The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation Announces New Appointments

by Columbia Surgery on January 20, 2012

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has a distinguished track record for liver transplantation and features a team of world renowned leaders in the field. The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation offers a seamless integration of medical, surgical, radiological, and support services — using both deceased and living donor liver tissue, and minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques whenever possible.

Founded in 1998, the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is one of the first liver programs built from its inception as a multidisciplinary unit. As of July 2011, the Center had performed more than 1,400 liver transplants, including over 200 living donor transplants. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s strong hepatobiliary program was bolstered by the addition of adult liver transplantation to its services in 2010.

Together these programs provide compassionate, individualized care to a wide variety of patients, combining exceptional care with the most innovative approaches for expanding access to liver transplantation to reduce the mortality of patients on the waiting list.

Alyson Fox, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center

Alyson Fox, MD

Alyson Fox, MD

Dr. Alyson Fox earned her BA in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University prior to attending the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she served as assistant chief resident. She completed her Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, she completed a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and served as chief fellow. She completed her advanced fellowship training in Advanced Transplant Hepatology at the University of California, San Francisco and was named clinical fellow of the year by the department of medicine.

Dr. Fox’s clinical practice is focused on the management of patients with a variety of liver diseases including viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non alcoholic fatty liver diseases, inherited liver diseases and liver cancers. As a transplant hepatologist, she has advanced training in the management of end stage liver disease and caring for patients both pre and post liver transplantation. Her research area is focused on issues related to organ allocation and complications of portal hypertension.

Elizabeth Verna, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Medical Center

Dr. Elizabeth Verna

Elizabeth Verna, MD

Dr. Elizabeth Verna, Assistant Professor of Medicine, earned her BA in Biology at the University of Virginia prior to attending the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and then served as a Chief Resident before remaining at Columbia for Gastroenterology and Advanced/Transplant Hepatology fellowships.

While in fellowship, she also completed a Masters in Biostatistics at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr. Verna’s clinical practice includes the management of patients with a variety of liver diseases with a focus on viral hepatitis and liver transplantation as well as the new emerging therapies for hepatitis C. She treats patients with liver cancer, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic liver diseases and has expertise in the management of end stage liver disease. She has an active research program with grant support for the study of hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients and will be actively involved in clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis C in both the transplant and non-transplant settings.

Julia Wattacheril, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Medical Center

Julia Wattercheril, MD

Julia Wattacheril, MD

Dr. Julia Wattacheril graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, obtained her MD with high honors from Baylor College of Medicine, did her internal medicine training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and pursued her fellowship in gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition as well as her Masters in Public Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She joined us last year for her training in transplant hepatology while maintaining an adjunct faculty appointment at Vanderbilt.

Her clinical interests include all aspects of transplant hepatology, general hepatology and gastroenterology with emphasis on metabolic liver disease and obesity. She specializes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as well as all forms of hepatitis, chronic liver disease, and liver cancer in addition to liver transplantation. Her research interests focus on hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance and metabolic liver disease in adults. Her current grant concentrates on the proteins and lipids that signal the transition from steatosis to steatohepatitis.

Tagged as: cancer, hepatitis, liver, transplant, Verna, Wattacheril

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Stamford CT woman gives husband the gift of life

by Columbia Surgery on January 17, 2012

When Brad Shwidock needed a liver transplant due to primary sclerosing cholangitis, his wife, Carol, was not only eager to donate, but was a good match. The successful living donor transplantation took place at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia September 13, 2011.

Living donor liver transplantation is considered one of the most important advances in the treatment of severe liver disease. By improving access to transplantation, living donor transplantation significantly reduces patients’ risk of dying while on the organ donation waitlist. At the Living Donor Liver Transplant program at New York Presbyterian Hospital, which is one of the largest living donor liver programs in North America, approximately 15-20% of the center’s transplant patients currently receive a liver from a living donor.

Read the Shwidock’s story as reported by the couple’s local paper, The Hour Online.
Learn more about living donor liver transplantation at livermd.org or by calling 1.877.LIVERMD (1.877.548.3763).

Tagged as: liver, sclerosing cholangitis, transplant

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Young, Obese, and In Surgery

by Columbia Surgery on January 13, 2012

“It’s like having a precancerous condition that you can treat rather than waiting till it’s cancer,” says Jeffrey L. Zitsman, Director of the Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, in a New York Times article January 8, 2012. Yet despite the prospect of a lifetime of obesity, ostracism, and diseases such as diabetes for such patients, nearly half of pediatricians and family doctors say they would never refer a teenager for obesity surgery.

Full Article: Young, Obese and in Surgery

Prevalence of Obesity Among US Adolescents

Prevalence of Obesity Among US Adolescents, aged 12 - 19, 2007-2008


*Obesity defined as BMI ≥ 95th percentile. Total includes racial and ethnic groups not shown separately. Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007 – 2008.

Tagged as: pediatric, weightloss, Zitsman

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MSCHONY Outcomes Surpass All in NY State

by Columbia Surgery on January 11, 2012

Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York (MSCHONY) has been recognized by the New York State Department of Health (NYS-DOH) in its most recent report on pediatric congenital cardiac surgery for having the lowest risk-adjusted mortality rate (RAMR) in the state. MSCHONY’s pediatric cardiac surgery program was the only hospital in the New York State to have a RAMR significantly below the state average, and the only center to receive recognition for its exceptional outcomes for the past twelve years.

Congenital heart defects encompass a wide range of abnormalities present at birth. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, these are the most prevalent forms of birth defects, affecting approximately 35,000 newborns annually, or 8 in 1,000 infants. Approximately .2 to .3 percent of cases require corrective surgery.

The “Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Surgery in New York State, 2006-2009” report uses statistical methodologies to standardize data on all pediatric congenital cardiac surgeries statewide, and then compares the mortality rates of each hospital to the statewide risk-adjusted average. This enables outcomes at all ten hospitals in the state approved to perform pediatric cardiac surgery to be compared, while accounting for differences in outcomes based upon various risk factors and other demographic determinants that may influence patient outcomes. In particular, this adjusts for differences in outcomes for hospitals that perform a higher volume of high-risk procedures.

The statewide mortality rate from 2006-2009 was 3.35 percent for all pediatric congenital cardiac surgery patients. At MSCHONY, the risk-adjusted mortality rate was the lowest in the state, at 1.95 percent. The report also indicates that MSCHONY performed 1,624 pediatric congenital cardiac surgeries between 2006 and 2009, or more than twice the number of procedures performed by the second highest volume surgical center.

In this three year period, 31.5 percent of all pediatric congenital cardiac surgeries in New York State were performed at MSCHONY. While experience alone is not a determinant of successful outcomes, MSCHONY has consistently demonstrated superior outcomes along while demonstrating expertise and extensive experience with a wide range of procedures, including high-risk surgeries.

For more information about pediatric congenital cardiac surgery, please visit New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York (MSCHONY).

Tagged as: congenitalheartdisease, pediatric

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Women’s Wellness Series

by Columbia Surgery on January 4, 2012

Making a difference in the lives of women with breast cancer.

It’s one thing to know that we ought to eat a healthy diet and exercise. It’s another to change our lifestyle and put that knowledge into daily practice. And it’s yet another entirely to inspire others to do the same in their lives. But Eileen Z. Fuentes has managed to accomplish all of the above through the Women’s Wellness Series, an inspiring and unique program aimed at helping women with breast cancer to become as healthy as they can possibly be.

When she became a breast cancer patient three years ago, Eileen – an employee of Columbia University — suddenly discovered what it was like to be on the patient’s side of the desk. She recalls that while the care she received at the Breast Surgery Section was wonderful, certain elements of support fell short, even in this world-class institution, and even for a knowledgeable, proactive person like herself. “I wanted to know what else I could do to help recover from breast cancer besides follow the treatments that my doctor advised,” she says. “I knew there had to be things I could do in addition to what my doctors prescribed – things to help become stronger, healthier, or things to alleviate side effects of my treatments, for instance.” She also realized that for patients whose first language was not English, the challenges were even more pronounced. In a personal quest to meet these needs, Eileen independently completed trainings in holistic nutrition and lifestyle modifications, including eating to beat cancer. She also pursued training in patient navigation, with an eye toward helping others by bridging some of the gaps she faced as a patient.

The fruit of her quest has blossomed into the Women’s Wellness Series, a very unique program held at Columbia University’s Clinical Breast Cancer Program for women with (or survivors of) breast cancer. The first series, held October 2010-April 2011, included weekly meetings and monthly yoga classes. Free to all participants, the meetings included many sessions about holistic nutrition, explaining how foods could be used to help prevent cancer. Information was provided in both English and Spanish. “Our goal was to serve underserved women, such as those who could no longer work due to their illness.”

As a survivor herself, Eileen was able to not only share information, but compassion and inspiration. She was able to convey not just why certain foods are good for us, but show the women how they could cook them in their own homes, in ways that taste good. She explains that before attending the series, women from some cultural groups had never been exposed to mushrooms or cruciferous vegetables. So after Eileen presented data from scientific studies about why those foods are so important in fighting cancer, a professional chef demonstrated how to prepare them.

In addition a cooking demonstration, numerous special guests shared their expertise during the six-month series, including a yoga teacher, a chi kung practitioner, a Zumba teacher, members of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, a reiki practitioner, a massage therapist, and others. In order to keep the series free for participants, these professionals all provided their services at no charge to the group.

The concept behind the series clearly worked for the women, most of whom continue to stay in touch with Eileen about their progress. “I recently ran into one of the women from our group. She is a low-income person, on welfare, and she was buying kale from the farmer’s market,” says Eileen. “That was fantastic to see.” Indeed, post-series surveys indicate that most of the participants have continued to adhere to lifestyle changes they adopted as a result of the series, such as eating whole foods, including greens in their diets, and exercising – changes that not only have enhanced their well-being now, but could contribute to staying cancer-free in the long term.

The 2012 Women’s Wellness Series will begin in January. Anyone interested in attending the series should contact Kris Smith at 212.342.3911 or ks2666@columbia.edu.

Related Link:
Positive Reinforcement: Women’s Wellness Series for All New York Area Breast Cancer Patients

Tagged as: breast, cancer

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2011 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day

by Columbia Surgery on December 20, 2011

This year’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day was the largest and most successful yet, says event organizer Christine Rein. One hundred fifty participants attended the event, which was held Saturday, November 12, 2011 at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.

The program provided information about the pancreas and its function, genetics, risk stratification and screening, cancer-therapy breakthroughs, surgical options, cysts, pre-cancerous tumors and more.

Lecture topics included:

  • Surgical Options
  • Genetics & Prevention
  • Cysts & Pre-Cancerous Tumors
  • Current & Future Therapies
  • Epidemiology of Pancreatic Cancer: What We Know About Risk & Prevention
  • Question & Answer Session

Pancreas Center Director John A. Chabot, MD, gave a moving tribute to Peter Stevens, MD, an integral member of the Pancreas Center team who passed away this year. Bob Brown, a pancreatic cancer survivor, also gave an inspiring testimonial.

Although the event was scheduled to end at 3:00 pm, NYP/Columbia faculty stayed and answered attendees’ personal questions for several additional hours.

Learn more about the treatment of pancreatic cancer and diseases of the pancreas by viewing the 6th Annual Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day Presentations and by visiting pancreasmd.org.

Tagged as: cancer, Chabot, pancreas

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NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Surgeons Are First in NYC Area to Implant Total Artificial Heart

by Columbia Surgery on December 14, 2011

Yoshifumi Naka, MD, PhD

Yoshifumi Naka, MD, PhD

Total Artificial Heart Improves Patient Survival to Transplant While Reducing Some Risks of Transplant Surgery

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the first Total Artificial Heart implant in the New York City area to replace a patient’s dying heart.

“For patients who will die without a heart transplant, the Total Artificial Heart helps them survive until they can get one. By replacing the heart, we are eliminating the symptoms and the source of heart failure,” said lead surgeon Dr. Yoshifumi Naka, director of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia and associate professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Similar to a heart transplant, the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and all four heart valves. Once implanted, the Total Artificial Heart provides immediate blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute. This high volume of blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, including the brain, liver, kidneys, and GI tract, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.

During the surgery, Dr. Naka and his team remove the patient’s heart; sew “quick connects” into the atria, aorta and pulmonary artery; then attach the Total Artificial Heart. According to surgeons, the Total Artificial Heart makes the subsequent transplant less demanding because the patient’s heart has already been removed and the device is easily detached via the quick connects, thus reducing risk for surgical bleeding.

“The artificial heart does more than improve a patient’s chances of surviving to transplant. It reduces some of the risks of the transplant surgery itself. When we implant the device, we are already preparing for transplant,” says Dr. Naka.

For patients who have already had a heart transplant and are rejecting their donor heart, there is another advantage to using the Total Artificial Heart: Since their donor heart is removed, they can be taken off immunosuppressive drugs, reducing risk for infections and other side effects such as kidney failure.

Despite increased demand, there are only approximately 2,000 donor hearts available annually in the United States. It is estimated that each year, as many as 100,000 people in the U.S. alone could benefit from mechanical circulatory support devices.

The Total Artificial Heart, manufactured by SynCardia Systems Inc., was first introduced in the mid-1980s, and more than 950 patients have been implanted with the device since. A 10-year clinical study led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and published in the Aug. 2004 New England Journal of Medicine showed that 79 percent of patients receiving the Total Artificial Heart survived to transplant, representing the highest bridge-to-transplant rate for a heart device. Later that year, the device received FDA approval.

Artificial hearts represent the next stage in the evolution from left ventricular heart assist devices (LVADs), introduced in the 1990s, and biventricular assist devices (BiVADs), introduced in the 2000s.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia performs more than 1,600 open-heart procedures annually, including a nation-leading 84 heart transplants in 2010. U.S.News & World Report has ranked NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia in the top 10 for Cardiology & Heart Surgery among “America’s Best Hospitals” for eight years running. The Hospital has more than 30 years of experience in caring for cardiac transplant patients and developing new treatments that extend their lives.

Tagged as: cardiac, heartfailure, LVAD, mechanicalcirculatorysupport, Naka, transplant

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Good to Know: Growing Library of Podcasts Keeps Patients Well Informed

by Columbia Surgery on December 8, 2011

Are you or a loved one facing the prospect of surgery in the near future? Or just curious about a particular condition or procedure?

The Department of Surgery is pleased to offer a growing library of videos and podcasts to help you learn about all types of surgical procedures. Created by expert physicians and surgeons at NYP/Columbia, these easy-to-understand presentations provide direct information and answers from top physicians in their field. According to one patient, “These podcasts are great because they are an informal venue where doctors can speak freely and share their views.”

The most recent of over 50 podcasts include Diseases of the Gallbladder and their Management, by Melissa Bagloo, MD, and Aortic Root Surgery Procedure: Bioroot, by Allan Stewart, MD.

Open to the public, these presentations are available on the Department of Surgery (DOS) website, Facebook, and this blog.

Topics include all types of surgeries, including aortic surgery, breast surgery, cardiac, endocrine, esophageal, thoracic, pancreatic, liver, kidney, pediatric surgeries, and more.

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The Road to Recovery: Just Over a Year Later, ECMO Patient Completes Bike-A-Thon

by Columbia Surgery on November 28, 2011

Pamela Abma has come a long way since she spent several weeks hospitalized at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center last year, barely clinging to life. Just as June of 2010 began, she suddenly developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a result of an unusually violent reaction to a form of malaria that she had caught while performing missionary work in Uganda. Her reaction was so severe that she might not have survived were it not for the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation technology (ECMO) provided by Daniel Brodie, MD, Director of the Medical ECMO Program, and Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA, Director of the Adult ECMO Program. Thanks to ECMO, she made a miraculous recovery, and was out of the hospital in mid-July.

Pamela Abma at MS Bike-a-Thon

Pamela Abma at MS Bike-a-Thon

Her recovery was by no means complete when she left the hospital, however. She had lost twenty pounds while on ECMO, and was extremely weak; she could barely walk around. She desperately needed to put on the muscle mass she had lost. Choosing to forgo rehabilitation, she hired a personal trainer, and began her recovery by using weights in her swimming pool. Before long, she was spending the hot summer days swimming laps. Her strength gradually returned, and she was thrilled to be able to attend her son’s wedding in August.

As winter set in, Pamela’s daughter, Joy Abma, suggested that she make it a goal to participate in the following year’s Bike MS, a bike-a-thon put on by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Pamela’s niece had recently been diagnosed with MS, so the biking event seemed like an excellent way to support the fight against MS while also forcing Pamela to get in shape. She began to take spinning classes in preparation for the 50-mile ride, which she knew would be more strenuous, physically, than anything she had done in her life.

When winter was past and it warmed up again, Pamela took to the streets, biking regularly. That summer, Pamela and her family decided to commemorate the anniversary of her illness by reading aloud from a journal that Joy had kept throughout the time Pamela was on ECMO. Every day for those six weeks, Pamela would re-experience her illness through the eyes of her daughter, reading the passage written on that day the year before: “today, the doctors said you might not survive”; “today, you opened your eyes for the first time”; and so on. Until then, Pamela hadn’t been able to bring herself to read through Joy’s incredible journal in its entirety; finally doing so helped her understand exactly why her family calls her “the miracle girl.”

The next fall, the big day finally arrived: on October 3rd, 2011, Pamela joined her daughter and her sister-in-law in a ride that began at the Lincoln Tunnel and ended by the piers near the George Washington Bridge. She recalls pausing on the bridge itself, to reminisce: while she had been on ECMO, her hospital room had had a view of the George Washington bridge; she couldn’t see it herself from her position lying in the bed, but her guests remember it vividly. The cyclists decided to bike down to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center itself, where Joy took the picture seen here of Pamela in front of the giant banner. Needless to say, Pamela’s recovery has been an incredible success — and the family is already talking about participating in a three-day bike-a-thon next year, in order to raise money for the fight against malaria.

Related Link:
ECMO Saves Life of NJ Missionary with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Tagged as: acuterespiratorysyndrome, Bacchetta, ECMO

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Tim Sweeney’s Story

by Columbia Surgery on November 28, 2011

At age 31, cystic fibrosis patient Timothy Sweeney needed a double lung transplant. Less than one year later, he ran the New York City Marathon with his transplant surgeon, Joshua Sonett, MD.

Tagged as: cysticfibrosis, lung, Sonett, transplant

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