Volume 10, Issue 1, 2011-2012 - Department of Surgery - University ...

fibrillation. During the maze surgery, thesurgeon uses small incisions, radio waves,freezing, or microwave or ultrasound energyto create scar tissue to block the abnormalelectrical signals causing the arrhythmia.The University of Arizona Medical Center– University Campus is the only hospital inArizona where mitral valve repair and replacement,aortic valve surgery, and coronary bypassprocedures are performed using theda Vinci surgical robot.Board-certified in surgery and thoracicsurgery, Dr. Raczkowski completed his generalsurgery residency and cardiothoracic surgeryfellowship at the University of Wisconsin inMadison.Sergio Rivero, MD, hasjoined the Division ofNeurosurgery as associateprofessor. Dr. Riverospecializes in complexneurosurgery of thebrain and spine, includingcervical, thoracic,and lumbar disorders;cervical and lumbar stenosis; cervical andlumbar disc herniations; tumors of the brainand spinal cord; and inclusion of spinal cordstimulation surgery and peripheral nerve surgery,including carpal tunnel surgery.Dr. Rivero attended medical school at theUniversidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Mexico.He completed residency and fellowshiptraining at the UA College of Medicine, wherehe was one of the first residents to completethe UA’s Medical Sciences Graduate Programin Clinical Research.Dr. Rivero is a member of the AmericanAssociation of Neurological Surgeons and theCongress of Neurological Surgeons. His researchinterests focus on pain and the spine.Bruce E. Stewart, MD,has been appointedassistant professor inthe Division of Otolaryngology– Head andNeck Surgery. Withmore than 20 years ofexperience, Dr. Stewartoffers a full range ofmedical and surgical services for head andneck disorders and diseases to patients of allages, from newborn infants to seniors. His servicesinclude comprehensive care of patientswith sinonasal disorders, hearing loss andchronic ear disease, obstructive sleep apnea,and masses of the thyroid, head, and neck.A descendant of an Arizona pioneer family,Dr. Stewart was born and raised in Tucson. Hereceived both his bachelor’s degree in electricalengineering and his medical degree fromthe UA, where he also received the LangeAward for Academic Excellence. He completedresidency training in otolaryngology at theUniversity of Utah in Salt Lake City.He previously was in private practice inTucson, serving patients at Davis-Monthan AirForce Base.Dr. Stewart serves on the board of directorsof the Adult Loss of Hearing Association(ALOHA), a nonprofit support and advocacyorganization that provides hearing loss servicesfor hard-of-hearing or deaf adults. He isthe immediate past president of ALOHA andleads “Let’s Loop Tucson,” an ongoing projectto promote “looping,” a technology to helphearing aid users in public places.Sreekumar ”Kumar”Subramanian, MD, assistantprofessor, hasjoined the Division ofCardiothoracic Surgery.Dr. Subramanian’spractice includes a broadspectrum within adultcardiac surgery, rangingfrom on-pump and beating heart coronaryartery bypass surgery to minimally invasiveheart-valve operations, surgical treatment ofatrial fibrillation, and minimally invasive procedureson the aorta. While he offers patientsmultiple minimally invasive surgical options,Dr. Subramanian also developed special expertisein reoperative and high-risk reoperativecardiovascular surgery at the ClevelandClinic Foundation.Dr. Subramanian completed a seven-yearcombined program leading to a bachelor ofscience degree and medical degree at UnionCollege and Albany Medical College in NewYork. He joined the U.S. Air Force and completeda six-year general surgery residencyat David Grant Medical Center in California.Subsequently stationed at Spangdahlem AirBase in Germany, he deployed to Liberia andKazakhstan, and served as a combat traumasurgeon in Balad, Iraq. He then completed hiscardiothoracic surgical training at the ClevelandClinic.Dr. Subramanian received an ArizonaHeart Institute traveling fellowship and spenttwo years working as a cardiac surgeon at theHeart Center Leipzig while doing a fellowshipin percutaneous and minimally invasive heartvalve surgery and innovations.His clinical and research interests also includeaortic valve-preserving operations andaortic surgery, including the use of hybridoperations for the descending thoracic aorta.He has authored and coauthored about 60publications, which include articles, abstracts,and book chapters.Jess L. Thompson III,MD, MSc, a cardiothoracicsurgeon specializingin the repair ofcongenital heart defectsin children, has joinedthe Division of CardiothoracicSurgeryas assistant professor. Afourth-generation Arizona native, Dr. Thompsoncomes to the UA from Texas Children’sHospital in Houston, where he completed afellowship in congenital heart surgery. Hisclinical expertise includes repair of complexneonatal congenital heart disease and treatmentof adults with congenital heart disease.Dr. Thompson attended medical school atthe University of Southern California, Los Angeles,Keck School of Medicine. He completedhis general surgery residency training andcardiothoracic training at the Mayo Clinic inRochester, MN.While at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Thompsonparticipated in a National Institutes of HealthClinical Investigator Program, receiving amaster’s degree in biomedical sciences:clinical research. His studies centered oncomplex heart-valve disease with a specificNEWS BRIEFTrauma CenterRe-verified as Level IThe Trauma Center at The Universityof Arizona Medical Center has beenre-verified by the American Collegeof Surgeons as a Level I TraumaCenter. The ACS survey team visitedthe Trauma Center in November.A Level I trauma certification isthe highest national designationa hospital can receive. The TraumaCenter at The University of ArizonaMedical Center is one of eightLevel I Trauma Centers in the state,and the only one serving all ofSouthern Arizona.21