News Roundup

Lauren Hooker
March 02, 2023
News Roundup

Carolyn Reed, M.D.: Remembering an Icon During Women History Month

Carolyn Reed Md

On March 4 1950, Dr. Carolyn Reed was born. She was the 48th President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, was an accomplished surgeon, an outstanding educator, a dedicated investigator, a role model, and a national leader in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Reed joined the Medical University of South Carolina as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1985. She was the first woman faculty member in the MUSC Department of Surgery. Dr. Reed rose to be a nationally and internationally recognized thoracic surgeon and oncologist with expertise in lung and esophageal cancer. As an outspoken advocate for women in surgery, specifically in the specialty of thoracic surgery, Dr. Reed served as a mentor and advisor for numerous medical students, residents, and women faculty at MUSC and across the nation. Dr. Reed died from pancreatic cancer on November 16, 2012.  Read more about the life and legacy of Dr. Reed.

Thomas Curran, M.D. MPH Awarded a Prestigious NCI Early-stage Surgeon Scientist Program Grant

Dr Curran

Thomas Curran, M.D., colorectal surgeon at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is one of only 12 physicians across the nation to have been selected to participate in the National Cancer Institute’s Early-stage Surgeon Scientist Program (ESSP). Dr. Curran was chosen for the three-year program, which ensures that surgeons have protected time so they can conduct research. He’ll investigate why too few patients go home with anticoagulants, commonly called blood thinners, to prevent blood clots after gastrointestinal, gynecologic or urologic cancer surgery.

“Dr. Curran is an exemplary surgeon who is focused not only on improving care for the patient in front of him but for all patients by investigating underlying causes of lack of guideline adherence and disparities in cancer outcomes,” Hollings director Ray DuBois, M.D., Ph.D. said. “His study has the potential to uncover new information that will influence care across South Carolina and the U.S.”The NCI Early-Stage Surgeon Scientist Program builds a class of early-career surgeons who will train together over the course of the program while each conducting their own research, with the expectation that they will continue to conduct cancer research throughout their careers. Read the full story

Improving Surgery Outcomes for People With Diabetes

Dr Lockett

People with diabetes are more likely to need surgery. Their underlying conditions, which often are undetected, can negatively impact surgical outcomes and recovery. Patients with insulin dependent diabetes have twice the morbidity risk of non-diabetics. In 2021, The South Carolina Surgical Quality Collaborative (SCSQC) partnered with Diabetes Free South Carolina through a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina Foundation to develop a prehabilitation program for patients with diabetes who need surgery.

The program is designed to help patients maximize their health going into surgery and give them tools to improve their surgical outcomes and health habits for recovery. Patient outcomes are tracked through SCSQCs data registry to determine the impact of prehabilitation. Mark Lockett, M.D. serves as the surgical lead for the SCSQC and the Principal Investigator for the grant. In this role, he helps guide quality improvement efforts at multiple hospitals across South Carolina.

“Patients are more amenable to learning new skills and changing life habits around the time of surgery,” said Dr. Lockett. “Our effort is designed to give them the tools and knowledge they need to prepare physically and mentally for surgery. The skills and knowledge learned during this process will also help them maintain better health long after surgical recovery.” The grant supports four hospitals in SC including MUSC Charleston.

Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Outside the OR Shortens Procedure and Recovery Times

piano player

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful, tingling, numbing, and burning nuisance that many sufferers have learned to ignore. M. Lance Tavana, M.D. has been performing endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgery since he started his career at MUSC in 2012. He’s completed over two thousand cases so far, but until recently, like most of his colleagues nationwide, he performed them in the OR. Beginning early last year, though, he pulled the procedure out of the OR and into an outpatient procedure room by using commercially available endoscopic release kits in combination with a nerve block for pain control. With this shift, his patients can drive themselves to the facility on the day of the procedure, be in and out in less than an hour, and then continue with their day. Recovery and symptom relief are quick, and many patients head back to work within a few days. Read the full story

DEI Team Paves the Way for a More Inclusive Workforce; Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Unveils Interactive Display Wall

DEI Ribbon Cutting

An integral part of the MUSC Department of Surgery’s vision is to have a diverse workforce with systems and procedures that allow all employees to be included and have their voices heard. To achieve this goal, Dr. Sharee Wright, Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery, has an overarching vision to unify the whole department, so all faculty, staff, and trainees feel included. On Friday, February 10, after months of planning, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the launch of the MUSC Department of Surgery Diversity and Inclusion Wall in the CSB 4th-floor elevator lobby. This display is the first of several installations across campus.

“We are creating a space that is inclusive and welcoming to everybody,” says Dr. Wright. “This wall represents our recognition that our department is inclusive of people with different beliefs, lives, and backgrounds and that we are all intertwined to make us the amazing department that we are – ultimately serving each other, our patients, and our community.” Read more

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Honors Living Donors with a Dedicated Walkway

Living Donor Walkway

More than forty living donors and their recipients joined the MUSC Health Living Donor Program for a ribbon-cutting celebration of the Living Donor Walkway on the Charleston Medical District Greenway. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Transplant Surgeon and Chair of the Department of Surgery Prabhakar Baliga, M.D. thanked the living donors for their selfless act of giving the gift of life. “You are the true heroes,” he said. “Without you, none of this could happen.”

Living Donor Program Director Tracy Rice, M.D. agreed. “We are so grateful for your generosity of giving the greatest gift – the gift of life. ”This event was the brainchild of Lilian Jarvinen, Living Donor Program Facilitator, who said that living donors who have reached their two-year mark post op are given the opportunity to have a brick engraved on the Greenway. Those donors who completed the paperwork and agreed to have their names engraved were invited, with the plan to have these celebrations annually. “It’s a great opportunity to recognize and memorialize these generous individuals who chose to give so much to save a life through living donation. ”The Living Donor Walkway is made possible through the generous support of philanthropic donors to the Living Donor Institute. 

Alumni Spotlight: Crystal Johnson-Mann, M.D. MPH, Surgical Alumna, Class of 2017

Crystal Johnson Mann MD

Crystal Johnson-Mann, M.D., MPH, is a gifted bariatric and minimally invasive surgeon and passionate health disparities advocate. She is an Assistant Professor of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery and the Assistant Chair of Inclusion and Wellness for the University of Florida Department of Surgery. She also serves as the fourth-year clerkship director for medical students rotating in surgery.

“During my time as a resident, I fell in love with foregut and bariatric surgery,” said Dr. Johnson-Mann. “Not only did I have the opportunity to learn excellent technique from world-class surgeons, but I was also supported, challenged, and encouraged by these surgeons. By the time I started my fellowship, I was exceedingly well-trained and had the opportunity to further refine my skills, particularly on complex cases, through an advanced fellowship at the University of Virginia.” Read more about Crystal Johnson-Mann, M.D. MPH

News and Announcements

  • Sharee Wright, M.D. honored with the Diversity Award for the College of Medicine during the annual Black History Awards program, sponsored by MUSC’s six colleges and the Office of Student Engagement to honor Excellence in Diversity Award recipients from each of our six colleges.
  • Deepak Ozhathil, M.D. received the 2023 Wound Healing Foundation - URGO Foundation Burn Infection Research Grant honoring Martin C. Robson, a leader in burn research. The project is a comparison of Next Generation Sequencing technology and traditional wound culture techniques to identify the microbial species that are present within the burn wound. These microbial populations make up the burn wound microbiome. How the makeup of the microbiome changes over time and in response to treatment interventions will provide valuable data about the factors that contribute to burn wound infection and tissue devitalization.
  • Denise Carneiro-Pla, M.D. named the "Meet the Expert" Session Moderator for the Transcutaneous Vocal Cord Ultrasound to Assess Vocal Cord Function session at the ACS Clinical Congress 2023.
  • Kristen Quinn, M.D. PGY-3 received the MSUC Office of Innovation & Zucker Institute for Innovation Commercialization IDEA Technology Grant for her project The SAVER: a non-invasive vascular occlusion device. The award is in the amount of $25,000.
  • Heather Holman, MTSP awarded a Research Recognition Travel Award to the American Physiology Society 2023 Physiology Summit. Her abstract is entitled “Effects of PTSD-Dependent Neurogenic Hypertension and Inflammation on Thoracic Aortic Wall Homeostasis.” Heather is a graduate assistant in Dr. Jeffrey Jones lab and is pursuing her M.D. Ph.D. The Research Recognition Award recognizes outstanding research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who present a first-author abstract at the American Physiology Summit.