October News Roundup

Welcome!

Trauma Surgeon Mike M. Mallah, M.D. joined the MUSC Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor, effective October 1. Dr. Mallah is double board-certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care and cares for patients who have suffered from traumatic injuries or are in need of emergency general surgery and intensive care. His passion for his practice and his patients is rooted in a traumatic medical experience he and his family experienced during his childhood. 

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MUSC first in Southeast to perform complex aortic arch surgery with new innovative device

Following the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the Thoraflex Hybrid frozen elephant trunk device for the treatment of patients with complex aortic arch disease, MUSC Health announced it was the first medical center in the Southeast to implant the commercially available device. Thoraflex Hybrid is used for the open surgical repair or replacement of damaged or diseased vessels of the aortic arch and repair of the descending thoracic aorta with or without involvement of the ascending aorta, in cases of aneurysm and/or dissection.

The implant was performed by Sanford Zeigler, M.D., assistant professor Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at MUSC and medical director of the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) at MUSC Health. “Patients with complex aortic arch disease would typically need two complex open operations,” said Dr. Zeigler.

“Now, with Thoraflex Hybrid, we can treat patients who may be at great risk of rupture with a device that brings the primary benefit of requiring a single-stage procedure, minimizing the time during which the body has no blood flow during the operation and minimizing blood loss, overall improving patient outcomes.”

Read more about this innovative surgery

News and Announcements 

• Nancy Klauber-DeMore, M.D. was highlighted in Nature for her research on developing a new monoclonal antibody to secreted-frizzled-related protein 2, finding it was effective at inhibiting triple negative breast cancer in mice. She co-founded Innova Therapeutics to manufacture the antibody and take it into clinical studies.
• In response to the public health crisis of firearm violence, Ashley Hink, M.D., MPH and colleagues from 47 multidisciplinary medical societies and health organizations from across the country participated in a Medical Summit on Firearm Injury Prevention at ACS headquarters in Chicago. 

• Kris Banks-Smalls, MBA, MHA has been accepted into the David J. and Kathryn Cole BRIHTE Leadership Academy, Class of 2024.

  Members of this exceptionally talented cohort will participate in an exciting and rigorous two-year leadership development program, designed to identify and prepare high potential, diverse talent among ouKeith Smalls, TTVIP Client Advocate, was recognized by the South Carolina Hospitals Association as a Healthcare Hero. As a member of the MUSC Health Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program, Keith goes above and beyond to support patients and families that experience community gun violence .

• David Mann, DO PGY- Research won second place for his presentation "Bridging the gap: How to get osteopathic residents into fellowships" at the General Surgery Resident Paper Competition during the 2022 Annual Clinical Assembly of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.

• Denise Garcia, M.D. PGY-4 and Nancy Klauber-DeMore, M.D. paper "Overcoming PD-1 Inhibitor Resistance with a Monoclonal Antibody to Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 2 in Metastatic Osteosarcoma" was a Top 10 Cited Paper in 2021 in the Section “Pediatric Oncology” of Cancers.