Loma Linda University Medical Center
- Medical Center opens new Neurosurgery Center
- Two LLUMC residents receive Pfizer awards
- LLUMC offers screenings for alcohol abuse on first National Alcohol Screening Day
Medical Center opens new Neurosurgery Center
 |
|
| Wolff M. Kirsch, MD, director of the Neurosurgery Center for Research, Training, and Education, and Cindy Dickson, program coordinator, discuss a patient's x-rays. |
"The mission of this Center is to serve as a resource for research and development of new surgical technologies that will be minimally invasive and have a neurosurgical application," says Wolff M. Kirsch, MD, director of the new Center.
In 1998, the U.S. Surgical-Tyko Corporation (USSTC) selected LLU from among many universities in the western United States as the site of its newest Center of Excellence. The 18 Centers of Excellence in the country are dedicated to advancing the field of minimally invasive surgical techniques. Loma Linda is only the second such Center on the west coast.
The USSTC, which donated $1.6 million for the Loma Linda Center and $500,000 worth of equipment, collaborates with some of the world's most prestigious academic institutions to establish Centers of Excellence for training in many diverse disciplines.
These Centers are devoted to teaching residents and surgeons the use of new instrumentation, developing new technologies, conducting preclinical trials and other research projects.
USSTC is dedicated to investigating the frontiers of minimally invasive surgery through its Centers and supports each Center's vision for education and research.
As a USSTC Center of Excellence, Loma Linda joins other renowned universities such as Baylor College of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Harvard Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, University of Washington, and Yale University School of Medicine.
"We consider it an honor to be chosen as one of the country's Centers of Excellence," says Cindy Dickson, program coordinator for the Neurosurgery Center.
Dr. Kirsch and his colleague Yong Hua Zhu, MD, associate research professor in the neurosurgery department, have previously collaborated with USSTC on research projects conducted in the Medical Center's minimally invasive surgical laboratory.
One such project is the VCS clip, a minimally invasive alternative to suturing. The clip was designed by Drs. Kirsch and Zhu and by Robert Cushman, an engineer from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Training in the use of the clip previously took place in the laboratory and will continue under the auspices of the new Center.
The Neurosurgery Center will incorporate other research programs formerly under way in the laboratory, among them the development of atraumatic everting forceps for the VCS clip, which will release if the surgeon applies excess pressure and therefore not cause tissue damage; and the creation of a database of information on vascular access cases performed with the VCS clip.
Vascular access is the attaching of an artery and vein to facilitate hemodialysis, a method for providing kidney function by passing blood through semipermeable tubes bathed in solutions that remove unwanted material.
Yoon Chai, a medical student, won first prize at the Western Student Medical Research Forum in January for her summer work on the VCS database.
Other projects include:
- licensing, developing, and testing a device to aid in femoral artery closure in conjunction with USSTC;
- teaching and helping to organize continuing medical education-accredited USSTC courses in sutureless anastomoses, such as the joining of two blood vessels in vascular surgery;
- experimental testing of a USSTC device to treat carpal tunnel syndrome;
- development of a new operation for hydrocephalus, an increased amount of fluid in the brain which generally requires placing a shunt in the brain to divert the fluid to a different area. The new operation would eliminate exposure and penetration of the brain with a ventricular needle; and
- development of minimally invasive techniques to measure blood sugar, blood gases, and other relevant metabolites.
In addition to these programs, the activities of the new Center will
also focus on education and training of residents, faculty, and other
interested surgeons in areas such as spinal surgery facilitated by laparoscopy;
minimally invasive cardiothoracic procedures; testing and evaluation of
new USSTC instrumentation and techniques; and the encouragement and support
of surgical residents and faculty research in minimally invasive surgical
techniques, procedures, and instrumentation.
In the future, it will also offer courses in video endoscopy, taught by
Antonio Robles, MD, director of laparoscopic surgery, chief of general
surgery, and associate professor of surgery, LLU, and chief of surgery,
Jerry L. Pettis Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
"Dr. Robles is vital to the development of our video endoscopic training,"
says Ms. Dickson. "We are extremely grateful for his involvement."
Dr. Kirsch's plans for the Center also include creating a video link to
the other Centers of Excellence in order to enhance the learning experience.
The link will enable residents and surgeons to "attend" a surgical
procedure from across the country, sharing knowledge from Center to Center
without the cost and inconvenience of travel.
"The Center enhances Loma Linda's reputation for surgical excellence,"
Dr. Kirsch says. "It will enable us to augment our resident training
program, and it provides a research base to our neurosurgical residency
training program that it didn't have before."
Two LLUMC residents receive Pfizer
awards
Two Loma Linda University Medical Center residents--B. Robert Bamshad,
MD, and Michael W. Poon, MD--are recipients of the 1998 Pfizer Scholars
in Urology Award.
The two residents were selected by Herbert C. Ruckle, MD, associate professor
of surgery in the division of urology.
"We are pleased for the special recognition that is being paid to
these outstanding physicians who have advanced the science of urology
and improved patient care through their hard work and dedication,"
Dr. Ruckle says.
A $2,000 grant was made by Pfizer to the division of urology at Loma Linda
University in the names of Drs. Bamshad and Poon.
LLUMC offers screenings for alcohol
abuse on first National Alcohol Screening Day
Loma Linda University Medical Center is offering free, anonymous screenings
for alcohol problems as part of the first National Alcohol Screening Day
on Thursday, April 8. The screenings will be held in the Medical Center
lobby next to the admitting department. A private room will be available
for more confidential discussions.
National Alcohol Screening Day, being held as part of Alcohol Awareness
Month, is a program of the nonprofit National Mental Illness Screening
Project in partnership with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. It is
being held across the country at 2,000 screening sites, including hospitals,
alcohol and addiction treatment centers, and colleges.
Participants will hear an educational presentation on alcohol, have the
opportunity to complete a written self-test, and get to talk one-on-one
with a health professional. There are also an educational video, pamphlets,
brochures, and flyers, and for those who appear to need further evaluation,
referrals to local treatment and support resources.
Enoch Gordis, MD, director of NIAAA, says, "We hope that the first-ever
National Alcohol Screening Day will increase public understanding of alcohol
abuse and alcoholism, and the need for treatment. One of America's most
serious and persistent health problems, alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost
society more than $167 billion each year. Nearly 14 million people in
the United States--on in every 13 adults--abuse alcohol or are alcoholic."
National Alcohol Screening Day is aimed at the general community, and
all are invited to attend. The program is designed to educate the public
about alcohol and offer those who may be struggling a way to seek help.
The program aims to help people in a way that is non-threatening, easily
accessible, and offers direct connection with treatment resources in the
community.
Attendees will learn about the full range of alcohol problems, including
alcohol dependency, also known as alcoholism, an illness characterized
by several specific symptoms.
- craving--a strong need or compulsion to drink;
- loss of control--the frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun;
- physical dependence--the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking; and
- tolerance--the need for increasing amount of alcohol in order to get "high."
Information will also be provided on alcohol abuse, which is a pattern of drinking that is accompanied by one of more of the following situations within a 12 month period:
- failure to fulfill major work, school, or home responsibilities;
- drinking in situations that are physically dangerous, such as while driving a car;
- recurring alcohol problems, such as physically hurting someone while drunk, or being arrested for driving under the influence; and
- continued drinking despite ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by the effects of alcohol.
Attendees will also learn about risky drinking--drinking beyond safe
limits on a regular basis or drinking more than is safe on particular
occasions (binge drinking). Risky drinking unlike abuse and dependence,
is not a clinical disorder, but can still result in injury and harm.
All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda
University. All rights reserved.
Revised
Tuesday, January 30, 2001 10:59 AM
Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu
URL: /