March 2011

CIHR and CMAJ Announce 2011 Top 6 Achievements in Canadian Health Care

Dr. Mohit Bhandari, along with Drs. Gordan Guyatt and Stephen Walter from Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, has been honoured by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Medical Association Journal for clinical trial work in fracture care.

Until recently, most studies done on fractures were small local trials. Dr. Bhandari and the team created a world wide collaboration of over 300 orthopaedic surgeons and their research staff in 238 centres, working together on the Study to Prospectively Evaluate Intramedullary Nails in Tibial Shaft Fractures (SPRINT) and several other large randomized controlled trials. SPRINT has also previously been awarded the 2010 Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation Clinical Research Award.

This work has been named one of the CIHR/CMAJ Top 6 Achievements in Canadian Healthcare. "It's such an honour to be in the company of the 5 other highly prolific researchers in Canada" says Dr. Bhandari.  "The accomplishment of Canadian researchers are truly setting global standards in health care and provide vindication that McMaster University's leadership in the area is strong."

McMaster University was well represented in this year's achievements list, with Drs. PJ Devereaux, Gordon Guyatt, Homer Yang and Salim Yusuf also being honoured for the POISE-1 trial, looking at perioperative beta-blockers in non-cardiac surgery.

Further information may be found on the CIHR and CMAJ websites as well as at the McMaster Daily News site:
mcmaster_tops_in_canadian_health_research  

McMaster Surgical Associates Grants Awarded

The Department of Surgery would like to congratulate the successful applicants to the McMaster Surgical Associates Grants Competition 2011. This year’s competition had a record number of applicants, with 19 proposals being funded, for a total of $449 920. We thank everyone who applied as well as the reviewers and the Departmental staff who organized the many applications. Department of Surgery’s Research Finance staff will be contacting all recipients with requirements for opening the accounts. The recipients are:

MSA Education

Dr. Brian Cameron (Paediatric General Surgery):
International Surgery Courses

Dr. Stephen Kelly (General Surgery):
Laparoscopy Simulator Grant Proposal

Dr. Brad Petrisor (Orthopaedics):
Educational Workshop for Orthopaedic Residents on Communication Theory and Practical Techniques

Dr. Achilleas Thoma (Plastic Surgery):
Evidence-Based Surgery Workshop for North American Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Ivan Wong (Orthopaedics):
Summary of Project CLASSroom

MSA Basic Science

Dr. Michelle Ghert (Orthopaedics):
Development of Real-Time Imaging for an In Vivo Model of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone

Dr. Michelle Ghert (Orthopaedics):
ETV5 and TWIST1 as Regulators of MMP2 in Human Chondrosarcoma

Dr. Jehonathan Pinthus (Urology):
The McMaster University Kidney Cancer Xenograft (McKCX) Project for Prospective Individualization of Targeted Therapy in Metastatic Kidney Cancer Patients

MSA Clinical Science

Dr. Brian Cameron (Paediatric General Surgery):
Understanding and Defining the Global Burden of Surgical Disease in Children Across The Globe through International Partnership

Dr. Andre Lamy (Cardiac Surgery):
Patency Assessment of Grafts performed in CORONARY: PATENCY-CORONARY

MSA Education Research

Dr. Edward Matsumoto (Urology):
Standardized Communication and External Frame of Reference Facilitates Safe and Efficient Laproscopic Teaching: A Randomized Controlled Study

Dr. Brad Petrisor (Orthopaedics):
The Reliability and Validity of the Orthopaedic In-Training Objective Structured Clinical Examination

MSA Innovation

Dr. Karen Bailey (Paediatric General Surgery):
Understanding Decision Making, Attitudes and Knowledge Acquisition among Clinicians Treating Obesity in Canada

Dr. Mohit Bhandari (Orthopaedics):
Indian Orthopaedic Multicentre Study in Fracture Care (INORMUS)

Dr. Christian Finley (Thoracic Surgery):
Development of a Gastrointestinal Stent

Dr. Christian Finley (Thoracic Surgery):
The Patient Education and Support in Fast Track Thoracic Surgery Initiative in Local Health Integration Network (LHIN4)

Dr. Marko Simunovic (General Surgery):
Pilot Test of the Ontario Decision Aid in Rectal Cancer

Dr. Richard Whitlock (Cardiac Surgery):
Transcutaneous oximetry, transcutaneous carbon dioxide and supplemental oxygen therapy in lower limb amputation – An observational study

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November 2010

MSA 2010 2011 Grants Competition Opens

The competition is now closed. The Department of Surgery thanks all applicants for their submissions, and will be releasing the results shortly.

Members of the McMaster Surgical Associates are invited to submit proposals for our annual grants competition. These 1 year grants are intended to provide funding for pilot studies leading to peer reviewed funding. There is a maximum amount of $30 000 available for projects in Basic and Clinical Science, Innovation and Education Research. A maximum award of $15 000 is also available for education projects.    

Applications are due by January 17^th 2011 at 9 am. No late applications will be accepted. Please forward your application to: 
Steven van Batenburg Stafford
SJH G845
50 Charlton Ave E.
Hamilton Ontario L8N 4A6.

For further information please contact:
Steven van Batenburg Stafford  vanbate@mcmaster.ca or 905 522 1155 x 33337
Clare Mitchell mitchc@mcmaster.ca or 905 522 1155 x 35239
Catherine Gill Pottruff gillc@mcmaster.ca or 905 522 1155 x 35287

Grant Overviews and Guidelines may be found here:
MSA 10-11 Education and Research Grant Overview
MSA10-11 Research Grant Guidelines-Basic
MSA 10-11 Research Grant Guidelines-Clinical
MSA 10-11 Research Grant Guidelines-Education
MSA 10-11 Research Grant Guidelines-Innovation
MSA 10-11 Education Grant Guidelines

Department of Surgery Annual Residents’ Research Conference 2010

The Annual Residents’ Research Conference was held November 17^th 2010 at St. Joseph’s Healthcare.  Our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Benjamin Alman from University of Toronto, spoke on “Why Research is Important and the Role of Surgeon Scientist Program Trainees”.  This was followed by the formal announcement of the Department of Surgery’s first cohort of SSP Trainees.  There were 16 presentations, spanning nearly all divisions within the Department and all of which were of excellent quality. The three adjudicators had the difficult job of scoring the presenters, and eventually decided on the winners.  Congratulations to:

Dr. Ted Thomas Prize for Best Presentation 
Dr. Joshua Teichman (Ophthalm PGY-3)
Clear Corneal Incision Morphology with Torsional versus Longitudinal Phacoemulsification: Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

2^nd  Prize 
Dr. Michael Hickey (Ortho PGY-5)
Tumor Recurrence in Intralesional Curettage vs. Wide Resection of Grade I Conventional Chondrosarcoma of Bone: A Meta-Analysis

3^rd Prize 
Dr. Raj Sharma (Ortho PGY-5)
Meta-Analyses in Joint Arthroplasty:A Review of Quantity, Quality and Impact

Dr. AK Mighton Award for Best Presentation by a Junior Resident 
Dr. Alexandra Nuttall (Plastics PGY-2)
Concomitant Tissue Expansion and Radiation in a Porcine Model: A Pilot Study

We would also like to congratulate the Division of Ophthalmology for their first winner at the Department level. Dr. Bain, our Associate Chair of Research, would like to remind all presenters that your project is not complete until it is published. For assistance in this regard please contact Catherine Gill Pottruff in the Office of Surgical Research Services.

Thanks to all the residents who presented at all our Divisional Research Days starting back in May and their supervisors and collaborators. Thanks also to Catherine Gill Pottruff for the organization and successful running of the Research Days.  We look forward to continued excellence in research in 2011, with dates to follow shortly.

For a complete list of all 2010 Department of Surgery Residents' Research Days Winners, please click here.

For a complete list of the winners of the Annual Residents' Research Conference since 1995, please click here.

Congratulations to the Four Successful CIP/SSP Candidates

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we announce the first surgical residents accepted to the Clinician Investigator Program/Surgeon Scientist Program.  The Surgeon Scientist Program (SSP) has been in development for some time under the direction of Dr. Sheila Singh.  The Ministry of Health announced earlier this year that there would be six Ministry funded CIP positions available at McMaster University for the 2011-2012 academic year. All postgraduate programs in Health Sciences were invited to present candidates, and four of those positions have been awarded to surgical residents.

Our successful candidates are:

Dr. Clary (CJ) Foote, PGY 2 Orthopaedic Surgery: HRM Program at McMaster University with Dr. Mohit Bhandari as his primary supervisor

Dr. Daniel Hoppe, PGY 2 Orthopaedic Surgery: Master’s Degree in Medical Education at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) in Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Oleg Safir, a graduate of this Program and an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Mt. Sinai, and Dr. Heather Carnahan, a Professor and Scientist at the Wilson Centre, Toronto

Dr. Deven Reddy, PGY 3 Neurosurgery:  HRM Program at McMaster University with Dr. Forough Farrokhyar as his primary supervisor

Dr. Sophocles Voineskos, PGY 2 Plastic Surgery: HRM Program at McMaster University with Dr. Mohit Bhandari as his primary supervisor.

“I would like to congratulate our new McMaster Surgeon Scientist Program trainees for winning MOH-funded CIP positions for 2011” says Dr. Sheila Singh. “Sophocles, Deven, CJ and Daniel represent our very first SSP cohort, and they have already shown all of the initiative and drive it takes to succeed as academic surgeons in the future. Together with their surgical mentors and supervisors, I look forward to assisting them as they start their exciting journeys down their respective research paths. I know they will, in time, become excellent mentors and role models to our future SSP cohorts as McMaster builds on our academic surgery mandate, one trainee at a time.”

Surgical Residents who are interested in pursuing graduate studies as part of the Surgeon Scientist Program are encouraged to contact Dr. Singh early in their residency (PGY-1 and 2).  For further information on the Surgeon Scientist Program, please check the Surgeon Scientist Program website: 
McMaster University > Surgeon Scientist Program (SSP) > Surgeon Scientist Program (SSP)

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October 2010

Neurosciences Residents’ Research Day

We were pleased to welcome Paediatric Neurology to join Neurosurgery and Adult Neurology in our Annual Neurosciences Residents’ Research Day, held October 29^th at the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Our Keynote Speaker, Dr. James Rutka from University of Toronto gave the two Schatz Lectures and provided insightful comments and questions for the presenters.  It was a full day, with nineteen presentations from the Neurosurgery, Neurology, Plastics, Orthopaedic and Otolaryngology residents and we would like to congratulate the following for their success:

First Prize: Dr. Christina Goldstein (Ortho PGY-5)
Radiologic Assessment of Lumbar Spine Fusion:  Do the Literature and Surgeons Agree?

Second Prize: Dr. Donald Zhang (NS PGY-6)
The Effect of JSK (XGS-1) on Functional Recovery Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: Preliminary Experience in 3 Patients

Third Prize:  Dr. Andrew Gomez (N PGY-3)
Dynamic Endovascular, Vascular and Parenchymal Changes during Adult Ischemic Stroke: A Pilot Study

Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Annual Update and Residents’ Research Day

This is the third year that Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery has held a combined Annual Update and Residents’ Research Day.  Our two Keynote Speakers, Dr. Erin Wright from University of Alberta and Dr. Jennifer Anderson from University of Toronto gave interesting talks on Peri-operative Management of the Patient with Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Irritable Larynx Syndrome that generated much discussion among the surgeons in attendance.  We has seven excellent resident presentations and would like to congratulate the following two residents for their work:

First Prize:  Dr. Julie Strychowsky (PGY-2) 
Sialoendoscopy for Salivary Gland Obstructions: A Systematic Review

Second Prize: Dr. Gavin Rukholm (PGY-3)
Dorsal Spinal Column Crush in the LES Rat: A Surgeon’s Angle on Neuroregeneration

General Surgery Residents’ Research Morning

Residents’ Research Day for General Surgery was held October 15^th 2010. It was an informative morning with twelve resident presentations, and our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Paul Belliveau from Queens University in Kingston was impressed by the quality of their work.  We are also pleased to report that for the first time, a PGY-1 resident scored the highest.  Congratulations to:

First Prize: Dr. Paige Churchill (PGY-1)
Treatment Options for Lymphangioma in Children: A Scoping Review

Second Prize:  Dr. Laura Vanderbeek (PGY-4)
Primary Breast Cancer Tumour and Patient Characteristics as Predictors of Radiation Therapy

Third Prize:  Dr. Ryan Suri (PGY-5)
Benign Diagnoses after Pancreaticoduodenectomy in Patients with Suspected Malignancy

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September 2010

Orthopaedic Surgery Residents' Research Day

The Department of Surgery and Division of Orthopaedics congratulates the winners of the Annual Orthopaedic Residents’ Research Day held on September 15^th 2010:

First Prize: Dr. Raj Sharma (PGY-5)
Meta-Analyses in Joint Arthroplasty:A Review of Quantity, Quality and Impact

Second Prize: Dr. Michael Hickey (PGY-5)
Tumor Recurrence in Intralesional Curettage vs. Wide Resection of Grade I Conventional Chondrosarcoma of Bone: A Meta-Analysis

Third Prize: Dr. Christina Goldstein (PGY-5)
Radiologic Assessment of Lumbar Spine Fusion: A Canadian Perspective

Honourable Mention: Dr. Christine Walton (PGY-5)
Authorship Over Time: A Retrospective Review of the Orthopaedic Literature

Plastic Surgery Residents' Research Day

The Department of Surgery and Division of Plastic Surgery would like to offer congratulations to the following Residents and Medical Student for their achievements at the Plastic Surgery Residents’ Research Day held Friday September 10^th 2010:

Best Basic Science Presentation:  Dr. Alexandra Nuttall (PGY2)                                                         Concomitant Tissue Expansion and Radiation in a Porcine Model

Honourable Mention (Basic):  Dr. Richard Grace (PGY3)                                                                                 The Effects of Anti-Nerve Growth Factor on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in Rats: A Proposal

Best Clinical Presentation:Dr. Jessica Collins (PGY-4)
Pharyngeal Flap versus Pharyngoplasty for the Treatment of Velopharyngeal Insufficiency: A Meta Analysis

Honourable Mention (Clinical):  Ms. Jacqueline Piggott (Medicine, UWO)                                                  Tendon Transfer for the Treatment of Foot Drop following Irreversible Peroneal Nerve Injury: An Evidence-Based Review

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July 2010

Dr. Mitch Winemaker (Orthopaedics) recently received a C4 Proof of Principle grant for: Prototype Development for Method and Apparatus for Treating Periprosthetic Fractures of the Distal Femur.  Dr. Winemaker says “This is an ongoing difficult management problem in Orthopaedics. The C4 POP grant was awarded to help fund a project that will develop a prototype for the device with some bench testing and help proceed with furthering the patent process”.  Dr. Winemaker worked with the staff of McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO) to develop and submit this application.  C4 is Southwestern Ontario’s Technology Transfer Community, consisting of the seven Universities located in southwestern Ontario, several research institutions as well as Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.  For further information of C4 and how MILO can assist our researchers in developing and patenting technology, please go to the MILO website:  McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO) — McMaster Industry Liaison Office

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June 2010

The Department of Surgery offers congratulations to our most recent Grantees in the March 2010 Operating Grants Competition at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Drs. Kevin Teoh and Richard Whitlock (Cardiac Surgery) along with Dr. Salim Yusuf and Dr. Andre Lamy, obtained full funding for their project “Steroids in CaRdiac Surgery (SIRS)”.  This study, a multinational, multicentre randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of a prophylactic pulse dose of steroids in patients undergoing cardiac bypass surgery, has received funding of $4.1M over 4.5 years. “Obtaining large grants from our funding bodies is very competitive and thus challenging. This has been made worse by the current economic climate that has limited available resources. The key to a successful grant application lies in a strong team that is prepared to resubmit multiple times, each time bettering what was submitted the last time even if one thought that this would be impossible.” says Dr. Whitlock.

Dr. Mohit Bhandari (Orthopaedics) and Dr. Gordon Guyatt are co-PIs on “Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip Fractures (FAITH):  A Multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Sliding Hip Screws and Cancellous Screws on Revision Surgery Rates and Quality of Life in the Treatment of Femoral Head Fractures”.  This study aims to recruit 1500 hip fracture patients worldwide and randomize them to one of the two standard surgical repairs, each affecting bone healing in a different fashion. The study, run by the CLARITY group, will compare the differences in revision surgery, patient function and quality of life.  It is funded for nearly $1.5M over 4 years.

Dr. Bhandari was also successful in an application to the Randomized Controlled Trials Mentoring Program.  He will be working with his mentee, Dr. Norma MacIntyre, Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, on her study “The Design and Planning of a Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare Two Methods of Administering Low Intensity Therapeutic Ultrasound on Pain, Physical Function and Cartilage Repair in Patients with Mild and Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis”. "Having been the first recipient of an RCT mentoring award at its inception several years ago under Dr. Gordon Guyatt, I am absolutely delighted to give back to the CIHR and our McMaster Community by serving as a mentor for Dr. MacIntyre" says Dr. Bhandari. “Not only is this is award important for Surgery, but it strengthens future collaborations with the School of Rehabilitation Science". This study received total funding of $160,000 over 2 years.

The deadline for the September 2010 CIHR Operating Grant Competition is fast approaching. The Department of Surgery wishes all our applicants similar success.

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April 2010

Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Foster, the 2010 Royal College Teasdale-Corti Humanitarian Award winner, for his commitment to providing high-quality medical treatment in Lubango, Angola.

Even when armoured plates had to be installed under his car, the 2010 Royal College Teasdale-Corti Humanitarian Award winner continued providing high-quality medical treatment in a country ravaged by more than 27 years of civil war.

"Despite the apparent dangers, I’ve had more fun here than I would have had anywhere else," Dr. Foster said. "The average general surgeon in Canada does five or six different types of operations. I do more than 100 procedures, 1,400 times in any given year."

 

 

March 2010

Congratulations Dr. James Bain, recipient for the 2010 PAIRO Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award for McMaster University. This award was established in 1983 by the Professional Association of Interns and Residents of Ontario (PAIRO). Since then it has become a well-recognized way for residents to nominate and acknowledge Clinical Teachers who have excelled in their role.