June 19th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in Research
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Science Translational Medicine
The April 27, 2011 issue of Science Translational Medicine included a study titled “Differential Metabolic Impact of Gastric Bypass Surgery Versus Dietary Intervention in Obese Diabetic Subjects Despite Identical Weight Loss.”
Melissa Bagloo, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery, NYP/Columbia, explains the context and importance of this study.
Q: What did this study find?
Dr. Bagloo: For years, surgeons have observed that gastric bypass surgery cures diabetes in over 80% of patients with diabetes. This improvement in blood sugar levels happens almost immediately after surgery, and far before any significant weight loss occurs. What’s more, studies have found that when patients lose the same amount of weight through diet as other patients lose after surgery, those who had surgery experience significantly better improvement in their diabetes than those who lost weight non-surgically. So we know surgery dramatically improves or resolves diabetes, but we do not know why this happens.
This recent study in Science Translational Medicine found an important clue as to why this effect may occur. The researchers found that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
June 12th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in Expert Interviews
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Francine Johanna Castillo, MS
Administrative Director, The Pancreas Center
Administrator, Division of GI/Endocrine Surgery
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
Patients usually seek treatment at centers such as NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia because of the expert care they know they will receive from the hospital’s physicians and surgeons. Patients may be less aware that a vast network of dedicated, highly trained staff is quietly working behind the scenes, tending to every detail of their office visits, testing, procedures, and follow-up care. The contributions of such personnel in ensuring the quality of patients’ and families’ experiences at the hospital can not be overstated.
In this brief interview, we highlight one such person: Francine Castillo, MS, Administrative Director of the Pancreas Center. As John A. Chabot, MD, Executive Director of the Pancreas Center explains, Francine is “the heart and soul” of the Pancreas Center. She bears central responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of the center run well: financial operations, patient care, community outreach, and fund-raising events. In addition, she is the administrator of the Division of Endocrine Surgery/NY Thyroid Center. Francine’s commitment to providing patients and staff with the best services possible has earned her tremendous respect among both patients and colleagues, who rely heavily on her administrative expertise.
What are your responsibilities at the Pancreas Center? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
June 4th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in News
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New York Times article highlights transplant donor and recipients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
UK NHS Organ Donation Checkbox
As organ transplantation has advanced and improved in recent decades, more and more patients’ lives are saved every year. But the most pressing problem in organ transplantation has yet to be solved: the shortage of donor organs available to the thousands of people waiting on lists for a new kidney, liver, lung, heart, or other organ. People who intend to donate may not indicate their wishes to family members before their death, or families are reluctant to make that decision in the midst of profound grief and loss. For others, donating an organ was just never something they knew much about or even considered.
When they do choose to donate a loved one’s organs, families usually remain anonymous, as do those whose lives they save. Perhaps that is why articles like the one in the New York Times on May 16, 2011, touch and inspire readers so deeply. This version of an increasingly common story captures the essential soul-searching, as well as the profound gratitude, hope, and solace, that marked the meeting of Mirtala Garcia and the people who received her husband’s organs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
