Highlights of the 2014 Clinical Congress

The 2014 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in San Francisco, CA, provided surgeons, medical students, surgical residents, and other members of the operating room team with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a variety of educational experiences and to interact with their peers. Total registration for this year’s meeting was 13,960, including 9,354 physicians; the remaining attendees were exhibitors, guests, spouses, and convention personnel.

Convocation

Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), surgeon-in-chief emeritus, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the W. Gerald Austen Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, was installed as the 95th President of the ACS at the 2014 Convocation ceremonies October 26. Dr. Warshaw presented his Presidential Address, Achieving Our Personal Best—Back to the Future of the American College of Surgeons, to the College’s 1,640 Initiates and other attendees.

Two Vice-Presidents assumed office at the Convocation, as well: Jay L. Grosfeld, MD, FACS, FRCSEng(Hon), FRCSI(Hon), FRCSGlasg(Hon), as First Vice-President; and Kenneth L. Mattox, MD, FACS, as Second Vice-President. Dr. Grosfeld is Lafayette F. Page professor emeritus of pediatric surgery, and past-chairman, department of surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. Dr. Mattox is distinguished service professor, Michael E. DeBakey department of surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, and chief of staff and chief of surgery, Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston, TX.

In addition, Honorary Fellowship was conferred on six international surgeons: Pierre-Alain Clavien, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSEng, FRCSEd, Zurich, Switzerland; Alberto Raul Ferreres, MD, PhD, MPH, FACS, Buenos Aires, Argentina; O. James Garden, BSc, MB, BCh, CBE, MD, FRCSEd, FRCPEd, FRSE, Edinburgh, Scotland; Antoon (Toni) Lerut, MD, FACS, FACCP, FRCSEng(Hon), FRCSI(Hon), AFC(Hon), ASA(Hon), Leuven, Belgium; Chung-Mau Lo, MB, BS, FACS, Hong Kong SAR, China; and Edgar Rodas, MD, FACS, Cuenca, Ecuador.

Named Lectures

Clinical Congress featured several Named Lectures, starting with the Martin Memorial Lecture, presented immediately after the Opening Ceremony on October 27. W. Marston Linehan, MD, chief, urologic surgery and urologic oncology branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, delivered the well-received lecture, Targeting the Genetic and Metabolic Basis of Cancer.

Other Named Lectures presented at the 2014 Clinical Congress were as follows:

• Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, vice-chair for clinical research, department of surgery, and Miner Family Chair in Intrathoracic Cancers, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and professor of surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, presented the John H. Gibbon, Jr., Lecture: Evolution in Lung Cancer Care: From Scalpels to Molecules.
• Dr. Mattox presented the Charles G. Drake History of Surgery Lecture: Symbiotics and Serendipity in Aortic Trauma Management.
• Piero Anversa, MF, FAHA, CCNS, professor, anesthesia and medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director, Center for Regenerative Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, presented the I. S. Ravdin Lecture in the Basic and Surgical Sciences: The Human Lung: A Self-Renewing Organ.
• David A. Rothenberger, MD, FACS, Jay Phillips Professor and Chair, department of surgery, and founder and co-director, emerging physician leaders program, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, presented the Herand Abcarian Lecture: Surviving and Thriving As a Surgeon: What’s in Your Bag?
• Norman M. Rich, MD, FACS, DMCC, COL, MC, USA (Ret.), founding chair and namesake of the Norman M. Rich Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, presented the Excelsior Surgical Society/Edward D. Churchill Lecture: Military Surgeons and Surgeons in the Military.
• C. William Schwab, MD, FACS, FRCS, professor of surgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and trauma surgeon, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, presented the Scudder Oration on Trauma: The Winds of War.
• Barbara L. Bass, MD, FACS, John F. and Carolyn Bookout Distinguished Endowed Chair of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, TX; director, Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education, Houston; and professor of surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, presented the Olga M. Jonasson Lecture: Our Lives As Surgeons: Finding a Sense of Place and Purpose.
• Meena N. Cherian, MD, lead, emergency and essential surgical care program, service delivery and safety department, Health Innovation Systems, World Health Organization, presented the Distinguished Lecture of the International Society of Surgery: Surgical Care in the Global Health Agenda.
• Steven Z. Pantilat, MD, FAAHPM, MHM, professor of clinical medicine, Alan M. Kates and John M. Burnard Endowed Chair in Palliative Care, director of the palliative care program and Palliative Care Leadership Center, and director of the Palliative Care Quality Network, University of California, San Francisco, presented the Ethics and Philosophy Lecture: Doctors Do Everything: Life and Death in the ICU.
• Carolyn C. Compton, MD, PhD, FCAP, chief medical officer of the National Biomarkers Development Alliance, member of the Biodesign Institute; chief medical officer of the Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative, and professor, life sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix; and professor, laboratory medicine and pathology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, presented the Commission on Cancer Oncology Lecture: Challenge, Convergence, Complexity, and Change in Cancer Care: Are We Ready?

Notable events

The ACS and the Department of Defense, Military Health System (MHS), signed an agreement at Clinical Congress. The partnership is meant to benefit both parties in the areas of education, systems-based practices, and research. (See Dr. Hoyt’s Looking forward column.)

In light of the events preceding the start of Clinical Congress, a session on the Ebola virus was presented. Ebola: Pragmatic Information for Surgeons covered the pathogenesis, testing, treatment, transmission, and protective measures for the virus. The session featured Michele Barry, MD, FACP, professor of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine, CA; David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, ACS Executive Director; Sherry M. Wren, MD, FACS, professor of surgery at Stanford School of Medicine, CA; and Gillian Lee Seton, MD, a general surgeon who provides care to patients in Monrovia, Liberia, and assistant professor of surgery at Loma Linda University, CA.

Holding its inaugural session at this year’s Clinical Congress was the ACS Surgical History Group (ACSSHG). The Panel Session, moderated by LaMar S. McGinnis, Jr., MD, FACS, Chair of the ACSSHG’s Executive Committee, was titled Factors Shaping Surgery during the 20th Century. The purpose of the ACSSHG is chiefly to promote and enhance the appreciation of American surgical history.

Awards and honors

Several surgeons were honored for their contributions to the ACS. Thomas R. Russell, MD, FACS, former Executive Director of the ACS, was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Convocation. The award is presented periodically “to an extraordinary individual for a lifetime of contributions to the art of medicine and surgery, and service to the ACS,” said Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), Immediate Past-President of the ACS. Dr. Russell’s wife, Nona, and his two daughters, Katie and Jackie, accepted the award.

J. Wayne Meredith, MD, FACS, the Richard T. Myers Professor and Chair, department of surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine; surgeon-in-chief, Wake Forest Baptist Health; and medical director, Childress Institute of Pediatric Trauma, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, received the ACS Distinguished Service Award, the College’s highest honor, at the Convocation. The Board of Regents presented the award to Dr. Meredith in appreciation of “his continuous and devoted service” to the organization, as well as “his distinctive scientific contributions in cardiovascular physiology during resuscitation, trauma registries, and trauma systems.”

The Fellows Leadership Society (FLS) of the ACS Foundation presented the 2014 Distinguished Philanthropist Award to Patricia R. and W. Gerald Austen, MD, FACS. The award was announced during the 26th annual FLS Benefactor Recognition Luncheon in recognition of Mrs. and Dr. Austen’s philanthropic contributions and service to the international and surgical communities.

Glen H. Tinkoff, MD, FACS, associate vice-chair, surgery for emergency surgical services, Christiana Hospital, Newark, DE, received the National Safety Council 2014 Surgeons’ Award for Service to Safety at the annual ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) Dinner. The award citation recognized Dr. Tinkoff’s “commitment to the advancement of care of injured patients in Texas through leadership in the organization of a regional trauma care system and outstanding trauma research.”

Harry S. Brown, MD, FACS, an ophthalmologist from Santa Barbara, CA, received the 2014 ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award for starting an international health care organization dedicated to restoring sight and preventing blindness in disadvantaged individuals. Additionally, three surgeons received the ACS/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism Awards. Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, FACS, a general surgeon from Boston, MA, received the Surgical Volunteerism Award for developing long-term interventions aimed at reducing the global burden of surgical disease, participating in numerous disaster relief efforts, and compiling medical supplies for communities of low- and middle-income countries. Robert D. Bach, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from North Haven, ME, received the Surgical Volunteerism Award for his decades of medical service to the impoverished and isolated population of northeastern Nicaragua. Scott A. Leckman, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Salt Lake City, UT, received the Surgical Volunteerism Award for his efforts to provide free health care to low-income, uninsured patients in Salt Lake County.

The 2014 Owen Wangensteen Surgical Forum on Fundamental Surgical Problems was dedicated to Michael G. Sarr, MD, FACS, chair, division of general and gastroenterologic surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, in recognition of his exemplary leadership and mentorship of surgical residents.

Practicing surgeons, residents, and medical students were recognized for their contributions to advancing the art and science of surgery. Residents honored with the Surgical Forum Excellence in Research Awards included: Christa Grant, MD; Christopher Holley, MD; Bardiya Zangbar, MD; Johanna Riesel, MD; Mohamad Bydon, MD; Peter Adams, MD; Zeshan Maan, MB, BS, MS, MRCS; Elliott Wakeam, MD; Hyeyoun (Elise) Min; Jeniann Yi, MD; George Liao, MD; Ryan Spurrier, MD; Jeffrey Bassett, MD; and Jeffrey Carson, MD.

Carrie A. Sims, MD, MS, FACS, assistant professor of surgery, division of trauma, surgical critical care, and acute care surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, received the 10th Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson II Promising Investigator Award. The award honors outstanding surgeons engaging in research, advancing the art and science of surgery, and demonstrating early promise of significant contributions to the practice of surgery.

The 12th annual ACS Resident Award for Exemplary Teaching was presented to Luise Ingeborg Maria Pernar, MD, a fifth-year resident in general surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.  The award is sponsored by the Division of Education to recognize excellence in teaching by a resident and to highlight the importance of teaching in residents’ daily lives. Dr. Pernar was selected by an independent review panel of the Committee on Resident Education.

The second annual Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, Award for Professionalism in General Surgery was presented to Katie White Russell, MD, a chief resident in general surgery at the University of Utah and Affiliated Hospitals in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award recognizes a chief resident in general surgery who exemplifies the values of compassion, technical skill, and devotion to science and learning. The ACS established the award with gifts from the family, colleague, and friends of the late Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, who was a skilled surgeon, teacher, and scholar in New York, NY. The award is administered by the ACS Division of Education. Dr. Russell was selected by an independent review panel of the Committee on Resident Education.

Craig S. Derkay, MD, FACS, Vice-Chair of the ACS Program Committee, and Audra A. Duncan, MD, FACS, ACS Program Committee member, awarded the Best Scientific Poster of Exceptional Merit award to Manu S. Sancheti, MD, for Risk Factors for 30-Day Mortality after Pulmonary Resection for Lung Cancer from the National Cancer Data Base: An Analysis of More than 200,000 Patients. The coauthors of this poster included the following: Theresa Gillespie, PhD; Dana Nickleach, MA; Yuan Liu; Kristin Higgins, MD; Suresh Ramalingam, MD; Joseph Lipscomb, PhD; and Felix G. Fernandez, MD, FACS, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Furthermore, the following medical students were honored for their Basic Science Research posters:

• First place: Debi Thomas, University of Southern California, Los Angeles: Identifying Strains of Opportunistic Pathogens in Necrotizing Enterocolitis
• Second place: Steven Koprowski, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Curcumin-Mediated Notch 1 Signaling: A Potential Molecular Target in Cholangiocarcinoma
• Third place: Danny Mou, Emory University: Virus Induced CD28 Down-Regulation As a Driver of Costimulation Resistant Allograft Rejection

The following medical students were recognized for their Clinical and Educational Research posters:

• First place: Michelle Chua, Harvard University: Stratification of Recanalization for Patients with Endovascular Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms
• Second place: Melina Deban, McGill University, Montreal, QC: McGill Simulation Complexity Score: Development of an Objective Complexity Scoring System for Virtual and Mannequin-based Simulations in Trauma
• Third place: Cynthia Miller, Massachusetts General Hospital: Immediate Implant Reconstruction Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Lymphedema Compared to Mastectomy Alone: A Prospective Cohort Study

The International Relations Committee welcomed the International Guest Scholars for 2014 and other guests at a luncheon on October 28, including: Yoshifumi Baba, MD, PhD, Japan Exchange Fellow; Vivek Bindal, MB, BS, Baxiram S. and Kankuben B. Gelot Community Surgeons Travel Awardee; Fernando Bonilla, MD; Saud Majid Chaudhery, MB, BS, Dr. Pon Satitpunwaycha Community Surgeons Travel Awardee I; Roland S. Croner, MD, FACS, Murray F. Brennan Scholar; Eyo Effiong Ekpe, MB, BS; Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, FACS, 2014 Traveling Fellow to Germany; Luke Harper, MD; Alexander G. Heriot, MB, BChir, FRCSEd, FRCSEng, FRACS, ANZ Exchange Fellow; Huang-Kai Kao, MD, Louis C. Argenta Scholar; Subodh Kumar, MB, BS, FACS, Dr. Abdol and Mrs. Joan Islami Scholar II; Nadja Lehwald, MD, PhD, Germany Exchange Fellow; Jiang-Tao Li, MD, Carlos Pellegrini Traveling Fellow; Haidar Mohammad Muhssein, MB, BCh, FACS, Dr. Pon Satitpunwaycha Community Surgeons Travel Awardee II; John T. Mullen, MD, FACS, 2014 ACS Traveling Fellow to Germany; Ayodeji O. Oladele, MB, BCh, FWACS, Dr. Pon Satitpunwaycha Community Surgeons Travel Awardee III; Puthen Veetil Pradeep, MB, BS, FACS, Dr. Pon Satitpunwaycha Community Surgeons Travel Awardee IV; Eliza M. Raymundo, MD; Keishi Sugimachi, MD, Elias Hanna Scholar; Stephen Tabiri, MD; Mellika Tewari, MB, BS, MS; Dezso Tóth, MD, PhD; Ioannis K. Toumpoulis, MD, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Scholar; Sterman Toussaint, MD, International Surgical Education Scholar; Benjamin W. Turney, MB, BChir, PhD, Dr. Abdol Islami and Mrs. Joan Mae Islami Scholar I; Carl Wahlgren, MD, PhD; and Wei Zhou, MD, PhD, FACS, 2014 Traveling Fellow to ANZ.

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) presented the State Chair Outstanding Performance Award to the following surgeons: Ned Zachary Carp, MD, FACS, Pennsylvania; Hisakazu Hoshi, MD, FACS, Iowa; and Valeriy Moysaenko, MD, FACS, Ohio.

John M. McBee, MD, FACS, a general surgeon in Pendleton, OR, attended Clinical Congress as the recipient of the 2014 Nizar N. Oweida, MD, FACS, Scholarship (see Dr. McBee’s report). Additionally, Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MPH, FACS, director of the Breast Center-Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale University, New Haven, CT, and recipient of the 2013 Claude H. Organ, MD, FACS, Traveling Fellowship, spoke before the ACS Scholarships Committee.

Lastly, the winners of the 2014 Resident and Associate Society (RAS) of the ACS essay contest spoke at the RAS Symposium. The theme of the essay contest was the Five-Year General Surgery Residency Program: Reform or Revolution? Jahan Mohebali, MD, third-year resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, was the first-place winner for the “reform” side. Edna Shenvi, MD, who has completed two years of residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, was the first-place winner for the “revolution” side.

Annual Business Meeting

The ACS Annual Business Meeting of Members convened on October 29 with Dr. Warshaw presiding and the following officials presenting reports: Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, Chair of the Board of Regents; Robert R. Bahnson, MD, FACS, Chair of the ACS Professional Association political action committee (ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC) Board of Directors; Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, Chair of the Board of Governors; and Dr. Hoyt.

The election of the ACS President-Elect, Vice-Presidents-Elect, Regents, and Governors also took place at the Annual Business Meeting.

J. David Richardson, MD, FACS, professor of surgery and vice-chairman, department of surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY, was elected President-Elect. Ronald V. Maier, MD, FACS, Jane and Donald D. Trunkey Endowed Chair in Trauma Surgery, and professor and vice-chairman of surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, was elected First Vice-President-Elect; Walter J. Pories, MD, FACS, founding chair, department of surgery; professor of surgery, biochemistry and kinesiology; and director, bariatric surgery research group, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, was elected Second Vice-President-Elect.

The Board of Governors of the ACS reelected six members of the Board of Regents to additional three-year terms: James K. Elsey, MD, FACS, a general and vascular surgeon, Atlanta, GA; Gerald M. Fried, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FCAHS, a general surgeon, Montreal, QC; B. J. Hancock, MD, FACS, FRCSC, a pediatric surgeon, Winnipeg, MB; Lenworth M. Jacobs, Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, a general surgeon, Hartford, CT; Mark A. Malangoni, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, Philadelphia, PA; and Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, a cardiothoracic surgeon, New York, NY.

The Board of Governors elected Fabrizio Michelassi, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, to serve as Chair of its Executive Committee; Karen J. Brasel, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, Portland, OR, as Vice-Chair; and James C. Denneny III, MD, FACS, otolaryngologist, Alexandria, VA, as Secretary. Newly elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors are Kevin Behrns, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, Gainesville, FL; Diana Farmer, MD, FACS, a pediatric surgeon, Davis, CA; and Steven C. Stain, MD, FACS, a general surgeon, Albany, NY. Governors-at-Large from throughout the world and Specialty Society Governors also were installed.

Clinical Congress 2015

Be sure to attend the 2015 Clinical Congress, October 4–8, in Chicago, IL. Details regarding the educational program, registration, housing, and transportation will be posted at www.facs.org.

For more information

This article contains information that is discussed in greater depth in previous issues of the Bulletin. The following is a list of where these articles can be found.

September 2014

• Fellows honored for volunteerism

October 2014

• J. Wayne Meredith, MD, FACS, chosen as 2014 Distinguished Service Award recipient

November 2014

• Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, FACS, FRSCEd(Hon), installed as 95th President of the ACS
• Six outstanding surgeons conferred Honorary Fellowship in the ACS

December 2014

• Presidential Address: Achieving our personal best—Back to the future of the American College of Surgeons
• J. David Richardson, MD, FACS, next President-Elect of the ACS
• Regents reelected and new Board of Governors Executive Committee installed
• ACS presents Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously to Dr. Russell

The photos accompanying this article were taken by Charles Giorno Photography, Stewart Bloom Photography, and Oscar and Associates.