SleepTalker April 2020

Dr. Kaushansky passed along this email from a retired SB Medicine staff member

    Last week I underwent an epidural procedure for a herniated disk performed by Dr. Amit Kaushal, a young physician at our pain management center. He had taken the time prior to the procedure to respond in detail via email to my questions. The procedure was painless even without sedation which I attribute to his technique. I also noted the way he had organized the team participating in the procedure, including a resident, rad assistants, a nurse, and a medical student. They all exhibited an esprit which I, again, attribute to Dr. Kaushal’s team leadership skills. I consider myself very fortunate to have access to SBM medical technology and to physicians like Dr. Kaushal.

Dr. Gan received this email from a Stony Brook employee

   When I had knee surgery about one year ago, I received anesthesia from Joseph Gnolfo, CRNA and everything went very well. Recently, I had the scare of my life when my OB/Gyn found precancerous cells and recommended a total hysterectomy. There's nothing like having an anesthetist in your back pocket! So I asked Joseph to be there again for me. He was there at the morning of surgery and explained the whole procedure to me and my family. But my surgery was delayed and he had to go to some meetings. He introduced me to Dorothy Gozdziak, CRNA. She did a wonderful job with my anesthesia. Joseph also came to see me later on. Now that I am cancer-free and back to work, I want to send a big "thank you" to all the members of the team.

Dr. Gan received two thank you letters from a Stony Brook faculty member

   I would like to express my gratitude and deep appreciation to Dr. Jonathon Schwartz who was the anesthesiologist during my surgery on 3/12/2020. Dr. Schwartz was professional, kind and respectful. His expertise and knowledge together with his pleasant and respectful demeanor, embodied the meaning of patient-centered care. I had previously had an unpleasant experience related to anesthesia and Dr. Schwartz showed me that it does not have to be so bad. He was patient, listened to my concerns and practiced shared decision-making which made me feel at ease.

   Dr. Schwartz was able to accommodate my wishes to avoid narcotics and benzodiazepines which gave me a better sense of control over a situation I had little control over. The thorough care I got left me without nausea after the surgery and I was able to go home in good shape. I am convinced that the care I got from him and the rest of the providers and allied health providers was the best out there.    The surgery and the recovery went well, and I am now happier and less concerned about my cancer risk. I am aware that Dr. Schwartz provides anesthesia as part of routine care, but for me this was not routine. For me, the care I received was outstanding and starkly different than my previous unpleasant experience and I wanted you to know the impact that it has on me as an individual, wife, and mother. Thank you for giving me such great care!

   I would like to express my gratitude and deep appreciation to Haldana Histand, CRNA who was the anesthesiology Nurse during my surgery on 3/12/2020. Nurse Histand was professional, kind and respectful. I had previously had an unpleasant experience related to anesthesia and was overall nervous before my surgery and Nurse Histand with her upbeat personality helped me stay relaxed in the morning of my surgery. I felt cared for and in good hands.

   Nurse Histand respected my wishes to avoid benzodiazepines before the surgery which gave me a better sense of control over a situation I had little control over. Nurse Histand was patient, listened to my concerns and practiced shared decision-making which made me feel at ease. I am convinced that the care I got from her and the rest of the providers and allied health providers was the best out there.

   I am aware that Nurse Histand does this in routine care, but for me this was not routine. For me, the care I received was outstanding and starkly different than my previous unpleasant experience and I wanted you to know the impact that it has on me as an individual, wife, and mother. Thank you for giving me such great care.

  James P Dilger, PhD

    Richard Keegan, a graduate student in Dr. Joshua Dubnau's lab, became Richard Keegan, PhD on March 27. His oral defense of "Intercellular vial spread of Drosophila gypsy", took place via Zoom with nearly 60 people in attendance. Rich made a fantastic presentation to the group, and impressed his committee members in the closed door session. Josh is "very proud of him"! Rich hasn't finalized his future plans yet, but will let us know when that does happen. Congratulations!

    On March 31, Mikhail Gurevich, stepson of Dr. Igor Izrailtyan, became Mikhail Gurevich, PhD after successfully defending his thesis: "Pharmacologic Interventions for Improving Outcomes After Peripheral Nerve Injury: Leupeptin and Indinavir". Mike, who did his research in the lab of Dr. David Komatsu in the Department of Orthopaedics, did a great job! I've known Mike since he was a high school student doing research in my lab. He will now continue with the MD part of his degree. Nice going, Mike!

Joy Schabel, MD

    We had an outstanding match this year!

    I just wanted to say THANK YOU to our residents for attending the many applicant dinners and lunches and speaking with the applicants. A special thanks to Adam Taft for coordinating the dinners with such positivity. Thank you also to our tour guides, interviewers, anesthesia coordinators, and clinical faculty for relieving the residents to get to the lunches and dinners. It was a team effort for sure. Lastly, thank you to Joan Claeson for organizing everything!

    Our Class of 2024:

• Jane Ahn - Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
• Jerry Cuenca - State University of New York Upstate Medical University
• Neil Christopher Daksla - New York Medical College
• Michael Hafeman - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Zhaosheng Jin - Imperial College School of Medicine
• Christopher Lee - Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Victoria Nguyen - Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
• Joshua Rismany - Frank H Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
• Kalissa Zhang - Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
• Mingxi Zhu - State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine

    Some of the talents and hobbies of the class members include:photography, powerlifting/lifting, cooking, saltwater fishing, golfing, hiking,playing piano/music, collecting memorabilia, paintball, folk dancing, love of goldendoodles. There is even a Mets fan and a Giants fan in the class.

Deborah Richman, M.B., Ch.B., FFA(SA)

    Things that made me smile amid all the sadness! Brazenly stolen from various social media sites!

Figure from Jin et al, 2020

• Jin Z, Li R, Gan TJ, He Y, Lin J. Pectoral Nerve (PECs) block for postoperative analgesia-a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis. Int J Physiol Pathophysiol Pharmacol. 2020 Feb 25;12(1):40-50
• Mavarez-Martinez A, Israelyan LA, Soghomonyan S, Fiorda-Diaz J, Sandhu G, Shimansky VN, Ammirati M, Palettas M, Lubnin AY, Bergese SD. The Effects of Patient Positioning on the Outcome During Posterior Cranial Fossa and Pineal Region Surgery. Front Surg. 2020 Mar 13;7:9