ACS and Alliance Will Release Second Volume of Operative Standards for Cancer Surgery
CHICAGO (December 16, 2015): The ACS and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology working on second volume of cancer surgery techniques and recommendations.
ACS CoC Oncology Medical Home Accreditation Standards Manual
CHICAGO (December 8, 2015): The Commission on Cancer released the Oncology Medical Home Accreditation Program Standards Manual, which aims to provide comprehensive medical care.
[Commission on Cancer Quality Program]
Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, Elected Chair of ACS Board of Regents
CHICAGO (November 10, 2015): Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, New York City, was elected Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons during Clinical Congress 2015.
52 ACS NSQIP® Hospitals Recognized for Achieving Meritorious Outcomes for Surgical Patient Care
CHICAGO (October 29, 2015): The ACS NSQIP has recognized 52 of 517 hospitals participating in the adult program for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2014.
[ACS NSQIP Quality Program]
Courtney M. Townsend, Jr., MD, FACS, is American College of Surgeons President-Elect
CHICAGO (October 19, 2015): Courtney M. Townsend, Jr., MD, FACS, was elected President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during the College’s Annual Business Meeting.
Surgical Resection Prolongs Overall Survival for Patients Whose Melanoma has Spread to the Abdomen
CHICAGO (October 8, 11:30 am CT): Surgical removal of melanoma that has metastasized, or spread, to the abdomen appears to help patients live more than twice as long as those who receive only medical therapy, according to study results presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. In more than 1,600 patients treated over 45 years, the results showed an overall survival benefit from surgical treatment despite recent advances in systemic drugs to treat metastatic melanoma.
Many Colonoscopy Patients Do Not Accurately Recall Important Exam Details as Time Lapses
CHICAGO (October 8, 11:30 am CT): As time lapses, many colonoscopy patients become less and less likely to recall when and where they last had the procedure performed; who the doctor was who performed it; whether polyps were found, and, if so, the number and size of those polyps, according to new study results presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Helmeted Bicycle Riders Have Significantly Reduced Severity of Injury and Lower Death Rates After an Accident
CHICAGO (October 8, 11:15 am CT): Helmeted bicycle riders have a 58 percent reduced odds of severe traumatic brain injury after an accident compared to their non-helmeted counterparts, according to researchers from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Their findings were presented today during the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Total Thyroidectomy Complication Rates and Costs Are Lower if Surgeon Performs 25 or More Cases Yearly
CHICAGO (October 7, 5:45 pm CT): A new study is one of the first to identify a minimum surgeon volume that is associated with improved patient outcomes for this common thyroid operation.
Electronic Tracking System Contributes to Significant Reduction in Blood Transfusions and Infection Rates
CHICAGO (October 7, 6:00 pm CT): An electronic system that monitors how physicians give blood to patients after an operation has enabled a 22-hospital system with thousands of doctors to significantly reduce the amount of blood transfusions patients receive, cutting costs by $2.5 million over two years and contributing to lower infection rates without harming patients, according to a study presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Researchers Isolate Novel Urinary Biomarkers that May Indicate Adrenal Cancer
CHICAGO (October 7, 6:00 pm CT): A global analysis of metabolites and small molecules in urine samples from patients with adrenal cancer has identified four biochemicals that, when measured together, can distinguish malignant from benign adrenal tumors, according to study results presented at the 2015 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
ACS Honors Four Members with Surgical Humanitarian and Volunteerism Awards
CHICAGO (October 7, 12:05 am CT): Last night, four surgeons received the 2015 American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award and Surgical Volunteerism Awards in recognition of their selfless efforts as volunteer surgeons who provide care to medically underserved patients abroad.
Single Mastectomy Is a More Cost-Effective Treatment for Nonhereditary Cancer in One Breast than Removing Both Breasts
CHICAGO (October 6, 6:00 pm CT): For younger women with early-stage, noninherited breast cancer on one side, a unilateral, or single, mastectomy leads to a slightly higher quality of life and lower costs over the next 20 years compared with contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM), according to new study results presented at the 2015 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. The quality of life and cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted in women under age 50 who had the most common type of breast cancer—sporadic, meaning no family history of the disease.
Targeted Chemotherapy Shows Early Signs of Slowing Tumor Growth with Less Toxicity
CHICAGO (October 6, 2:30 pm CT): Surviving neuroblastoma as a child can come with just as many challenges as the cancer itself, mainly because of the toxic effects of chemotherapy. But a team of surgeons is in the nascent stages of developing a more targeted method of treating neuroblastoma patients with chemotherapy and lower toxicity. Their research results were presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Surgical Trainees Retain Information Longer and Master Skills Better When They Hone Their Skills Beyond Proficiency
CHICAGO (October 6, 1:00 pm CT): Researchers from Drexel University have found that when surgical trainees train beyond competence using a simulator, they retain information longer and master surgical skills better than those who stop practicing when they achieve an initial level of proficiency. Their study findings were presented at the 2015 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons during a Posters of Exceptional Merit presentation.
Simulation Training Saves Precious Minutes in Speeding the Treatment of Trauma Patients
CHICAGO (October 6, 10:00 am CT): When a trauma patient enters the emergency room, the medical team has what is known as the “golden hour,” a window of time to evaluate and stabilize the patient to prevent death. To help trauma teams optimize that limited time frame, trauma surgeons have developed a simulation training program that cuts precious minutes off evaluation times and gets trauma patients to medical imaging tests faster, investigators reported at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Testosterone Levels Improve in Obese Men Following a Common Weight-Loss Operation
CHICAGO (October 5, 1:15 pm CT): A common weight-loss operation called sleeve gastrectomy can make testosterone levels normal in obese men, according to new findings presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons is Awarded to Six Prominent Surgeons
CHICAGO (October 5, 12:01 am CT): Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was awarded to six prominent surgeons from Ghana, Australia, India, France, Argentina, and Barbados. The Honorary Fellowships were presented at the Convocation ceremony.
Kentucky Surgeon J. David Richardson, MD, FACS Installed as 96th President of the American College of Surgeons
CHICAGO (October 5, 12:01 am CT): J. David Richardson, MD, FACS, a general, thoracic, and trauma surgeon, was installed as the 96th President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Richardson is a professor of surgery and vice-chairman of the Hiram C. Polk, Jr., MD Department of Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY.
Wisconsin Surgeon John A. Weigelt, MD, DVM, FACS, Receives 2015 Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeons
CHICAGO (October 5, 12:01 am CT): John A. Weigelt, MD, DVM, FACS, a trauma surgeon from Milwaukee, WI, received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during the Convocation ceremony. The DSA is the highest honor bestowed by the ACS.
ACS Releases Compendium of Strategies to Enhance Victims’ Survivability from Mass Casualty Events
Description: ACS has released a new compendium of expert recommendations on strengthening the security and resilience of U.S. citizens after mass casualty events.
ACS Launches Enhanced “Surgery Career Connection” Powered by YourMembership
CHICAGO
(September 2, 2015): The ACS launched Surgery Career Connection, a new career center that connects surgeons across all disciplines and career stages with employers offering career opportunities.
20 Cancer Care Facilities Receive National Achievement Award from American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
CHICAGO
(August 3, 2015): The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American
College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted its mid-year 2015 Outstanding
Achievement Award to a select group of 20 accredited cancer programs
throughout the United States. Award criteria were based on qualitative
and quantitative surveys conducted during the first half of 2015.
[Commission on Cancer Quality Program]
New Scoring System May Help Identify Surgical Patients at Greatest Risk for Pulmonary Complications
CHICAGO (July 26, 2015–4 pm CT): Physicians have developed an analytical tool to identify surgical patients at risk for costly respiratory complications, which may help hospitals avoid those complications and their related costs as Medicare and commercial payers exert increasing pressure on them by eliminating payment for patient complications that occur after operations and may extend hospital stays.
[ACS NSQIP data study]
Texas Children’s Hospital Cuts Waitlist Times for Pediatric Heart Transplant Patients
CHICAGO (July 26, 2015–4 pm CT): Long waitlist times often lead to a higher risk of death for children awaiting heart transplantation. However, the team at Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, cut wait times by revising their waitlist protocols for donor heart size and patient severity status and presented results at the 2015 ACS NSQIP® Conference.
[ACS NSQIP Quality Program]
Surgical Teams Reduce UTI Rate by Focusing on Catheter Use in the Operating Room
CHICAGO (July 26, 2015–4 pm CT): Surgical teams at Northwestern Memorial Hospital are decreasing the UTI rate by paying scrupulous attention to the use of catheters before and immediately after operations. Their efforts are believed to be among the first reported in the country to target UTI prevention in the OR by decreasing catheter utilization.
[ACS NSQIP data study]
ACS NSQIP Data is More Accurate than Administrative Data for Measuring Surgical Patients Outcomes
CHICAGO (July 26, 2015–4 pm CT): According to two new studies presented today by researchers at the 2015 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) National Conference in Chicago, ACS NSQIP provides more accurate data than administrative data for driving surgical quality improvement in hospitals.
[ACS NSQIP data study]
Surgeon Ratings Need to Be a Shared Responsibility
CHICAGO (July 22, 2015): ACS strongly believes that patients and their families deserve to have meaningful information available to assist them in selecting the right surgeon and responds to two public interest groups who launched websites promising to assist with surgeon evaluation.
ACS Partners with NAEMT for a Civilian Training Course on Hemorrhage Control Techniques
CHICAGO (July 9, 2015): ACS has partnered with NAEMT to develop a medical preparedness course that empowers bystanders to become immediate responders to mass-casualty events.
National Program to Improve the Quality of Geriatric Surgical Patient Care Announced by ACS and John A. Hartford Foundation
CHICAGO (June 11, 2015): The American College of Surgeons and John A. Hartford Foundation announced they will conduct a four-year initiative that will lead to improved care of older surgical patients through a standards and verification program for hospitals. The Geriatric Surgery Verification and Quality Improvement Program will produce a framework generalizable to all hospitals—regardless of size, location, or population served—to improve the quality of care they provide to older adults undergoing surgery.
Joseph P. Vacanti, MD, FACS, Receives the 2015 Jacobson Innovation Award
CHICAGO (June 5, 2015): Joseph P. Vacanti, MD, FACS, received the 2015 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) at a dinner held in his honor Friday, June 6. Dr. Vacanti, the John Homans Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, is also the director of the Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication, the codirector of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, and the chief of pediatric transplantation, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
New Rapid-Deployment Plasma Protocol Effectively Treats Trauma Patients Quicker in the ER
CHICAGO (May 28, 2015): Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death among people under age 45, but if trauma physicians could deliver plasma to these injury victims within minutes of their arrival in the emergency room, more of them would stand a better chance of survival.
Safety and Effectiveness of Weight Loss Operations for Children Featured on Recovery Room
CHICAGO (May 22, 2015): The Recovery Room, a podcast produced by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has released a new episode addressing how bariatric operations effectively treat obesity in pediatric and adolescent patients.
Save the Date: Chicago Hosts the ACS Clinical Congress October 4-8
CHICAGO (May 4, 2015): The American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2015, one of the largest international meetings of surgeons, will convene October 4–8 in Chicago.
ACS Declares Victory after Milestone U.S. Senate Vote Repealing Broken SGR Formula
CHICAGO (April 15, 2015): The ACS gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Senate’s landslide 92-8 vote Tuesday to stabilize the Medicare program by repealing the SGR.
ACS Launches Home Skills Program for Surgical Patients Who Require Complex Wound Management
CHICAGO (April 14, 2015): A new ACS initiative uses a structured teaching and verification program that utilizes engaging media and self-assessment checklists to educate patients about self-care for complex wound conditions.
American College of Surgeons Hails U.S. House Passage of Medicare Access Bill
CHICAGO (March 26, 2015): The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is optimistic that much-needed Medicare program reforms are within reach following today’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. ACS congratulates representatives for working together to develop a bill that implements meaningful reforms to the Medicare program, including permanent repeal of the broken sustainable growth rate formula (SGR) used to calculate physician reimbursement.
ACS Applauds U.S. House Efforts to Fix Broken Medicare Formula
CHICAGO (March 20, 2015): ACS is commending lawmakers for working together to develop a H.R. 1470 (SGR Repeal ACT), which implements meaningful reforms to the Medicare program.
75 Cancer Care Facilities Receive National Award from Commission on Cancer
CHICAGO (March 16, 2015): The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted its 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award to a select group of 75 accredited cancer programs throughout the United States. Award criteria were based on qualitative and quantitative surveys conducted last year.
[Commission on Cancer Quality Program]
ACS NSQIP® Named a 2014 Recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award
CHICAGO (March 4, 2015): The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum have awarded ACS NSQIP the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award.
[ACS NSQIP Quality Program]
ACS Issues Safety Advisory to Not Feed Peanuts to Infants and Young Children at Risk for a Peanut Allergy
CHICAGO (March 3, 2015): According to the ACS, recent news coverage concerning exposing babies to peanuts to avoid a food allergy into adulthood sounds positive, but could have disastrous outcomes.
Hospitals Participating in ACS NSQIP Significantly Improve Surgical Outcomes Over Time
CHICAGO (February 27, 2015 – 10 am CT): The majority of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS NSQIP®) improve surgical outcomes over time, and improvement continues with each year that hospitals participate in the program, according to a new study published online today in Annals of Surgery.
[ACS NSQIP Quality Program]
ACS Releases Position Statement Stressing Importance of Trauma Center Designation Based Upon Population–Based System Need
CHICAGO (February 6, 2015): The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recently released a statement emphasizing that the allocation of trauma centers should be based upon the needs of the population, rather than the needs of individual health care organizations or hospital groups.
[Committee on Trauma Quality Program]
ACS Issues Comments on Surgical Quality and Readmissions Studies in JAMA
CHICAGO (February 3, 2015): The American College of Surgeons addresses two studies in the February 3 issue of JAMA that discuss an ACS quality improvement program—ACS NSQIP.
[ACS NSQIP Quality Program]
ACS Launches Initiative to Attract the Next Generation of Surgeons and Continue Its Legacy of Excellence
CHICAGO (January 7, 2015): Today ACS announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at stimulating more young surgeons (defined as under the age of 45) to become involved in the organization and increase membership.