News, publications and events from the Department of Surgery.
- Phone: 617-643-1010
04/08/2013: Adding intestinal enzyme to diets of mice appears to prevent, treat metabolic syndrome
Feeding an intestinal enzyme to mice kept on a high-fat diet appears to prevent the development of metabolic syndrome – a group of symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and fatty liver – and to reduce symptoms in mice that already had the condition.
04/03/2013: Third-generation device significantly improves capture of circulating tumor cells
A new system for isolating rare circulating tumor cells – living solid tumor cells found at low levels in the bloodstream – shows significant improvement over previously developed devices and does not require prior identification of tumor-specific target molecules.
03/22/2013: Hodin named to new position
THE MGH DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY has announced that Richard Hodin, MD, has been appointed as chief for Academic Affairs. In his new role, Hodin – who also will continue in his roles as chief of Endocrine Surgery and surgical director of the MGH Crohn’s and Colitis Center – will be actively involved in faculty development and academic promotions and will join the leadership of the department on the Chiefs’ Council.
03/15/2013: Watertown's Arsenal Medical Developing Foam to Buy Time for Wounded Soldiers
David R. King, MD, director of the Knight Surgical Research Lab at Mass General, is part of a team investigating the use of a biofoam to assist wounded soldiers.
03/04/2013: Rethink Varicose Veins
Julianne Stoughton, MD, vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses options for treating varicose veins.
02/17/2013: Joe Kinan’s hand transplant helps him and donor’s family move forward
Jonathan Winograd, MD, and Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr, MD, discuss how Joe Kinan, a Station nightclub fire survivor, became the first hand transplant recipient at Massachusetts General Hospital.
01/11/2013: Three months after surgery, patient has new lease on life
The MGH was the first hospital in New England to offer a new procedure in which a flexible bracelet of magnetic titanium beads is laparoscopically implanted around the esophagus to help treat GERD.
12/12/2012: Innovative Surgery for Migraines
Dr. Jay Austen, Jr, Mass General’s chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery, uses plastic surgery techniques to decompress nerves that trigger debilitating migraines.
12/03/2012: Plastic surgery techniques bring migraine relief
W.G. (Jay) Austen Jr., MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses how a plastic surgery procedure done at Mass General provides treatment for migraines.
11/02/2012: MGH performs its first hand transplant
On Oct. 26, 19 days after becoming the MGH’s first hand transplant recipient, Joe Kinan showed how his unwavering commitment to having a positive attitude has paid off – he wiggled the fingers on his left hand for the first time in public.
11/01/2012: Department of Surgery expands educational research with new specialist
Emil Petrusa, PhD joins the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital as Educational Research Specialist.
10/26/2012: Station nightclub fire survivor upbeat after hand transplant
Recipient of Massachusetts General Hospital's first hand transplant operation performed by Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr. on path to recovery.
10/09/2012: Hand transplant is a first for Mass. General
Massachusetts General Hospital's Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr. leads Mass. General’s first hand transplant operation.
10/08/2012: Man injured in Station nightclub fire gets hand transplant at Mass. General Hospital
Joseph Kinan, Station nightclub fire survivor, is Massachusetts General Hospital's first hand transplant recipient.
10/08/2012: Man hurt in Station nightclub fire gets hand transplant
Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr. performs Massachusetts General Hospital's first hand transplant surgery on Joseph Kinan, Station nightclub fire survivor.
09/24/2012: Frequently asked questions: LINX® system
David Rattner, MD, chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery at the Mass General Digestive Healthcare Center, answers frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the LINX® Reflux Management System, a new treatment option for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
09/03/2012: Tapping the body to fight disease
Massachusetts General Hospital's assistant professor of surgery, Biju Parekkadan, explores potential treatments for conditions like kidney and liver failure and inflammatory bowel disease by using cellular therapy and leading medical technology.
08/23/2012: Weight loss surgery cuts diabetes risk
The results of a Swedish study show that weight loss surgery significantly reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in obese people.
07/20/2012: Massachusetts General Hospital offers new, less invasive treatment for GERD
Massachusetts General Hospital introduces an innovative procedure for patients experiencing symptoms of GERD. A bracelet of magnetic beads can help the lower esophageal sphincter to resist gastric pressures and prevent reflux.
07/17/2012: Massachusetts General Hospital Ranked #1 in the Nation on U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll
Massachusetts General Hospital has moved into the number one spot on the 2012-13 U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” list.
06/13/2012: Commentary: What We Learned From Cutting Colon Surgery Infections
Massachusetts General Hospital surgeon Matthew Hutter, MD, explains how a quality consortium of Partners HealthCare hospitals reduced colon surgery infections by 23%.
05/21/2012: Donor aortic graft improves reconstruction after partial laryngectomy
MGH surgeons have developed a new technique for reconstructing the larynx after surgery for advanced cancer. The approach uses cryopreserved aortas from deceased donors to replace removed larynx tissue and allows some patients to avoid a permanent tracheotomy and maintain voice and swallowing function.
05/18/2012: Weight Center hosts Pediatric Obesity Collaborative Retreat
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that three out of four obese children will become obese adults, increasing the obese adult population to 42 percent by 2030. Just days after the report, on May 10, the MGH Weight Center brought together clinicians from 24 different programs – many within MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) – for the first Pediatric Obesity Collaborative Retreat.
04/10/2012: Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital are using plastic surgery techniques to treat migraines
Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital are using leading-edge techniques such as nerve decompression to treat migraines.
04/10/2012: Plastic surgery to treat migraines? It’s a reality.
Dr. Jay Austen, Jr, Mass General’s chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery, is using leading-edge techniques such as nerve decompression to help those who suffer from the most debilitating of these headaches.
03/21/2012: Making old hearts new again at Mass General
Learn how Massachusetts General Hospital doctors are changing the world of organ transplantation.
01/15/2012: Mass. General researchers find novel way to prevent drug-induced liver injury
MGH investigators have developed a novel strategy to protect the liver from drug-induced injury and improve associated drug safety. The team reports that inhibition of a type of cell-to-cell communication can protect against the damage caused by liver-toxic drugs such as acetaminophen.
12/23/2011: MGHers help Santa stay in tip-top shape
Every December for as long as many staff members can remember, a cheerful old man with a long white beard has been admitted to the MGH Department of Surgery.
12/07/2011: Traumatic injury sets off a "genomic storm" in immune system pathways
Serious traumatic injuries, including major burns, set off a "genomic storm" in human immune cells, altering around 80 percent of the cells' normal gene expression patterns.
10/28/2011: Gaining ground in limb replacement surgery
The first successful replantation of a human limb took place at the MGH in 1962. Now, nearly 50 years later, the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is in the process of reviewing potential candidates for the latest in medical advances – hand transplantation surgery.
10/07/2011: Lord Darzi presents McCabe Lecture
The MGH Department of Surgery hosted Lord Ara Darzi of Denham, England, as the keynote speaker of the third annual Charles D. McCabe Lecture in Surgical Education Sept. 16.
08/04/2011: New chief of Cardiac Surgery ready for impact
The Division of Cardiac Surgery at Mass General welcomes new chief. Thoralf M. Sundt III, MD, bridges legacy of surgical practice and passion for new ideas to improve upon the patient experience.
05/13/2011: A new chapter begins
MGH Hotline 6.13.11 On April 26, Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, stepped into the operating room to perform his last procedure after four decades of practice and nearly 14 years as surgeon-in-chief and chair of the MGH Department of Surgery.
05/13/2011: Introducing Keith D. Lillemoe, MD
MGH Hotline 5.13.11 Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, the MGH's new surgeon-in-chief and chair of the Department of Surgery, spent 27 years at Johns Hopkins and most recently led the Department of Surgery at Indiana University Hospital.
04/25/2011: Adolescents and Weight Loss
The challenges that face adolescents in their fight against obesity and the solutions available to help them, including weight-loss surgery.
02/18/2011: Lunder Building to “Go Live” this summer
MGH Hotline 2.18.11 In preparation for the summertime transition of several hospital programs and services to the Lunder Building, the MGH Go Live Group for the new facility was established under the auspices of Jean Elrick, MD, senior vice president for Administration.
02/04/2011: Chief of Cardiac Surgery named
MGH Hotline 02.04.11 THORALF M. SUNDT III, MD, has been named chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery.
01/28/2011: Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, to lead Department of Surgery
MGH Hotline 1.28.11 Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, a world-renowned general surgeon who specializes in pancreatic and biliary surgery, has been selected as the MGH's next surgeon-in-chief and chief of the Department of Surgery.
12/17/2010: In General 12.17.10
MGH Hotline 12.17.10 In General Awards and Honors
12/03/2010: Conquering Organ Rejection
A new breakthrough transplant procedure developed at Massachusetts General Hospital confirms that the problem of organ rejection after transplantation can be mitigated without using immunosuppressive drugs, sparing transplant recipients a lifetime of side effects.
11/11/2010: From lab bench to the battlefield
At the MGH, a team of scientists led by Hasan Alam, MD, an MGH trauma surgeon and director of research for the Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, is developing novel tools, techniques and treatments to help save the lives of soldiers traumatically injured on the battlefield.
10/01/2010: MGH surgeons play for charity
MGH Hotline 10.01.10 Being skilled and dexterous with their hands is required of surgeons, who daily use special instruments that most people would never have the opportunity to handle.
08/13/2010: A conversation with Hasan Alam, MD, of "Boston Med"
MGH Hotline 8.13.10 HASAN ALAM, MD, of the Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care and director of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at MGH, starred in the sixth episode of "Boston Med."
06/15/2010: Combined BRAF-targeted and immunotherapy shows promise for melanoma treatment
Combined targeted therapy against the BRAF/MAPK pathway with immunotherapy shows promise as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of melanoma, according to results of a preclinical study by MGH researchers.
05/21/2010: In Memoriam
MGH Hotline 05.21.10 Betty Honey, a former MGH Department of Surgery employee, died April 10.
04/30/2010: Blue Cross and Blue Shield names MGH a Blue Distinction Center
MGH Hotline 4.30.10 THE MGH has been designated a Blue Distinction Center for both spine surgery and knee and hip replacement by Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
03/31/2010: Improved device provides more rapid, comprehensive analysis of circulating tumor cells
Technical improvements to a microchip-based device for detecting and analyzing tumor cells in the bloodstream are revealing cellular differences that may reflect a tumor's aggressiveness and long-term response to treatment.
12/04/2009: Facing a better future
MGH Hotline 12.04.09 When she looked in the mirror, the long jagged scars running across her cheek reflected back at her, a disturbing reminder of the physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of the father of her children.
12/02/2009: International collaboration revolutionizes modern surgery
Mass General surgeon Patricia Sylla, travels to Barcelona to perform the first-ever rectal cancer surgery on a human using natural orifice surgery (NOTES).
10/19/2009: Clots traveling from lower veins may not be the cause of pulmonary embolism in trauma patients
A report from a team of Massachusetts General Hospital physicians calls into question the longstanding belief that pulmonary embolism – the life-threatening blockage of a major blood vessel in the lungs – is caused in trauma patients by a blood clot traveling from vessels deep within the legs or lower torso.
08/24/2009: Minimally invasive surgery lessens pain of esophageal cancer
Christopher Morse, MD, of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital has been able to remove esophageal tumors using an innovative minimally invasive procedure that offers patients less postoperative pain and a shorter recovery time
06/29/2009: Incision-free gallbladder surgery
On May 20 David Rattner, MD, chief of General Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital Digestive Healthcare Center, performed New England’s first natural orifice surgery - completely incision free.
05/08/2009: Luncheon raises funds and skin cancer awareness
MGH Hotline 5.08.09 Approximately 100 people attended the Friends of the MGH Cancer Center’s annual fundraising forum April 22 in the Bulfinch Tents. This year’s event featured MGH skin cancer experts David Fisher, MD, PhD, chief of the Department of Dermatology and director of the Center for Melanoma, left, and Jennifer Wargo, MD, of the Department of Surgery.
05/08/2009: In General awards and honors
MGH Hotline 5.08.09 In General awards and honors
04/03/2009: Model tissue system reveals cellular communication via amino acids
A team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine has found the first evidence of cell-to-cell communication by amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, rather than by known protein signaling agents such as growth factors or cytokines.
04/01/2009: Moments in Surgery
MGH Hotline 4.3.09 Tribute to Charlie McCabe, MD, by MGH resident
03/11/2009: Cardiac surgery team simulates surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital’s cardiac surgical team is participating in operating room simulation work, a training regimen designed to reduce medical errors by drilling staff in emergent situations.
02/27/2009: MGH Durant fellows
MGH Hotline 2.27.09 As a true humanitarian, Thomas S. Durant, MD, spent his life bringing hope to some of the bleakest parts of the world. In honor of his service and compassion, the MGH Durant Fellowship in Refugee Medicine helps health care professionals bring their skills to those in critical need around the globe.
01/14/2009: Hospital pilot sites demonstrate surgical safety checklist drops deaths and complications by more than one third
A group of hospitals in eight cities around the globe has successfully demonstrated that the use of a simple surgical checklist during major operations can lower the incidence of deaths and complications by more than one third.
12/05/2008: Sailhamer wins paper competition
MGH Hotline: 12/05/08
12/05/2008: In General
MGH Hotline: 12/05/08
11/26/2008: Relief from GERD, once and for all
Finally, good news for patients who have chosen not to have surgery to treat their gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) because they doubted surgery’s effectiveness. A new study reveals the benefits of a simple procedure that can vastly improve their quality of life. And, even better, the relief offered by this surgery is lasting and doesn’t require the hassle and expense of taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and other prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
11/07/2008: A Day in the Life
A day in the life of trauma surgeon Dr. George Velmahos.
10/22/2008: Surgery without scalpels?
It may sound like science fiction, but the possibility of surgery that can be completed without a scar may soon be a reality.
03/01/2013: Global Surgery Initiatives 2013
Surgery 2013: Global Initiatives
The Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital takes an active role in global health.
01/01/2006: Neuroendocrine Clinical Center Bulletin
Neuroendocrine Clinical Center Bulletin | Effect of Obesity on Growth Hormone Secretion
The Mass General Neuroendocrine Clinical Center Bulletin shares the latest information for health care professionals about clinical and research topics in neuroendocrine conditions.
11/14/2013: Annual Meeting of the Society of Clinical Surgery 2013
The Annual Meeting of the Society of Clinical Surgery will take place from November 14-16, 2013 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
05/23/2013: General Thoracic Surgery
Our annual post-graduate course in general thoracic surgery continues to fulfill its mission for the 41st season.
05/21/2013: Franco Davoli Memorial Golf Tournament
Help support ground-breaking lung cancer research at Mass General and participate in the Franco Davoli Memorial Golf Tournament on May 21st.
04/25/2013: Advances in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery: 2013
Advances in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery: 2013 provides an in-depth examination of a spectrum of topics related to the care of patients with cerebrovascular and vascular disease.
01/23/2013: The Morphing of MGH: Architecture Reflects Changing Patterns of Care
The Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation Lecture Series Presents "The Morphing of MGH: Architecture Reflects Changing Patterns of Care"
05/31/2012: Cancer in the family: primary care matters
Earn CME credits by watching Cancer in the family: primary care matters video.
11/06/2011: Trauma and Critical Care Symposium
The Trauma and Critical Care Symposium provides in-depth and cutting-edge information in the field of critical care and trauma.
09/28/2010: Brain Aneurysm Symposium
Our Vascular Center clinicians invite you to join us for a Brain Aneurysm Symposium, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Learn who is at risk for developing brain aneurysms, and about treatment options and ongoing research to help patients with this difficult condition.
05/06/2010: Vascular and Endovascular Surgery: Current Concepts and Challenges
This course provides an in-depth examination of a spectrum of topics related to the management of patients with vascular disease.
05/07/2009: Vascular and Endovascular Surgery: Current Concepts and Techniques - 2009
This course is intended to provide an in‑depth examination of a spectrum of topics related to the management of patients with vascular disease.
David Rattner, MD, explains how screenings can prevent esophageal cancer
David Rattner, MD, Co-Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Digestive Healthcare Center describes how chronic heartburn can lead to other serious conditions, who is most at risk and how Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer can be diagnosed and treated.
Michael Jaff, DO, explains how knowing your personal and family history may help prevent a stroke
Michael Jaff, DO, Medical Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Vascular Center explains how carotid artery disease can cause a stroke, unless it is found early and treated, and how you can identify your risk for this condition.
Alice Shaw, MD, explains why patients with lung cancer can benefit from genetic testing
Alice Shaw, MD, thoracic oncologist at the Mass General Cancer Center, says patients with lung cancer can benefit from genetic testing, particularly if they are young non-smokers. Learn more about personalized treatment for lung cancer and new "smart drugs" that target a tumor's specific genetic mutation to slow the cancer's growth, and in some cases, reduce it significantly.
Frank Robinson's Story
Watch 46-year-old Frank Robinson tell the story of his life-saving experience at Mass General after a massive coronary.
Celebrating 200 Years: 1811 - 2011
Since 1811, people have counted on Mass General for answers, innovations and medical leadership. As our third century dawns, we remain ready to serve.
Ferguson-Ottinger Endowed Fund for Surgical Residents at Mass General
The Ferguson-Ottinger Endowed Fund for Surgical Residents supports a visiting professorship, educational and networking opportunities for surgical residents at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Migraine Surgery
W.G. (Jay) Austen Jr., MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses a cutting edge procedure done at Mass General: Plastic Surgery for Migraines.
