Departmental Highlights Archive
2016
Unroofing surgery relieves debilitating symptoms of heart anomaly, study finds
A Stanford study, lead by Jack Boyd, MD, shows that a type of surgery improves the quality of life for patients with myocardial bridging, a congenital condition caused by a major artery tunneling through heart muscle.
October 13, 2016
Dr. Leah Backhus Named to PCORI Advisory Panel
Leah Backhus, MD, MPH, FACS, was selected to serve on the Improving Healthcare Systems advisory panel for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Just over 5 percent of who those expressed interest in this prestigious, three-year position were selected.
August 19, 2016
Dr. Leah Backhus featured in Winter 2016 Issue of Women in Thoracic Surgery Oracle
Leah Backhus, MD, MPH, FACS, talks about her journey as a thoracic surgeon.
Fall 2016
William Hiesinger, MD, Joins the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery welcomes William Hiesinger, MD, who joins us as an Assistant Professor in Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Dr. Hiesinger completed his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to conduct his general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery residency there. He has extensive surgical experience with thoracic transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and endovascular thoracic aortic procedures.
July 1, 2016
Study shows nanofiber scaffolds could treat lymphedema by rerouting lymphatic system around blockages
The Ngan Huang Lab, in collaboration with the Union City, California-based company Fibralign, has been studying how nanofibers of collagen can be used in medicine. Collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body, acts as a structural support in a variety of tissues. The scientists have designed nanofibers, dubbed “BioBridge,” that mimic collagen's different arrangements.
June 22, 2016
Elan Burton, MD, Joins the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery welcomes Elan Burton, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, as our newest faculty member in Stanford’s Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery. She will work at our Stanford program at the VA Hospital, and at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
Dr. Burton obtained her undergraduate degree from Duke University and then went on to Morehouse School of Medicine to obtain her medical degree. She completed her residency training in general surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy. Dr. Burton then completed her cardiothoracic surgical training with Dr. Sarah Shumway at the University of Minnesota.
June 3, 2016
Frank Hanley, MD, performs risky open-heart surgery on historically small baby
After Making Heart Surgery History at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, 5-Month-Old Carmel Smith is Home for Good. Carmel is believed to be the smallest baby in Northern California — and perhaps the world — to successfully undergo the high-risk Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Initial surgery over the Thanksgiving holiday on her marble-sized heart was so high-risk that the statistical chance of survival could not even be predicted.
May 4, 2016
Ioannis Karakikes, PhD, Joins the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dr. Karakikes received his PhD from the University of Essex (UK) and completed his postdoctoral training at the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His research focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiomyopathy using stem cells harvested from patients.
May 1, 2016
Rare transplant surgery saves 2 women
Two women received life-saving organs in a rare "domino" transplant at Stanford Hospital in California.
April 26, 2016
Drs. Woo, Boyd, and Fowler perform rare domino transplant procedure at Stanford Hospital saving two women's lives
Organs available for transplant are in short supply. Heart-lung combinations are even more rare because a set of heart and lungs is usually split up so that the organs can benefit two people instead of just one. Domino transplantation of a heart-lung and heart does, however, benefit two people. A highly unusual procedure, it has only been performed at Stanford eight times before, last in 1994.
March 29, 2016
5 Questions: Bruce Reitz recalls first successful heart-lung transplant
Bruce Reitz, MD, the surgeon who led the team that performed the first successful heart-lung transplant 35 years ago, discusses his recollections of the patient and the operation.
March 9, 2016
D. Craig Miller, MD, Receives David J. Dugan Distinguished Service Award of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association
The David J. Dugan Distinguished Service Award of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association is presented to members of the association in recognition of distinguished achievement and outstanding contributions to the field of thoracic surgery in the areas of science or leadership over a sustained period of time. Nominations for this award are made by the Nominating Committee and are then presented to the Council for approval.
February 23, 2016
Family Travels Coast-to-Coast for Child’s Lifesaving Heart Surgery From Dr. Frank Hanley at Stanford Children’s Health
This past fall, the Bracebridges traveled nearly 3,000 miles from their home in northern Virginia to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford so that Frank Hanley, MD, could perform a complex, 12-hour surgery on Alex. Hanley, chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at the hospital’s Children’s Heart Center, has helped Alex and thousands of other children with serious heart conditions lead normal lives.
February 23, 2016
Adult Congenital Heart Program at Stanford Offers Unusual Level of Expertise in Caring for Adults Born With Heart Defects
The Adult Congenital Heart Program at Stanford Children’s Health and Stanford Health Care now has seven board-certified specialists in adult congenital heart disease, making it one of the largest groups of such doctors in the country. The seven physicians are among the caregivers who passed the first-ever board certification exam in their field, which is newly recognized as a subspecialty by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
February 10, 2016
Teen Awaiting Heart-lung Transplant First in Western U.S. to Undergo Novel Therapy
Listing Oswaldo Jimenez for a transplant was just the beginning. His doctors needed to perform what is referred to as a "bridge-to-transplant" solution, one that would sustain his organs until transplant could be done.
January 21, 2016
Department Hosts Six Prominent Surgeons in 2015-2016 Visiting Professorship Series
Each academic year, the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery brings in highly regarded surgeons and researchers to give our faculty and residents the opportunity to meet, interact with and learn from exceptional surgeons from around the world.
2016