Department of Anesthesiology 2010 Summer/Fall Newsletter

Hi everyone,
This is my first attempt at the department newsletter and I hope it lives
up to the high standards set by my predecessors. I would like to thank
everyone who contributed to this issue, whether it was pictures, words or
inspiration. I am sincerely sorry if I have forgotten to include your
submission; I will be sure to include it in the next issue! I’m not sure if
newsletter editors can be impeached, but I guess only time will tell…
If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to email me at
[email protected]. Also, please start sending in your submissions for the
next edition of the newsletter!
I’ve made a few changes to the format, so please take some time, have a
look around and enjoy!
Julie Ghatalia
Department of Anesthesiology
2010 Summer/Fall Newsletter
From the desk of the Program Director…
Hello everyone,
Many of my mentors, my teachers are on staff at every campus. Many of the
students I interviewed on CaRMS, became my residents and many are my
colleagues now each with their own area of expertise. I am extremely privileged
to see this evolution.
Is this real? Am I the new Program Director?
Wow! Yes I am. I am so proud of the University of Ottawa Anesthesia Program. I
remember being a nervous medical student from Dalhousie University going to
my CaRMS interview in Ottawa and being escorted by soon to be chief resident
Dr Greg Bryson for my interview with Dr Gary Johnson and then finding Lynne
McHardy for my next interview with the Chair Dr Earl Wynands. I remember on
my first day of residency, seeing Monique Beaulne with my father trying to
arrange parking. From being a resident in this program, to education rep to chief
resident, to Resident coordinator and Regional Anesthesia director, I have seen
so much. I have been a member of RPC with 4 different Program Directors at the
helm. Words can’t express how honored and excited I am to be in this role.
I did not get a chance to speak of how immensely proud I was to be Civic Campus
site Resident Coordinator. I had so much support from my department, the
program and my previous civic resident coordinators Drs Pete MacEwen and
Dave Ewing. From changing the evaluation sheets to cards with CanMed roles, to
experimenting with split call to the now two resident call system, for fighting for
call rooms, to 10 years of CaRMS interviews and year end and Xmas orals…and
finally…those Tuesday Am rounds. Shaking the big 7:00AM stick only because I
was so passionate about them… and coming up with incentives such as my little
movie tickets for feedback cards and new games such as anesthesia pictionary
and charades. I loved it all.
Regional anesthesia was, is and still will be part of me. This field opened up such
opportunities for me and the program. Speaking at national and international
venues and being asked to be a visiting professor and seeing former fellows take
leadership roles in their own departments and nationally. This specialty is ever
changing and I am incredibly proud to be part of the creation of a worldrenowned centre.
As many of you know, when I started as Program Director on July 1 s t, my new
office had a make-over. It symbolizes more than rearranging furniture, new wallpaper and dragons popping up everywhere. What it is, is a new beginning. We
have a great program, solid, a great heritage…it would be easy to rest on my
laurels and do nothing…but…I have never taken the easy road. We will continue
to strive for new heights, and continue to be the model for the rest of the
country.
Since the last
newsletter, we won the
Golden Glottis cup
again at the CAS. Hula
Hoop extraordinaire
from team Ottawa.
The camping trip in
August was a huge
success. I cannot
believe the gourmet
food ....no I am not
kidding.
I hope more staff will
visit next year 
We also have a number of
new residents:
PGY-1 Ottawa: Drs Brock
Wilson, Steven Tremblay,
Annie Pang, Sarika Mann,
Lilia Fung, Kurt Domuracki,
and Takpal Birdie.
PGY-1 NOSM/Ottawa: Drs
Ashleigh Farrell and Sarah
McIsaac
PGY-2: Dr Chris Mercer
FP-A: Drs Richard Waldolf,
Yvonne Kaethler, and
Kristine Hales.
Welcome to all of you.
They have joined our
resident family to make a
new grand total of 56
current trainees.
And the future…..stay tuned. We have a new great team with Dr Anna Wyand as
the new civic resident coordinator. Yes, I remember Anna when she was a
medical student from Dalhousie University rotating with us. Also congratulations
to our new chief resident Dr Marie-Jo Plamondon who will no doubt shine like
her speed skates, Dr Alim Punja our senior resident rep and our CHEO rep Dr
Marc Doré. I will be giving you regular updates over email and a synopsis in
future newsletters. I will also try and spend more time at all campuses.
Thank you so much for all of the overwhelming support. I will promise to uphold
the symbolic Olympic torch and carry on this journey of excellence.
Yours truly,
Desiree Persaud
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 2
Annual Mentor Dinner
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 3
Above left: Drs. Carla Lipan,
Louise Sun and Rebecca
Moga
Above right: Drs. Patti
Murphy, Linda Wynne and
Chris Pysyk
Dr. Anne Lui
organized this year’s
mentor dinner at
Urban Element
Each resident in the program is matched with a staff member for the
duration of their 5 years. This event is held every fall as a chance for
staff and residents to reconnect and for new mentors to meet their
new mentees!
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 4
Dr. Wayne Barry received the CAS
Gold Medal in recognition of his
outstanding humanitarian efforts
and promotion of Canadian
Anesthesiology in developing
nations around the world.
Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society
2010
This year’s CAS meeting was held in Montreal from June 25-29. Once again,
we were well represented at the meeting. Congratulations to the award
recipients from our department!
Text
Dr. George Dumitrascu (below
– right) at the Department of
Anesthesiology booth during
the CAS.
Dr. Alan Chaput received the
David S. Sheridan Canadian
Research Award for his pilot
study to evaluate the
polysomnographic effects of
pregabalin in post-operative
patients.
“The Gold Medal is given to an
individual who has made a
significant contribution to
Anesthesia in Canada through
teaching, research, professional
practice, or related administration
and personal leadership.”
Dr. Gregory Bryson was the
recipient of the Dr. R. A. Gordon
Patient Safety Research Award
for his study on the functional
recovery and caregiver burden
following surgery in the elderly.
After a long day of lectures
and workshops, some of our
residents still found time
have a little fun…
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 5
Marie Jo, Dan and
Rebecca enjoying the
post-lecture
festivities…
Is it hula hoop
time yet???
Top left: Drs. Gregory Bryson, Alan Chaput and Vern Naik
C
H
E
E
R
S
!
Top right: resident Dr. Marie Jo Plamondon
Bottom left: resident Dr. Rebecca Moga
Bottom right: resident Drs. Dan Power, Rob Jee, Chris Pysyk and
Greg Krolczyk
Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society
2010
Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society
2010
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 6
Left: 3-time Olympic Hula-Hooping
champion, Rebecca Moga
Above: Drs. Louise Sun and Karolinah
Lukitto showing their support/taking
blackmail photos
It was a hard fought
battle but we managed
to recapture the Golden
Glottis!
Below: Drs. Natalie Clavel
and Rebecca Moga in
training mode
Rebecca, Marie Jo and Natalie with
their lucky hula hoop
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
At home and
abroad with the
Canadian
Forces…
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 7
These are photos of me in
Afghanistan doing a supraclavicular
block on a US Navy soldier who
suffered a crush injury to his forearm
2 days prior and required a
fasciotomy for his compartment
syndrome. He returned to the OR 2
days later to repair the torn muscle
and close the skin (which is the
procedure I did the anaesthetic for).
He watched the entire procedure and
had his friends take lots of photos
(he's a medic). I mixed 10mL 2%
lidocaine
with
20mL
0.5%
Bupivacaine with 1:400k epi.
I
injected about half above the nerve
and half below. He had very rapid
surgical anesthesia and the block
lasted over 8h (happy surgeon and
happy patient!).
Dr. Leilani Doyle
“The Royal College recognized and celebrated the service
of all military men and women, including Fellows who
have served in military conflicts, during the 2010
National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa, Ont.
Lt. Colonel Joseph Lysander Po, MD, CCFP, FRCPC, laid a
ceremonial wreath at the national cenotaph during
Canada's largest remembrance event.
Dr. Po has delivered critical care treatment to soldiers
and civilians throughout Canada and abroad. He has
deployed four times to Afghanistan, serving as the
Canadian Anesthesiologist, both at Camp Julien in Kabul
and at the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar
Airfield. In addition, Dr. Po serves as the Canadian
Force's national specialty advisor for Anesthesiology.
The Royal College honours a long legacy of service in
military conflicts, including World Wars I and II, Korea
and Afghanistan. The organization is deeply proud of the
many members who have served or are currently
serving, sacrificing their time, energy and personal safety
to serve their country.
We are all indebted to these Fellows' service.”
Above: the damaged muscle clearly ruptured
Right: me doing the block with US guidance (you can see
my little Canadian flag on my scrub top)
Just thought you'd like to know that me and the other 2
anesthesiologists (a Dutch and and American) have been
able to convince the surgeons here in Kandahar of the
benifits of regional anesthesia :)
Chief Resident’s Corner…
Drs. Natalie Clavel, Rebecca Moga and
Marie Jo Plamondon at the end of another
successful CAS Golden Glottis
championship
Being part of the Ottawa Anaesthesiology Team remains to this date an enormous
honour. I remember dreaming about becoming a doctor, then starting medical school,
and then getting a residency position at the University of Ottawa - one of the best
programs in the country! To me, being a resident is like being an athlete. Every day
you train as hard as you can, you push your limits and you welcome the challenges.
The Residency Journey is an Olympic Journey in which your Gold Medal is your final
diploma.
As mentioned by many of my predecessors, Ottawa’s reputation amongst Canadian
Medical Schools is incomparable, and our program is acknowledged not only for the
high quality of our education but also for its intrinsic camaraderie amongst staff and
residents. Achieving such a high quality program is the forthright evidence of team
work and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate some of our
anaesthesia athletes on their most recent achievements.
First of all I would like to congratulate our SuperStar PGY-5s on passing their Big Exam;
Dr. Al-Qadhi, Dr. Bartosik, Dr. El Alfy, Dr. Green, Dr. Hale, Dr. Meister, Dr. Nair, Dr.
Power, and Dr. Tsai. They are now all FRCPCs. Best of luck with your upcoming
projects! Congratulations to our former/current Fellows as well: Dr. Dr. Johnston, Dr.
Talab, Dr. Arab, Dr. Bahaziq, Dr. Doyle, Dr. Al Neaj, Dr. Gomez, Dr. Edwards, Dr.
Garneau, Dr. Shinkaruk, Dr. Silver, Dr. Debashis, Dr. Roy, Dr. Tran, and Dr. Dashti.
Talking about SuperStars, there is one amongst us that year after year keeps helping
us with our schedules, morning rounds, little and big exams, Core Program, who
advocates on our behalf on various committees, who pushes us to give our best and
who has now stepped up into the Head Coach Position of our Residency Training
Program. On the behalf of all the residents I would like to congratulate Dr. Persaud on
her previous achievements including (just to name a few!) being the Civic Campus
Resident Coordinator and Regional Anaesthesia Fellowship Director for the past 10
years, on winning the prestigious CAS Clinical Teacher of the Year Award (2007), on
winning the highly coveted award the Dave Roberts Award 3 times (2002, 2006,
2008), on being a national/international leader in Regional Anaesthesia and to
welcome her as our new Program Director. Dr. Persaud, we are delighted to have you
as our PD!
I would also like to congratulate our new resident representatives on the RPC, Dr.
Punja as our Senior Resident – General Campus, Dr. Doré as our CHEO
Representative, Dr. Bérubé as our Sudbury Chief Resident and Dr. Lalu as our
Research Representative. I also want to underline Drs Toman and Bérubé’s excellent
work as our PAIRO Representative and Ottawa CAS Resident Representative and to
mention that Dr. Fung will take over from Dr. Bérubé for the next 2 years.
It is, with great pleasure,
that I want to congratulate
Dr. Pysyk on his exemplary
and tremendous work as
previous Chief Resident,
Dr. Sikorski on his
excellent work as former
Senior Resident,
Dr. Stewart on his great
work as past Sudbury Chief
Resident and
Dr. Lalu as our incredible
Research Representative.
I want to extend the warmest welcome to
the new PGY-1s and FPAs!
What happened in the Ottawa Anesthesiology World over the past few months,
well, many things!
Lets start with Gary Johnson Day which again was a frank success. Excellent
presentations and dinner! Congratulations to all the winners; Resident
Presentation Awards: Dr. Lalu (1s t), Dr. Nair (2nd ), Dr. Tran (3rd ), Teacher of Year:
Dr. Chaput, Medical Students Teacher of the Year: Dr. Gagné.
Congratulations to our Core Program Superstars : Dr. Meister (Regional), Dr. Jee
(Pharmacology), Dr. Punja (Neuro/Endocrine).
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 8
Chief Resident’s Corner… (cont)
Then came along the 2010 annual CAS meeting where Ottawa was once again
very well represented. Dr. Barry was awarded the prestigious, highest award of
the CAS, Gold Medal Award for his tremendous contribution to Anaesthesiology,
Dr. Bryson received the Dr. R A Gordon Patient Safety Research Award
($40,000) for his research Functional Recovery and Caregiver Burden Following
Surgery in the Elderly, and Dr. Chaput the David S Sheridan Canadian Research
Award ($10,000) for his project A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Polysomnographic
Effects of Pregabalin in Post-Operative Patients. And lastly, our Champion Dr.
Moga and the Team Ottawa won the Glottis Cup after a tough round of HulaHooping. (Of note, Dr. Power finished 2nd and Noor Al-Qadhi 3rd ). Congratulations
to all the winners!
On September 22-26th was the 3rd
annual
ICRE
Conference
(The
International Conference on Residency
Education, organized by the Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Canada), this year event was in
Ottawa, and next year is to be hosted
in Quebec city, make sure to mark your
calendars! I highly recommend this
very stimulating and refreshing
conference to any Staff or Residents
interested in residency education,
leadership, well-being and health
advocacy. I was without any doubts
impressed by the high quality of the
presentations and the expertise of the
speakers.
Like Olympic athletes our journey
continues, and I wish you all the best.
Kind regards,
MJ Plamondon, Chief Resident
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 9
Then, there was the annual PGY-1s welcoming dinner, the always very
entertaining annual PGY-1s welcoming camping trip. Special Thanks to Dr.
Sikorski (the lead of this year event), Dr. Power and his wife Laura Lee
Fontaine for helping us so much, and to all the volunteers. Who won the
Bocci Ball Tournament?  More recently we had the Mentorship Dinner.
Special Thanks to Dr. Lui for organizing it and to all the mentors and
mentees who attended.
Well I am finally a happily
married man with my most
lovely wife Maibritt Kryger Po.
My fiancé (Alain Moussi) and I
got married on August 28th.
Dr. Janie Des Rosiers
We had a fantastic fairy
tale wedding day here
in Denmark!
Dr. Joseph Po
Love is in the
air…
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 10
Hassan and I are thrilled to announce the birth of Darius Richard Shenassa,
born on April 27th, 7 lbs 3 oz.
All is well and his sister is enthralled with poking him in the face and
smothering him (sometimes quite literally) with kisses. He is a calm and
peaceful baby and we are enjoying getting to know this new little person.
Dr. Simone Crooks
Title
We are thrilled to introduce Sarah Lily Thompson to our
friends. She was born Aug 17 at 10:31 weighing 6 lbs, every
pound beautiful. Sisters Emily (7) and Katie (5) are thrilled.
Mom and Dad are still in disbelief (Advanced Parental Ages) as
we delve into the world of diapers again.
Drs. Calvin Thompson and Ioana Costache
Welcome to the Family…
Louise and I had a beautiful baby boy on October 25.
Everyone is healthy and doing well. His name is
Samuel Aldoria Gagne.
Dr. Kevin Gagne
Congratulations to Dr. Sherissa Microys on the
new addition to her family…Heidi!
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 11
A day in the life of a research
assistant at the uOSSC…
In addition to being the Undergraduate Coordinator for the department
and a member of the Winterlude Committee, I also work at the
University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre.
I have the privilege of working with Dr. Stan
Hamstra (research director) and Dr. Vern Naik
(medical director) on research and educationrelated initiatives.
In my (non-existent) spare time at the centre, I
share an office with Dr. Devin Sydor (Anesthesia
simulation fellow)…where I’m told to make coffee
and not eye contact (it makes him angry).
“Advancing patient
safety and medical
education through
deliberate practice
and innovative
research.”
Mission Statement uOSSC
When I’m not in one of our four high-fidelity simulation rooms, I’m in the
skills lab assisting Kim Tardioli (surgical skills coordinator) and Kathy
LaBelle (simulation technician). Right now you might be wondering, “but
Julie, what exactly do you do at the uOSSC?”…great question!
While the residents (Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, etc) are in the
simulator, I’m the wizard of OZ behind the one-way mirror controlling
SimMan. Setting up for the numerous scenarios has been a great
educational experience for me - I’ve learned just how much time and
effort goes into planning every simulation session! When we aren’t in
the middle of a scenario or prepping for the next one, I have been lucky
enough to get to know the members of the various sim groups.
Sometimes, I might find myself sewing livers and gallbladders or pig
intestines for a surgical skills lab. On special occasions, you might see me
gowned from head-to-toe as I’m escorting a cadaver around the centre.
Kevin Thomas (uOSSC manager) oversees all of the day-to-day
operations and special events at the uOSSC, with the assistance from
Leanne McHardy and myself.
Much like snowflakes,
no two days are the
same at the uOSSC!
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 12
During the summer, we moved into a brand new, 20 000 square foot
facility located in the Loeb building at the Civic campus. Our grand opening
on October 14 was attended by TOH president Dr. Jack Kitts and University
of Ottawa president Allan Rock, as well as many members of the medical
community. The CBC and the Ottawa Citizen were just a few of the media
outlets present during the grand opening ceremony.
Commentary
by Julie
Ghatalia
PGY 1 Welcome Dinner
Dear PGY 1s,
Welcome to the University of
Ottawa - Department of
Anesthesiology!
We hope you enjoy your five
years with us 
Above: Dr. Paul Bragg (Associate
Dean – PGME) and PGY 1 Annie Pang
Right: resident Chris Pysyk with PGY
1s Brock Wilson and Steven
Tremblay
Left: chief resident MJ Plamondon
and Monique Beaulne
Left: PGY 1s Sarika
Mann and Ashleigh
Farrell
Right: PGY 1 Lillia Fung,
residents Manoj Lalu
and Joel Berube
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 13
PGY 1s spent the evening of July 5th meeting and mingling with the VIPs
in the Department of Anesthesiology and the University of Ottawa –
Faculty of Medicine
Tales from the Chronic Pain Clinic…
Plenty of excruciating excitement at the Pain Management Unit this fall!
Firstly, we’d like to welcome Dr. George Evans (a.k.a. red beard) and
Yvette Goddard (nee Grabowski). George completed his pain fellowship in
Michigan and Yvette has spent the last year doing her pain fellowship in
Halifax. Congratulations are also in order to Yvette as she has recently tied
the knot with Rob Goddard (a pharmacist at the Civic Campus and part
time exotic dancer). Remember Yvette, marriage is just nature's way of
keeping us from fighting with strangers.
Congratulations are also in order to George for his new baby boy Nicholas
who was born earlier this summer. George brags that Nicholas slept
through the night starting at 8 weeks and I think this Nicholas character is
fictitious. We also welcome our new Pain Fellow, Dr. Chris Green from the
UK who will be staying with us for the next year.
Our Wednesday morning Difficult Case rounds are a huge success. They
are often overcrowded with Pain docs, Palliative care physicians and
psychiatrists. The topics are always interesting but I think the huge turn
out is secondary to the nicotine laced cookies momma Smyth bakes.
Cathy Smyth, our industrious leader, is diligently working on the Hub and
Spoke Model that allows family physicians in the community access to the
great minds of our senior staff via preceptorships. Geraint Lewis is eager
to show the family doctors all that he’s got (see picture). Our chronic pain
retreat September 13th 2010 was held at Manoir Smyth. We worked
intensely for several hours on Pain Management unit organization. We
were then treated to a “Mindfulness Meditation Session” lead by the
meditation guru, Dr. Howard Nathan, who made us mindful of how any
meeting longer than 20 minutes really does suck (oooooooohm).
Stay tuned for the next news letter with our special feature “Le Pooh, out
on parole”
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep –
not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
Dr. Tania Di Renna
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 14
N
A
P
T
I
M
E
!
Dr. Lewis getting ready to teach
break dancing and share his chronic
pain knowledge with family doctors
in the community…
LOST AND FOUND
Jessica Ladouceur was accepted into medical school at McMaster
University. Congratulations Jessica! We miss you and wish you all the best
in the future!
Even at an early
age, Jessica knew
she wanted to be
a doctor.
Jessica at her
white coat
ceremony, with
proud
grandparents in
tow!
Taking over as administrative assistant is Elaine
Stinson. Welcome to the department Elaine! As you
can tell by the picture provided by Dr. Ewing, Elaine
is already fitting in quite well.
Joel Richard is now the assistant scheduler at the
Civic Campus.
Angelina is Dr. Miller’s administrative assistant at the
General Campus
Congratulations and Welcome!
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 15
Upcoming Meetings:
CAS: June 24-28, 2011, Toronto, ON
Halifax 10: Oct. 21-23, 2010, Halifax, NS
IARS: May. 21-24, 2011, Vancouver, BC
SCA: April 30-May 4, 2011, Savannah, GA
ASRA: May 5-8, 2011, Las Vegas, NV
ASPA: Nov 17-20. 2011, New Orleans, LA
Visiting Professor:
April 6, 2011 - Dr. Angela Enright
Department of Anesthesiology
Royal Jubilee Hospital
Victoria, BC
May 13, 2011 - Gary Johnson Research Day
Dr. David McKnight
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
Gary Johnson Research Day
Title
The annual Gary Johnson Research Day is an opportunity for residents to debut
their research projects. In addition to the presentations, there were also a number
of posters at this year’s event.
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 16
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 17
Gary Johnson Research Day
Dr. Geraint Lewis uses a lull in the
night’s festivities as a chance to
seize the microphone…
Drs. Sylvain Gagne and Lucie Filteau each received the
Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Senior Resident Rob Sikorski and Chief Resident Chris
Pysyk get an early start on celebrating their upcoming
PGY 5 status.
Drs. Chris Pysyk, Dan Power and Lukasz Bartosik are recognized for
their terms as CHEO scheduler, Senior Resident and Chief Resident
(respectively) for the 2008-2009 academic year.
The Gary Johnson Research Day carried into
the night with the awards dinner –
celebrating excellence in the field of
Anesthesia.
Drs. Don Miller and Dave Ewing are the new
site chiefs for the General and Civic
campuses, respectively. Dr. Nikhil Rastogi
accepted the post of Undergraduate Director.
Our Fellows and PGY 5s received their
diplomas (there is a light at the end of the
tunnel!).
Dr. Linda Wynne nears the finish line as
Program Director…
Staff members were honoured for their
contributions to the residency program and
the department.
And even though the dinner signaled the
end of the academic year, we chose to say
“see you soon” rather than “good-bye” to
those who would soon be leaving the
department.
Congratulations to all of this year’s
graduates and awards recipients!
FREEDOM!
NOTEWORTHY…
The timings:
Andy – 2:51
Alan – 3:30
Posters, Presentations and Publications:
Eipe N, Doherty DR. A review of pediatric capnography. J Clin
Monit Comput. 2010 Aug;24(4):261-8.
Moga R, Nicholson D, Hudson J, Hudson C. A little known valve. J
Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2010 Apr 26
Thompson C, Moga R, Crosby E. Failed videolaryngoscope
intubation in a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal
hyperostosis and spinal cord injury. Can J Anesth. 2010 57:679–
682
Rob – 3:38
Congratulations!
Dr. Alan Chaput with residents Andy Roberts and Rob Jee at the Steamtown
marathon. Rumour has it that this group was formed at the annual awards dinner
after-party.
The Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) Investigations Unit began at Civic Campus in 1977.
Dr. Vivyan Morton was the founding Director from our Department of
Anesthesiology. There have been several Directors including Dr. Wayne Lambert, Dr.
Charles Cattran, Dr. Gregory Allen and Dr. Gordon Reid. Our present Director is Dr.
Kevin Nolan. Our unit is part of the North American MH Group and is associated with
the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States.
A Scientific MH meeting was held in Pittsburg,PA on April 23 and 24th, 2010 at the
Mercy Hospital. Dr. Kevin Nolan, Dr.Victor Neira and myself attended the meeting
entitled Malignant Hyperthermia-New Insights and Connections with other
Myopathies. We presented a poster describing an Ottawa Family known to us for 4
decades that has double causative mutations for MH.
As we advance in our understanding of MH and genetics there are still many
questions of what MH is and involves. We are including genetics testing for some of
our MH families and the diagnostic muscle biopsy, the Caffeine Halothane
Contracture Test is still performed here at TOH Civic Campus.
Mary Lou Crossan
2010 Summer/Fall PAGE 18
Vance Beck – “Does Vasopressor Delay Affect Mortality in
Patients with Septic Shock?” and “Predictors of Readmission to a
Cardiac Surgical ICU” (posters at CAS); “Two year follow-up of
Cardiac Surgical Patients who required readmission to the critical
care unit” (poster at ISQUA); “Does Vasopressor Delay affect
Mortality in Patients with Septic Shock? (with new data)” (poster
at SCCM).
Debashis Roy – articles: “Need for shorthening of Epidural
Catheter- Not applicable for all types of Catheter- Published in
Journal of Anaesthesia and Clinical Pharmacology, Vol 26(3),
2010, page 428” and “TEE clarify the cause of Cardiovascular
Collapse in Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery - Under consideration for
publication by Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.” presentations:
“Role of ketamine and lignocaine infusion in post operative pain
management for major liver resection -A pilot project (case
series).” (CAS) and " Anesthesia for Liver Transplant” (Indian
Society of Anesthesia)
Alumnus Dr. Miriam Berchuk was featured in an issue of Avenue
Magazine (Calgary) in the “Top 40 under 40” series. The article (and
video) can be found here: http://www.avenuecalgary.com/top-40under-40/item/miriam-berchuk. Congratulations Dr. Berchuk!
Happy Campers!
Newly minted FRCPCs
Shona Nair and Ashley
Meister show residents
Carla Lipan and MJ
Plamondon the proper
way to roast
marshmallows
Residents and staff got to know each other outside of the OR…in the safety
of the wilderness!
NOTE: no residents were harmed in the making of this camping trip
The camping trip was a
great opportunity for
the new PGY1s to get
a chance to meet their
fellow residents
Dr. Dan Power taking down
the forest one tree at a time
Dr.
Desiree
Persaud
dares a
brave
resident
to steal
her drink
The annual residents’ camping trip was held in
August at Fitzroy Provincial Park.