taking him away from a spectacular career as an academic surgeon with an amazing flare for innovation and thinking outside the box. Since that time, he career has gone from strength to strength as he has undertaken a whole raft of different initiatives covering global health, technology and most recently, antimicrobial resistance.Thankfully for him, Ara has learnt to tune out the noise that comes with such high profile roles and avoid distractions that always try and divert his focus from the target ahead.A modest and respectful man if you have any interest in the world of healthcare, you could be well advised to listen to some truly profound and insightful comments about what has and has not gone well in the last few decades and where the future lies to right the ship again.Also available as a full video option on the #Surgeonslives YouTube channel @Surgeonslives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_Darzi,_Baron_Darzi_of_Denhamhttps://www.imperial.nhs.uk/consultant-directory/ara-darzihttps://royalsociety.org/people/ara-darzi-11300/#innovation #artificialintelligence #surgery #politics #antimicrobialresistance #research #leadership #nhs #darzilord #healthcareinnovation

This is the first of two episodes during which I have the chance to interview Professor Ara Darzi - or Lord Darzi as he became when he entered the House of Lords in 2007.
Ara Darzi was born in Baghdad to Armenian parents and after high school education entered medical school in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin. After graduation and surgical training in Ireland, including a research fellowship, he moved to London shortly thereafter where he began his career initially as an NHS consultant once he had completed his training.
In the early 1990s I had the privilege of working with Ara as I was also newly on staff at Imperial College in Saint Marys Hospital medical school in London. There, Ara first demonstrated his extraordinary talents for surgical skill and innovation in many areas of technology.
Within a decade, he had risen through the ranks to become the Chair of Surgery at Imperial College and the future was definitely looking bright. In 2006, he was asked by a health minister to undertake a review of the NHS within LONDON.
Around this time he had received a Knighthood and then unexpectedly was invited by the Prime Minister at the time, Gordon Brown, to join his government of all talents.
Two years as a health minister was an extraordinary experience, but enough for someone who did not wish to spend his life in mainstream politics. Instead, he has sat in the house of Lord's as an independent life peer and become a global figure in the world of health innovation and disruptive technology.
I cannot think of many surgeons whose career has spanned such an extraordinary breath of achievements. As much as anything else, this is why I decided that this interview should be in two parts.
Please don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel so you receive all the notifications. I have no doubt many people will have some comments about Lord Darzi and I would love to hear them.
If you prefer to listen rather than watch, then don't forget that the full audio of this interview is on all your favorite podcast audio platforms.
#innovation #collaboration #surgery #research #robotics #medicalpolitics #houseoflords #laparoscopysurgery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_Darzi,_Baron_Darzi_of_Denham
https://www.flagshippioneering.com/people/ara-darzi
https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/consultant-directory/ara-darzi
https://royalsociety.org/people/ara-darzi-11300/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/11/prof-lord-ara-darzi-surgeon-nhs-review
 

Dr. Gerry Fried is the former Chair of the Department of Surgery at McGill University in Montreal and is now leading the Department's initiatives in the technology and innovation space as well as surgical simulation.
In this very wide ranging interview, he touches on a whole gamut of topics ranging from the benefits of travel in terms of surgical education, having crucial conversations with badly behaved or failing colleagues, the development of innovation under pressure and the inevitable intrusion of technology into the daily life of surgeons and their patients. He recognizes that while technology can be incredibly beneficial, there are also downsides to some recent developments.
This is a man who has been there and done most of it and there's very little he hasn't seen throughout a long and distinguish career. At 75 years of age, he is thoroughly enjoying his work and finds great excitement in new initiatives.
He continues to travel the world widely seeking out extraordinary culinary experiences.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then don't forget that this full interview is available on the @Surgeonslives channel on @Youtube.
Please don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel so you will get all the notifications. I also want to hear your comments and thoughts about this and other interviews.
https://www.mcgill.ca/generalsurgery/gerald-m-fried
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-gerald-fried
#surgicalinnovation #retirementplanning #academicsurgery #artificialintelligence #podcast #leadershipskills #badbehevior
 

Dr. Mark Talamini leads the physician employment group in the Northwell Health system.
He spent many years in Academic Surgery rising through the ranks in Johns Hopkins before serving as Department Chair in the University of California, San Diego and then Stony Brook University before joining Northwell in 2021.
In his early career, he spent some clinical time overseas in Bangladesh and then Ireland. He was there at the very beginning of minimally invasive surgery performing the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Hopkins.
In recent years, he has transitioned into a fundamentally administrative and executive leadership role and has much to say on how to improve the daily well-being of employed surgeons and other physicians. He is optimistic about reducing the drudgery that faces so many physicians on a daily basis.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then don't forget that this interview is available on the desiccated YouTube channel.
Please don't forget to like, subscribe and comment on this and any other interviews on the channel.
#academicsurgery #leadership #artificialintelligence #physicianwellness #burnout #surgery #minimallyinvasivesurgery #laparoscopysurgery
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-talamini-17150027/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Talamini
https://talks-with-talamini.podbean.com
https://x.com/talaminidoc?lang=en
 

Steve Schwaitzberg is a foregut and endocrine surgeon who is also the Chair of Surgery at the University of Buffalo in upstate New York. However, he originally wanted to be a pilot, but his eyesight wasn't good enough so somebody said you should go to medical school.
He only became interested in surgery when his original choice of internal medicine was derailed by falling out with one of his supervisors. Sometimes it is a game of chance!
Medical school and residency in Baylor in Texas exposed him to arrange of iconic figures and mentors in Surgery which set him on the path towards a research fellowship studying hypothermia.
Back in his hometown of Boston he then decided to join the army reserves and found himself involved in Desert Storm where he realized that minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy could make a real difference for wounded soldiers.
Fast forward a decade or more and in 2015 he moved to Buffalo while moving upwards through the ranks of SAGES, where he ultimately became President.
In this interview, we learn a lot about how mentors affect a career path and how so much of it was not planned. This is a man who believes passionately in giving back through education and assisting those who need help developing their career.
If you prefer watching rather than listening, don't forget that the full episode is available on the @Surgeonslives YouTube channel.
Don't forget to like and subscribe and please send comments and suggestions.
https://medicine.buffalo.edu/faculty/profile.html?ubit=schwaitz
https://x.com/schwaitzberg
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveschwaitzberg/
#sages #surgeryeducation #endocrinesurgery #laparoscopysurgery #academicsurgery #givingback
 

Dr. Mark Orloff is a professor of surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center in upstate New York. He's been there for 34 years on Faculty and is coming up to retirement.
He was born in Germany, where his father was in the military and moved around a bit before landing in San Diego, where he spent most of his early life in a beach style community living the southern California dream. He grew up in a family of six siblings that produced several surgeons, including his sister Susan, who is also a liver transplanter.
His father was Chair of Surgery in San Diego and was something of a legend in the world of HPB surgery. So, as you can imagine, he understands the challenges, both good and bad, growing up in the shadow of a famous father. His remarkable mother essentially brought up the kids in many respects before returning to a new career as a diagnostic radiologist in her 50s.
Mark has much to say about almost all of these aspects of his life and upbringing, as well as commenting on where he sees the future of organ transplantation. This is an interview that you will not want to miss as he brings much wisdom to the discussion.
Don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel, and if you prefer to watch rather than listen, don't forget you can find the full interview on the #surgeonslives YouTube Channel.
#orloff #livertransplant #URMC #surgery #lifestyle #livingwithalegend #siblingrivalry

Dr. John Alverdy is a professor of Surgery at the University Of Chicago who is probably best known in recent years for his extraordinary work on the microbiome and how it may relate to anastomotic leaks. He is a true surgeon scientist, following a path of scientific rigor that most of us could only imagine. He has been NIH funded for a quarter of a century and despite recently retiring from operating, he continues to run his lab three days a week - and more as he sees fit.
His early career was anything but conventional having started in medical school in Guadalajara in Mexico before returning for his residency training in his hometown of Chicago. He spent a research fellowship with Dr. George Sheldon in San Francisco before going on Faculty back at the University of Chicago where he has been ever since. Although he perhaps didn't recognize it in himself, his early mentors spotted his intelligence and determination to pursue a scientific career.
Throughout the years, there has been so much more to this man than laboratory experiments and clinical surgery. He is something of a musician and is equally fascinated with the mathematical complexities of a solo by John Coltrane as he is by mapping the interactions of the gut microbiome.
During this interview, he has quite a lot to say about the challenges facing any surgeon wishing to pursue a research career and how it is perhaps becoming more and more difficult every year.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, then don't forget that this interview is available on all the #SurgeonsLives YouTube channel.
Don't forget to like, subscribe and comment on the interviews as much as you like.
#microbiome #anastomoticleak #surgicalresearch #NIHfunding #herbiehancock #johncoltrane #chicago #universityofchicago
https://mmp.bsd.uchicago.edu/steering-committee/john-alverdy/
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/John-C-Alverdy-39796247
https://www.castleconnolly.com/top-doctors/john-c-alverdy-surgery-82cc015288
https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/surgery-articles/surgeon-receives-prestigious-award-for-groundbreaking-clinical-research