Summer 2019

In our Summer issue of SurgeOn, our cover story provides a glimpse into a day in the life of a trauma surgeon through the eyes of reporter Bryce Donovan, who accompanied Heather Evans, M.D., MS, professor of Acute Care Surgery, during a busy night in the ER.  

Also in this issue, we highlight the many ways our clinicians are improving patient care through innovation and technology. Whether it’s participating in a clinical trial to improve the lives of patients with complex aortic aneurysms or changing what’s possible for some of our tiniest patients in need of new hearts,  our surgeons are on the leading edge, providing the best possible patient care to our most needed populations. 

As we continue to strengthen and align our surgical leadership, Steve Kahn, M.D. joins us as the new Director of the Burn Program and Chief of Burn Surgery. As the newly appointed Burn Director, Kahn is charged with establishing the MUSC Burn Center that will provide comprehensive care for adults and children in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, with the vision of establishing an American Burn Association (ABA) certified burn center.

On the research forefront, this fiscal year research funding reached $12 M including $1.98M NIH RO1 funding to expand immunotherapy research for lung cancer, $1.87M NIH RO1 funding to investigate novel strategies for transplantation. Additional funding came in the way of philanthropic gifts, including a $1.5M gift from the Allen Family to advance transplant research.

The Residency program has established a complement increase in General Surgery and is applying for complement increases in Vascular and Cardiac Surgery. The undergraduate program has room to improve with new leadership, with Cindy Talley recruited as our new vice chair of Education.