MDNews - Central New York

Thoracic Surgery at St. Joseph's Health: Continuity and Evolution THOR ACIC SURGERY IN CENTR AL NE W YORK IS MARKING THE END OF ONE ER A AND THE BEGINNING OF A NE W ONE. A S THE VENER ABLE SUHA S PR ADHAN, MD, STARTS HIS RE TIREMENT, A NE W SURGEON, NICHOL A S YERKES, MD, ARRIVES TO START SEEING PATIENTS AT ST. JOSEPH'S HE ALTH. DR. PRADHAN COMPLETED his thoracic surgery training at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 1978. He's been in private practice since then, helping tens of thou- sands of Central New York patients. After working with Dr. Pradhan as general surgery residents and seeking thoracic training in Rochester, New York, and Iowa City, Iowa, David Wormuth, MD, and Dr. Yerkes returned to Syracuse to practice general thoracic surgery. Dr. Wormuth is a Syracuse native and a graduate of the SUNY Upstate general surgery program. He started his practice in 2002, after completing training at the University of Rochester in 2000 and work- ing for two years at Rochester General Hospita l. The retirement of Amilcar Baretto in 2002 created a need for another thoracic surgeon, a nd Dr. Wormuth returned home to start his practice. Dr. Yerkes is a native of Mystic, Connecticut, and spent five years in Syracuse as a general surgery resident at SUN Y Upstate. Graduating in 2013, Dr. Yerkes spent two years in Iowa City completing his thoracic surgery fellowship. Upon graduating, Dr. Yerkes chose to return to Syracuse to continue the tradi- tion of thoracic surgery excellence at St. Joseph's Health. Thoracic Surger y dea ls mostly with oncolog y problems involving the lungs, esophag us a nd chest wa ll that require surg ica l treatment. Traditiona lly, the approach to the interna l orga ns of the chest required ma king la rge incisions and pushing the ribs apart so there was room to work on the a f fected orga n. Not infrequently, patients were sore a nd took severa l mont hs to recover from surger y. One of the major new innovations in su rger y — a nd t hora cic su rger y, i n particular — is accomplishing the same oncologic endpoint through sma ller or m i n i m a l l y i n v a s i v e o p t i o n s . Drs. Pradhan and Wormuth added these skills to their practice through ex tra cou rse work a nd evolut ion of t hei r surgica l technique. Centra l New York t horacic surger y patients now have minima lly invasive options, including robotic and thoracoscopic approaches, to treating their tumors. Dr. Yerkes arrives, fresh from his train- ing, with these skills as an integral part of his surgical arma- mentarium. One of the strengths of the su rg ica l t ra i n i n g process is the cross- p o l l i n a t i o n o f surgical ideas. While there is a common ex perience of the g e n e r a l s u r g e r y training at SUN Y Upstate, those skills go with the surgeon to Rochester and Iowa City, mix with the new local customs, and return as an assimilation of the best ideas. Since 2006, Drs. Pradhan and Wormuth have used the da Vinci robot for thoracic surgica l treatment of esophagea l and lung cancer, as well as problems with the thymus gland beneath the sternum. In 2011, seeking a more expedient treat- ment course, Drs. Pradhan and Wormuth added thoracoscopic lobectomies to the list of minimally invasive procedures of fered. Since t hen, more t ha n 100 lobectomies for lung cancer and approxi- mately 75 esophagectomies have been performed at St. Joseph's. "Not every patient is a good candi- date for minimally invasive surgery in the final analysis," Dr. Wormuth says. "Each patient is eva luated individu- ally and their treatment plan tailored to achieve the best oncologic outcome. We always consider whether a minimally invasive approach is possible and advis- able. However, if a minimally invasive approach is feasible, we will adopt it, as patients tend to recover faster and w it h les s d i scom for t compa red t o open approaches." As we wish Dr. Pradhan a happy retire- ment, Drs. Wormuth and Yerkes look forward to continuing the fine tradition of excellent patient care and oncologic excellence. Continually seeking better ways to accomplish our goals with patient centered care in mind, Drs. Wormuth and Yerkes are committed to caring for the people of Centra l New York who find themselves or their loved ones in need of a thoracic surgeon. ■ (L–R) David Wormuth, MD, and Nicholas Yerkes, MD T H O R A C I C S U R G E R Y ❰❰❰❰❰ 1 9 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C EN T R A L N E W YO R K ■ 2 016 1 9

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