Department of Thoracic Surgery Archive — Page 4 of 6

Portrait of an older man with white hair wearing a dark suit and patterned tie, seated in front of bookshelves.
September 14, 2020

Former Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery leader Bender mourned

Harvey W. Bender, MD, professor of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, Emeritus, died Sept. 12. He was 86.

By Wayne Wood
Sourav Panja, PhD, underwent a complicated procedure at VUMC to treat his relatively rare form of pulmonary hypertension.
September 10, 2020

Technique helped treat patient’s rare pulmonary disorder

Sourav Panja, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was working in his lab one evening last year when he began coughing up blood. Even breathing was becoming difficult.

By Matt Batcheldor
Medical illustration of two lungs on a black background, with a red highlighted mass in the upper region of the right lung.
July 23, 2020

Criteria for lung cancer screens may be expanded

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.

By Tom Wilemon
Stylized blue illustration of a pair of human lungs with branching airways visible inside.
July 13, 2020

Human lungs rejected for transplant recovered using novel technique

A multidisciplinary team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Columbia University has demonstrated that injured human donor lungs declined for transplant can be recovered by cross-circulation between the human lung and a xenogeneic host.

By Matt Batcheldor
Illustration of the human respiratory system showing the lungs, bronchi, and rib cage in glowing purple, orange, and yellow tones.
April 30, 2020

Rehab technique may help increase donor lung supply

A new technique shows the potential to increase the supply of donor lungs by rehabilitating those organs previously considered too damaged for transplant.

By Matt Batcheldor
Portrait of a bespectacled man in a dark suit, white shirt, and patterned tie against a brown background.
April 23, 2020

Medical, biological engineering institute honors Bacchetta

Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA, associate professor of Thoracic Surgery and adjunct associate professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been inducted to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

By Matt Batcheldor