ANNOUNCEMENTS

IN MEMORIAM

The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mrs. Peggy Lindsay on February 6th, 2012. Mrs. Lindsay was the "First Lady" of Plastic Surgery during the time her husband, Dr. W. K. Lindsay was the Chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Toronto (1965 to 1989 - an unprecedented 24 years!). During this era, she was an impressive and wonderful support for "WK" and represented the epitome of grace and gentle charm. She took great interest in the trainees in the program and hosted an annual Christmas and tree-cutting Party for the house staff. Following Dr. Lindsay’s passing in 2008, Mrs. Lindsay established the W. K. Lindsay Award in Plastic Surgery Research at the Hospital for Sick Children. This is an annual award given to the best research paper in Pediatric Plastic Surgery presented by a trainee. At this time, the division would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the Lindsay family and recognize the importance that she had on the fabric of our program during the "Lindsay years".

Christopher Forrest

Tait McPhedran

Tait McPhedran passed away In Calgary, AB on March 13, 2012 in his 88th year. Dr. McPhedran held a faculty appointment in General Surgery, Toronto General Hospital, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto from 1957 to 1969. He then went to the new University of Calgary Medical School and was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery and Chief of Surgery at Foothills Hospital until his retirement in 1991.

James Rutka

Dr. Thomas Patterson Morley (Neurosurgery) passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 in his 93rd year. Dr. Morley graduated in medicine from the University of Oxford. He served in the Medical Branch of the Royal Air Force during WWII. After the war, he did his neurosurgical training in Manchester with Sir Geoffrey Jefferson. He then came to Toronto and was on staff at Sunnybrook Hospital. Dr. Morley succeeded Dr. Botterell as Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at the Toronto General Hospital in 1962, and in 1964 he was named Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. One of Dr. Morley’s accomplishments as Chairman was expanding the training program to include more residents trained each year, and to develop neurosurgery at other major Toronto Hospitals such as the Sunnybrook Medical Centre and the Wellesley Hospital. Following his retirement from active neurosurgical practice in 1986, the Morley Neurosurgical Prize was established for the best research paper given by a neurosurgical resident at the annual Keith Lectureship. Dr. Morley was very interested in and wrote about the history of Canadian Neurosurgery. For 14 years, he was editor for the series Canadian Medical Lives, and in 2004, he published a biography of Dr. Kenneth G. McKenzie.

Catharine Whiteside

Sydney Katz

Sydney Katz passed away on September 23rd, 2011 at the age of 78. Syd was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and graduated from the University of Manitoba Medical School in 1957. He did post graduate training in the University of Toronto urology program. He joined the Department of Surgery in the Division of Urology at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto and following that post he was the main urologist at the Humber Memorial Hospital until his retirement. Dr. Katz was a beloved teacher and practitioner who did good work all his life. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends!

NEW APPOINTMENTS

APPOINTMENT OF PROFESSOR DIMITRI ANASTAKIS AS VICE DEAN, CONTINUING EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Dimitri Anastakis

The Academic Board has approved the appointment of Professor Dimitri Anastakis as Vice-Dean of Continuing Education and Professional Development for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2012.

Dr. Anastakis is a Professor in the Department of Surgery and holds a cross appointment in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. He has recently served as the Chair of the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (September 1, 2006 to July 1, 2011). Since May 2010 he has held the position of Executive Director of SIM-one, the interprofessional healthcare simulation network that links simulation facilities, resources and services across the Province of Ontario.

Professor Anastakis has published widely including articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and abstracts. He has made numerous presentations at scientific meetings in Canada, the United States and Europe. Currently, his clinical research focuses on outcomes following reconstruction of the paralyzed upper extremity and cortical plasticity following upper extremity injury, repair and rehabilitation. He is also involved in medical education research, having studied technical skills teaching and assessment, visual spatial abilities in surgical skills acquisition, and cortical plasticity during motor skills acquisition. He has been the recipient of a number of grants to support this research, and is actively involved in the medical education community including the RCPSC, American College of Surgeons and the Association for Surgical Education. Professor Anastakis is an outstanding teacher and highly regarded mentor in undergraduate and graduate surgical education and has won numerous awards for teaching and research, including the Wightman-Berris Academy Award for Individual Teaching Excellence from the Department of Surgery.

Professor Anastakis graduated from medical school at the University of Toronto where he also completed his residency in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. He was an R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellow studying surgery of the brachial plexus and peripheral nerves at Universite de Longeraie, Lausanne, Switzerland. Following his fellowship, Dr. Anastakis joined the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Surgery. He also has graduate degrees in Health Professions Education, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and in Healthcare Management from Harvard University.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Dimitri Anastakis to his new role in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Catharine Whiteside
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions

Thomas Lindsay

THOMAS LINDSAY APPOINTED HEAD OF THE DIVISION OF VASCULAR SURGERY AT UHN AND THE R. FRASER ELLIOTT CHAIR IN VASCULAR SURGERY

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Lindsay as Head of the Division of Vascular Surgery at UHN and the R. Fraser Elliott Chair in Vascular Surgery effective June 1st, 2012.

Dr. Lindsay is Professor and Chair of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Toronto. He received his medical degree from McGill University and his General Surgery and Vascular Surgery training at the University of Toronto. During his surgical training he completed an MSc degree in the Surgical Scientist Program in Ischemia - Reperfusion Injury of Skeletal Muscle. Following a Medical Research Council of Canada Post Doctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, he returned to the Division of Vascular Surgery at UHN in 1992. Dr. Lindsay is a clinician scientist whose research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of organ dysfunction following ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. He has spearheaded the development of the UHN vascular surgery program into a centre for advanced interventions to repair complex aneurysms with EVAR grafts. He also led the regional reorganization of Vascular Surgical Services at the University of Toronto, including the establishment of an alternate funding plan.

Please join me in congratulating Tom on his achievements and on receiving these two significant honours. I look forward to working with Tom towards realizing his vision for the Division of Vascular Surgery at UHN.

Shaf Keshavjee
Surgeon in Chief, UHN
James Wallace McCutcheon Chair in Surgery

MICHAEL TYMIANSKI APPOINTED HEAD OF THE DIVISION OF NEUROSURGERY AT TORONTO WESTERN HOSPITAL

Michael Tymianski

I am pleased to announce that Michael Tymianski was selected as Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at Toronto Western Hospital, effective June 1, 2012. Michael earned his MD at the University of Toronto and his PhD in neuroscience at the Institute for Medical Science for his studies on cerebral neuroprotection. After completing fellowships in cerebrovascular and skull-base neurosurgery in Toronto and at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, he joined our Faculty in 1997 as a CIHR Clinician-Scientist and Director of the Neuroprotection Laboratory at Toronto Western. Michael has since held a number of leadership positions at UHN, including his current role as Medical Director of the Neurovascular Therapeutics Program and most recently as our interim Division Head of Neurosurgery at TWH. He is appointed as a Full Professor in the Department of Surgery with a cross-appointment as Professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto, and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Translational Stroke Research.

Michael has distinguished himself remarkably on the clinical and research fronts. In 2009, he performed what was likely the world’s first aneurysm day surgery at UHN, and is recognized internationally for his groundbreaking research on neuroprotection in stroke using PSD-95 inhibitors. His work has been published in some of the highest impact journals within and outside of the neurosciences, including Cell, Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the New England Journal of Medicine. His accomplishments have been recognized by multiple academic awards, including the Gold Medal in Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and by consistent funding from the CIHR, National Institutes of Health, Ontario Ministry of Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Stroke Network. His commitment to education is reflected by the quality of his research trainees and their achievements under his guidance.

Please join me in congratulating and conveying our best wishes to Michael on this prestigious appointment and in supporting him as he leads our Division at Toronto Western into our next stage of excellence at national and international levels.

Andres M. Lozano
Professor and Dan Family Chair in Neurosurgery
University of Toronto

ANDREW DUECK APPOINTED VASCULAR DIVISION HEAD AT SUNNYBROOK HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE

Andrew Dueck

Andrew Dueck obtained his medical degree from Queen’s University in 1999 and then trained in General Surgery at the University of Toronto. During that time he obtained a Masters degree in clinical epidemiology focusing on treatment of aneurysms in the province of Ontario. He completed a Fellowship in Vascular surgery at the University of Toronto, took additional training at Arizona Heart Institute in minimally invasive and image-guided cardiovascular surgery.

Andrew was appointed to the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2007. His clinical practice focuses on complex vascular care with a focus on image-guided and endovascular interventions. He has a particular interest in the endovascular and open repair of complex aortic pathology. He works closely with university and hospital level colleagues in the Division of Cardiac Surgery. He also has a strong interest in the percutaneous treatment of occlusive disease.

Andrew’s research interests include imaging of the microvasculature of the peripheral extremities using MRI techniques. He also has a strong interest in the evaluation of novel percutaneous or endovascular devices. He has been active in the evaluation of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and its potential role in multiple sclerosis.

He is the co-director of the vascular laboratory at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and sits on multiple committees including the Schulich Heart Executive Committee. He also sits on a variety of regional and provincial committees for the planning and delivery of vascular surgery services in Ontario. He is an associate scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, an Adjunct Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knolwedge Institute and a member of the executive of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery.

Thomas Lindsay,
Chair, Vascular Surgery, University of Toronto

APPOINTMENT OF CARMINE SIMONE AS CHIEF OF SURGERY, TORONTO EAST GENERAL HOSPITAL

Carmine Simone

Carmine Simone has been appointed as Chief of Surgery at Toronto East General Hospital replacing Dr. Laura Tate who has completed her term. He is a thoracic surgeon and is the Medical Director of Inpatient Surgery, Medical Director of the ICU and Head, Division of Critical Care. He has courtesy privileges at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ontario. He went to medical school at McMaster University in Hamilton and graduated in 1998. He completed his thoracic surgery and adult critical care training at the Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto in 2004. His clinical areas of interest are lung and esophageal cancer, mediastinal tumours and metastatic cancers to the chest. He is a Lecturer at the University of Toronto, Division of Thoracic Surgery. He is involved in various hospital, LHIN and provincial committees on critical care and surgical standards. He participates in the Time to Treat Program which has successfully reduced the wait times for patients with lung cancer by 71%.

James Rutka

APPOINTMENT OF DR. IAN WITTERICK AS CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY - HEAD & NECK SURGERY

The Academic Board has approved the appointment of Professor Ian Witterick as Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery for a five year term commencing July 1, 2012.

Dr. Witterick is Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto and serves as the Department’s Director of Postgraduate Education and Continuing Education. He holds leadership positions in the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

A highly regarded teacher, Professor Witterick has received numerous teaching awards including the Postgraduate Medical Education Program Development and Innovation Award and the Charles Mickle Fellowship Award. He has organized more than 40 continuing education courses or conferences and was recently Program Chair for the North American Skull Base Society. He is an associate editor for the Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery and the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy and has published widely in the fields of head & neck oncology, rhinology, and skull base surgery.

Dr. Witterick graduated from medical school at the University of Western Ontario. He completed his residency training program at the University of Toronto followed by fellowships in head & neck oncology and rhinology, and an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology. His current clinical appointments are at Mount Sinai Hospital, the University Health Network, and Saint Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto.

May I extend sincere thanks to Pat Gullane for his outstanding leadership of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery since 2002.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Ian Witterick to his new role in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Catharine Whiteside
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions

IT'S OFFICIAL! THE PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE

We are pleased to announce that Her Majesty the Queen has approved our request to formally change the name of Princess Margaret Hospital to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. We believe the new name more accurately reflects the scope of the cancer program which provides treatment and services to patients at all UHN sites, and not only at PMH. The "centre" designation is important because it is the terminology used internationally by other leading cancer institutions that also integrate research and services and conduct clinical drug trials. So Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is a perfect fit with our vision to achieve global impact as one of the Top 5 comprehensive cancer programs in the world. Please note that we will not be using "PMCC" since this is reserved for the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. We will be known as the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre or the Princess Margaret We are developing a plan to implement this name change over the next few months and will update you soon with further details.

Mary Gospodarowicz,
Medical Director, and Marnie Escaf, SVP and
Executive Lead,
Princess Margaret Cancer Program

BRILLIANCE BALL GALA CELEBRATING FRED GENTILI AND EXCELLENCE IN SKULL BASE SURGERY

Fred Gentili

On Nov. 14, 2012, the Brilliance Ball gala evening will be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to celebrate Fred Gentili and excellence in skull base surgery at the Toronto Western Hospital and University of Toronto. Many of you will know Fred as a past trainee or colleague, or simply by his reputation as a master neurosurgeon and one of the pioneers of skull base surgery in Canada. Since joining our Faculty in 1982, he has not only helped establish a premiere program in Toronto but also been an international leader in his discipline as one of the founding members of the North American Skull Base Society. A Full Professor at the University, his distinguished career has been recognized with honorary membership in the Italian Neurological Society and more recently with the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons Award of Excellence. Dr. Gentili has taught and been an outstanding mentor to a generation of neurosurgery residents and fellows and his work has touched the lives of many.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally invite you to join us on Nov. 14th to celebrate Dr. Gentili’s many accomplishments throughout his career with what promises to be a memorable evening of great food, wine and entertainment as well as a celebrity purse auction and a raffle. Proceeds from the evening will support the creation of a new $3M Chair in Skull Base Surgery at Toronto Western Hospital with Fred as the inaugural Chair. This well-deserved recognition of his career achievements to date will enable him to continue to advance his field and to maintain the world class standing of our Division in this challenging area of neurosurgery and allow us to continue to lead in the years to come. Tickets are available for $500 per attendee or $5000 per table and can be purchased online at www.brillianceball.ca. Should you be unable to attend but still wish to support the event, or if you have other questions, please contact me directly or Amber Bernard at amber.bernard@uhn.ca or 416-340-4800 ext. 6279. Please join me in celebrating Dr. Gentilli’s outstanding career and in building this endowed chair.

Andres M. Lozano
Dan Family Chair in Neurosurgery, University of Toronto

SEAD PROJECT A SUCCESS!

SEAD 2012

In June, a group of 20 medical students took part in the first Surgery Exploration and Discovery (SEAD) program offered at the University of Toronto. The curriculum for the course was comprised of individual lectures in the different surgical specialties, hands on courses at the Surgical Skills Centre and at Li Ka Shing, and opportunities to go to the operating room. The SEAD program was the brainchild of Nada Gawad, a 2nd year medical student. As it was extremely successful this year, we plan to hold the SEAD program once again next year. Thanks to all the surgeons, fellows, and residents who participated in the program, and to Nada and her medical student team for their enthusiasm in learning more about surgery in the preclerkship years.

James Rutka

STEPPING STONES TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

This accredited program is designed to assist teachers with their educational and teaching roles. After completion of the program, the Stepping Stones Teacher Development Certificate will be awarded.

For more information or to register please visit: http://www.cfd.med.utoronto.ca/programs/stepping-stones.html

James Rutka

INTERNAL RESEARCH COMPETITION IN GENERAL SURGERY AT SUNNYBROOK

Every year, the impact factors of all publications from the Trauma and Surgical Oncology programs at Sunnybrook are added and then divided by the number of members in those two programs. It appears that once again, the Trauma program members have soundly beaten the Surgical Oncologists, in no small part due to the number of outstanding publications by Homer Tien and Sandro Rizoli. As is the custom in this friendly competition, the Surgical Oncologists have admitted defeat, and paid the bill for dinner. Regardless of which program wins this competition, the annual rate of publications is increasing for both Trauma and Surgical Oncology at Sunnybrook.

James Rutka

SURGICAL ROBOT USED TO TREAT LUNCH CANCER FOR FIRST TIME IN CANADA AT TORONTO GENERAL HOSPITAL

For the first time in Canada, surgeons Kazuhiro Yasufuku and Tom Waddell from Toronto General Hospital have used a robotic surgical system to treat early-stage lung cancer by removing the cancer, along with the lobe of the lung. The surgery was done in October and the patient remains cancer-free. This less invasive procedure leads to a reduction in pain, and an earlier discharge from hospital.

James Rutka

SPEEDY GONZALES!

Heather Baltzer

At the beginning of May Toronto hosted the Toronto Half Marathon. Heather Baltzer competed in this race and finished the half marathon in an incredible record time of 1 hour and 36 minutes. She had the 30th fastest female time out of over 3,000 women. As well, only 170 out of over 3,000 men beat her time.

A fantastic athletic accomplishment! I could not have gone that fast on my bike!

Mitchell H. Brown
Program Director, Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
University of Toronto