John Morton

Email:
Phone:(650) 725-9777
Profile: http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/John_Morton/

Alternate Contact:
Name: Michael Braisted
Title: Manager
Email: mbraisted@stanford.edu
Phone: 650-724-4958

Academic Appointments
Appointment
Organization
Associate Professor - Med Center Line
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
 
Honors & Awards
Title
Organization
Date(s)
Best Student Research Poster
Stanford University School of Medicine
2008
Arthur L. Bloomfield Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Clinical Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
2008
Visiting Professor
Vanderbilt
2008
Young Investigator of the Year
SAGES
2008
Visiting Professor
Henry Ford Hospitals
2007
14  honors and awards: view full list
Administrative Appointments
Title
Organization
Start Year
End Year
Director
(SCORE) Stanford Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
2007
-
Director, Surgical Quality
Stanford University Medical Center
2007
-
Associate Editor
Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, SOARD Journal for ASBS
2005
-
Editorial Board
Obesity Surgery
2007
-
Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Director
Stanford School of Medicine
2004
-
10  appointments: view full list
Professional Education
Degree
Awarding Institution
Field of Study
Year of Graduation
MD
Tulane
-
1993
MPH
Tulane
-
1993
MHA
University of Washington
-
1997
Web Site Links
Research/Lab website:   my clinic
Research Interests

Bariatric Surgery
Morbid obesity represents the second leading cause of preventable death in the US, scheduled to surpass tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death due to obesity’s epidemic rate of growth. Despite this clear and present danger to the nation’s health, only bariatric surgery extends hope to the morbidly obese. Laparoscopy, as in previous clinical iterations, has widened the potential pool of patients seeking surgical management of disease. Accompanying this increase in procedures should be a concurrent rise in bariatric research. Morbid obesity represents for me a compelling juncture of my laparoscopic, public health, and outcomes training that I hope to employ in examining the following questions.

Evidence-Based Surgery
The clinical science of surgery has made spectacular gains in the past century and the new century will no doubt see more advances perhaps with the aid of evidence-based medicine. Surgery has been a recent convert to the philosophy of evidence- based medicine. Surgery results have often been in the form of case series or expert opinion, which are ranked lowly in evidence grading. Given market changes and the consumer revolution reaching medicine, the ability to perform physician-oriented research will be limited. The powerful statistical and epidemiological tools that evidence- based medicine employs can help answer questions that may have no other recourse. Surgery, unlike other clinical sciences, does not lend itself to randomization. Patients, particularly in the laparoscopic experience, will demand only one arm of any randomized study. As a result, widespread dissemination of technology may take place prior to any assessment of the technology. Given these circumstances, well-designed observational studies are often the best approach. In addition, population-based studies provide a “real-world” assessment of clinical practices and avoid any study bias by examining the entire population of interest. In this manner, surgeons can provide evidence for their patients, colleagues, and payers. Evidence-based surgery can provide the ability to assess technology, improve quality of care, and maintain patient safety as noted in the below research questions.

Surgical Education
There has been much discussion regarding quality in medicine and reducing medical error. Concern regarding patient safety in teaching hospitals has focused on resident work hours, particularly call nights. A potential for system improvement lies within our surgical educational system. Given impending constraints on resident work hours, it is important to optimize teaching opportunities. Further argument for improvement of our educational system lies in part with recent unfilled surgery match positions. Resident surgeons are changing in their demographics and life experiences requiring a change in century-old Halsteadian techniques and more emphasis on adult learning. This emphasis on adult learning has further import on continued education for more experienced surgeons, critically important in the setting of new technology and emphasis on competence.

Publications
  • Schilling PL, Davis MM, Albanese CT, Dutta S, Morton J "National trends in adolescent bariatric surgical procedures and implications for surgical centers of excellence." J Am Coll Surg 2008; 206: 1: 1-12 More »
  • Waipa J, Dutta S, Albanese CT, Morton JM "Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding in a Morbidly Obese 18-year-old with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy." Obes Surg 2008; More »
  • Mery CM, Shafi BM, Binyamin G, Morton JM, Gertner M "Profiling surgical staplers: effect of staple height, buttress, and overlap on staple line failure." Surg Obes Relat Dis 2008; More »
  • Patel C, Van Dam J, Curet M, Morton JM, Banerjee S "Use of Flexible Endoscopic Scissors to Cut Obstructing Suture Material in Gastric Bypass Patients." Obes Surg 2008; More »
  • Pineda CE, Shelton AA, Hernandez-Boussard T, Morton JM, Welton ML "Mechanical Bowel Preparation in Intestinal Surgery: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature." J Gastrointest Surg 2008; More »
44 publications:   view full list