Current Releases
Kris Kaulback, M.D., Named Medical Director of Trauma Program at Paoli Hospital
(Published 10-27-2009) Paoli Hospital took another step toward opening Chester County’s first trauma center in seven years
with the appointment of Dr. Kris Robert Kaulback as the medical center’s trauma program medical director. Kaulback, while
joining Paoli, will also continue as the associate director of the Level I trauma unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
in Philadelphia. Jefferson is working with Paoli to develop Paoli’s trauma center.
Jefferson First Hospital in Pennsylvania to Offer New Device Allowing Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries to Breathe Without
a Ventilator
(Published 10-26-2009) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) in Philadelphia is the first hospital in Pennsylvania to
offer a FDA-approved device that helps individuals with certain types of spinal cord injuries breathe on their own again.
Michael Weinstein, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Jefferson, is among the first surgeons in the
United States to implant the NeuRx DPS™ in patients with spinal cord injuries who lack voluntary control of their diaphragms.
The device provides electrical stimulation to muscle and nerves in the diaphragm. When the muscle is stimulated, the diaphragm
contracts and creates a vacuum-like effect in the chest cavity that allows air to fill the upper and lower parts of the lungs.
When this contraction eases, the air is expelled from the lungs – essentially the same as regular breathing.
Gordon Schwartz, M.D., M.B.A., to Lead Jefferson Breast Care Center
(Published 10-8-2009) Gordon Schwartz, M.D., M.B.A., has been appointed director of the Jefferson Breast Care Center at the
Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC), and will also return to the full-time faculty as a professor in Jefferson’s Department of Surgery.
With more than 40 years of clinical and educational experience, Dr. Schwartz is an internationally renowned expert in breast
diseases.
Jefferson and Delaware Research Team to Create Three-Dimensional Touch-and-Feel Genetic Images of Cancer
(Published 9-24-2009) A team of researchers from Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Delaware have received
a grant from the Department of Defense to create a three-dimensional patient imaging system that will allow surgeons to view
and touch selected organs and tissues prior to surgery.
Warren R. Maley, MD, Joins the Department of Surgery at Jefferson
(Published 9-16-2009) Warren R. Maley, M.D., recently joined the Department of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
(TJUH), and will serve as the director of the Live Donor Liver Transplant Program. He has also been named an associate professor
of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Maley has performed extensive research in the
fields of Liver Transplantation and Surgical Therapy to improve patient safety and care.
Heartburn Help: Jefferson First in Philadelphia to Offer New, Incisionless Surgical Treatment for Acid Reflux Disease
(Published 9-15-2009) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the first hospital in Philadelphia, and the Delaware Valley,
offering endoluminal fundoplication (ELF) – an incisionless surgical treatment option to provide long-term elimination of
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases affecting hundreds of thousands of
people, in which the esophagus becomes inflamed by digestive acid backing up from the stomach, resulting in heartburn.
Jefferson Names Endowed Professorship in Transplant Surgery
(Published 8-4-2009) Cataldo Doria, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., Director, Division of Transplant Surgery, in the Department of
Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, has been named the Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplant Surgery. This
endowed professorship is a generous gift of Robert and Beatrice Nicoletti and their family. The family cited the care they
received at Jefferson when Robert received a new kidney donated by his own daughter, as the reason for their donation.
Cigarette Smoking Appears to Increase Potential for Metastasis of Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 7-27-2009) Smoking has once again been implicated in the development of advanced cancer. Exposure to nicotine by
way of cigarette smoking may increase the likelihood that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma will become metastatic, according
to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Their study was published in the August edition of the journal
Surgery.
Philadelphia Cancer Patients to Benefit from Expansion of the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program
(Published 6-16-2009) The American Cancer Society today launched its Patient Navigator Program at the Kimmel Cancer Center
at Jefferson in Philadelphia, thanks to support received from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP . This is the first site to launch
in Pennsylvania as part of a strategic nationwide effort to significantly extend the reach of this innovative program and
assist individual cancer patients in negotiating the health care system.
Jefferson Researchers Identify Critical Marker of Response to Gemcitabine in Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 6-1-2009) A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating
pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.
Type of Connection Procedure after Pancreatic Surgery Influenced Rate of Pancreatic Fistula
(Published 5-1-2009) After surgery to remove the head of the pancreas, invagination of the pancreas into the small intestine
resulted in a lower rate of pancreatic fistula, according to researchers at the Jefferson Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancer
Center. The research was published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. It was performed as a randomized trial
– the gold standard for studies.
MST An Herbal Extract Inhibits the Development of Pancreatic Cancer(Published 4-22-2009) An herb recently found to kill pancreatic cancer cells also appears to inhibit development of pancreatic
cancer as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.
The data were presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. (Abstract #494)
Jefferson First Hospital in the City to Offer Robotic Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy
(Published 4-6-2009) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the first in the city to offer robotic esophageal mobilization
surgery, using the da Vinci® Robotic System. This procedure is ideal for esophageal cancer patients who require surgery to
remove all or part of their esophagus. It is a viable alternative to more invasive ‘open’ surgery and will allow the patient
to recover faster and leave the hospital sooner. It improves on conventional minimally invasive techniques by decreasing the
number of incisions required to perform the procedure.
