A lot has been said recently on the decreasing quality and rising cost of education. So far it seems that the remedies offered have neither lowered the costs nor have they increased the level of quality.
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In My Opinion
March 25, 2004
We all know the monumental contribution of Alain Carpentier to the understanding of the pathology of the mitral valve, its function and therapeutic implications. There were also a number of surgeons who have expanded on the original idea (Duran, Cosgrove and others) and made contributions in this field. We know today unequivocally the superiority of mitral valve repair over replacement.
February 3, 2004
Thoracic surgery has changed profoundly in the past thirty years, and although many of these changes have enabled us to serve patients better, others, particularly within our business environment, do not bode well for the future of our craft.
January 3, 2004
The cardiac surgical outcomes literature is replete with studies documenting the improving risk/benefit ratio of increasing surgical volume for patients. Such studies have been used to justify minimum standards of operative cases for accreditation of cardiac surgical programs
November 8, 2003
My interest in developing the case for a standardized global education, training and certification course of action results from my involvement in some of the organizational activities that relate to the educational, training and certification process in the United States and to my involvement with CTSNet.
September 15, 2003
Like most active clinical surgeons, I've been sued a few times for malpractice over the course of a long career in academia and private practice. In addition, I've served as an expert witness for the defense in about 20 malpractice actions that did not involve me or my group.
May 31, 2003
Despite a half-century of experience in heart valve reconstruction, the tricuspid valve has been a "second class structure" for cardiac surgery. More than 20 years ago, the high incidence of tricuspid disease in our population, encouraged us to attempt to clarify the indications for repair, particularly in patients with functional tricuspid incompetence.
March 26, 2003
Our society has changed vastly over the years in both positive and negative ways. Despite constant nonlinear changes, our medical community has evolved in a positive way toward better services for patients through improved hospital care, advancing technology, genomic discoveries, better training, improved medical records, outcomes-based therapy and closer self-scrutiny.
February 25, 2003
Women in the field of thoracic surgery were here to stay after Nina Braunwald, M.D., Ann McKiel and Nermin Tutunju became the first women certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in 1961. Dr. Braunwald, in 1968, established a program in cardiovascular surgery at the University of CA in San Diego. By 1968, there were only five women certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.
February 6, 2003
In 1993 I finished my cardiothoracic residency and an additional year as the chief resident at the "number one cardiac surgery hospital in the country." I felt like Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic: " I was on top of the world." So how is it that nine years later I've been unemployed for 3 months and actively looking for a job for 9 months without success?