March 2014 - The Department of Surgery | Wayne State University

MARCH 2014
Karim Zahriya, MD
Sunday, March 9
Inside this issue:
Dr. Karim
Zahriya
The Toledo
Surgical Society
Dr. Conrad F.
Bernys Says
Goodbye
1-5
6
6-9
The Clan
10-13
Remembers Dr.
Ernie Berkas
WSUSOM
Annual Alumni
Day
14
WSSS Dues
15
WSU Monthly
Conferences
16
WSSS
March 17
17-18
Dr. Karim Zahriya was born in 1961 and received his early
education in San Jose, California, where he attended high
school and, later, matriculated at San Jose State University.
Dr. Zahriya obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1983 and his
master’s degree in 1984 at San Jose State prior to entering
into the WSU School of Medicine in 1984. Karim did exceedingly well during his premedical years, graduating with
great distinction and receiving Honors in all of his chemistry
courses. He also was involved in a research fellowship at Dr. Karim Zahriya
the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during three of (WSU/GS 1988/93)
his undergraduate years and received an American Chemical Society
Scholarship.
Dr. Zahriya continued to perform at a high level throughout medical
school and received multiple honors grades during his clinical rotations.
He was well liked by the faculty, all of whom predicted success in his subsequent surgical career. Karim recalls how his first surgical rotation as a
third-year medical student at the Hutzel Hospital was not all that wonderful. He reported to Dr. Jerry Rosenberg, the chief of surgery at the Hutzel
Hospital, in dress slacks and a shirt but with no tie and a day old beard.
Dr. Rosenberg, as was his typical routine, went around the room and had
each of the new students introduce themselves. When he got to Dr. Zahriya, he asked, “You’re not a student on my rotation are you?” Before Dr.
Zahriya, in a very nervous manner, muttered “Yes,” Dr. Rosenberg instructed Dr. Zahriya to “Follow me.” He led Dr. Zahriya to the OR locker
room, where he took out a shaving kit and one of the brightest ties that
Dr. Zahriya has ever seen. After promptly shaving and putting on one of
these “flashy” ties, they returned to rounds and continued for the rest of
the day as if nothing had happened. Dr. Zahriya feels that “Despite that
first day, or maybe because of it, that rotation is what endeared me to general surgery.”
Karim still states that this rotation excelled for the
“intellectual intensity and discipline” that should be required on every surgical rotation. Somehow, Karim managed to overcome his initial bad introduction to Dr. Rosenberg, who later wrote one of the most supportive
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Karim Zahriya, MD, cont..
letters for entry into the surgical residency program.
During his residency years, Dr. Zahriya especially recalls a very challenging case that he performed with L/L on the Green Service at the Detroit Receiving Hospital. Indeed, this was the patient that he saved for
his “most memorable case” at the end of his senior year. Dr. Zahriya
was a third-year resident covering the critical care unit when his senior
resident (HO4) went on vacation and was not scheduled to return for
Zahriya and his wife,
two more days. Dr. Zahriya admitted a middle-aged patient with epigas- Dr
Kamlah, in Dubai
tric pain and upper GI bleeding. Endoscopic exam, the next morning,
showed a large gastric cancer. Clearly, the patient wound need to have a gastrectomy.
Knowing that the senior resident would be returning in 36 hours, he made sure that all
of the preoperative tests were done when he rounded that day with Dr. Ledgerwood
(WSUGS 1972). He personally took the biopsy specimen to the pathologist, who did a
frozen section and confirmed that this was indeed a gastric carcinoma. He became very
frustrated because the CT scan machine at DRH was down and it looked like the CT
wound not be done until the senior resident returned; a pizza treat to the Harper Hospital radiology technician solved that problem, and soon the team was wheeling the patient
through the tunnel in order to obtain the CT at Harper Hospital. Another promised pizza
to the Receiving Hospital OR front desk secured a spot at 8 o’clock for the next morning’s
schedule. Consequently, when the team made rounds with Dr. Ledgerwood and the intern presented all of the materials, including the endoscopic findings, pathology report,
and CT results, Dr. Ledgerwood, who knew the patient had just been admitted the past
night, smiled and look at Karim and asked, “When are going to do him?” When informed
by Karim that there was a spot reserved for the next morning, she smiled again and said,
“You know the party is tomorrow?” Dr. Zahriya was crushed; he forgot about the party.
He and the other team members knew that Dr. Ledgerwood hosted the most amazing
parties for the residents and students on the rotation and that this party included many
homemade dishes that required major work and preparation on her part. Karim was
ready to concede that he had lost the battle when she added, “Okay, we’ll do it tomorrow.”
The operation was quite involved in that the tumor was invading the left lobe of the liver and a portion of the left hemidiaphragm. When he observed these findings, he
thought that this would be a “cussing case” but was amazed that the procedure went
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MARCH 2014
Karim Zahriya, MD, cont..
Quite smoothly. By the end of the case, he states that he was floating
on air; his residents claim that he was busting his britches. Prior to
the procedure, Dr. Ledgerwood “ensnared” Dr. Lucas (WSU/GS
1962/67) into the case, so that this became a long, team effort. Dr.
Zahriya still insists that this is one of the most enjoyable times that he
has ever had in the operating room! He had never scrubbed with both
of them at the same time before. He describes many aspects of the
operation: “Partner, cut here.” “Partner, I know where to cut.” Dr. Zahriya, during his residency
“Partner, you’re not seeing it properly.” “Partner, you’re not showing it days, with his son, Osama
to me properly.” This bantering back and forth took place until Dr. Ledgerwood had to
leave in order to prepare for the party. Dr. Lucas and Dr. Zahriya finished the case, so
that the both of them could be on time for the party. The patient recovered uneventfully.
Dr. Zahriya remembers many “one liners” that he was taught by his faculty and, in
many instances, had adopted as his own. “Don’t tell me how rough the seas are, just
bring the ship home.” by Dr. Donald Weaver (WSUGS 1979). “Can I inject you with rat
adrenalin?” by Dr. David Bouwman (WSUHS 1978) to stimulate a slow-moving resident
at grand rounds. He especially remembers the Dr. Larry Diebel (WSU/GS 1980/86) art
tours during rounds when he graciously enlightened the team on the meaning of all the
statues, in the atria, at the Detroit Receiving Hospital. The one that stands out the most
for Dr. Zahriya is the “IV drug abuser who injected himself in the hand.” Dr. Zahriya
had always thought it was just a kid with a baseball glove. He has many more memories
from the surgical residency, which have left an indelible impression upon him and
helped mold him into the current mature person and mature surgeon that he has become. He philosophizes that this is probably the purpose of a training program.
Dr. Zahriya feels that the surgical training at WSU prepared him for surgical practice
and that both the diversity and number of cases that he treated was unmatched in any
other program. During his years as a resident, he was determined to take full advantage
of these opportunities. He recalls that, when he was a third-year resident, a recent WSU
graduate referred a patient in to have a Whipple procedure. He vowed that he would
learn to do the Whipple procedure, so that he could do them in practice. He does, however, remember how the transition from residency to private practice can be “interesting.”
During his first week in practice, he was consulted to see a patient for possible
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Karim Zahriya, MD, cont..
appendicitis. After examining the patient and reviewing the imaging
studies, he called his partner and started to present the case to him.
His partner, having been down the same road, asked him what he
was doing and quickly reminded him that “You’re done presenting
cases, this is your patient.” Working with such a mature partner, the
first year progressed rapidly from that time on. He was rewarded
with his hard work by knowing that there were many major cases
such as Whipple procedures and right hepatectomies that he performed in patients who never turned a hair. His new partner was ex- Dr. Osama Zahriya (WSUGS 2018)
his daughter, Yasmeen, and
tremely pleased with Dr. Zahriya’s training and served as a great holding
Dr. Anna Ledgerwood (WSUGS 1972)
mentor to him. They worked together for ten years before Karim
joined a group in Delano, a small town of about 60,000 residents and about 90 minutes
north of Los Angeles. He has been in Delano for 13 years. Because it is a small town,
he has the opportunity to do many things unavailable to surgeons working in big cities.
He performs the whole gamut of general surgical procedures including many that have
long been relegated to the surgical specialties. His practice includes many endocrine
procedures including a large number of thyroidectomies. He also is very busy with
breast surgery and performs all of his own ultrasound and ultrasound guided breast biopsies; he is certified in these procedures. Dr. Zahriya also continues to perform laparoscopic repair of incisional and inguinal hernias and laparoscopic colectomies. He even
performs laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and single-site cholecystectomies (“I
don’t need no stinkin’ robot”). Occasionally, he will do thorascopic exams.
When he first joined his new group, he performed a fair amount of bariatric surgery,
but when one of his partners retired and the other partner passed away, there was no
longer enough time for him to meet other surgical commitments, so that he has ceased
doing bariatric surgery. Until recently, he would do peripheral vascular cases until a
new vascular surgeon came to town, so that these cases are now referred to his new colleague. Dr. Zahriya, however, maintains his vascular skills by doing the majority of access procedures, including angioplasty and stenting for the hemodialysis program. Because the number of gastroenterologists in Delano is limited, he performs elective and
emergency EGDs and colonoscopies. More recently, he has taken an ERCP course and
now is doing most of the ERCPs, including sphincterotomy and stenting within the town
of Delano. He describes how they have a good radiology team but they are not comfortable with interventional radiology so that he also performs IR procedures.
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Karim Zahriya, MD, cont..
His busy schedule is made more exciting by having medical
students from the nearby Kern County Medical Center rotate
with him. Like all students, they keep him on his toes and force
him to stay up with all of the literature in order to be “ahead of
them” on teaching rounds. Dr. Zahriya has also been an excellent support person for the hospital system and has worked out
many ways in which patients received optimal care without the
hospital losing reimbursement. The administration is very appreciative of the hard work that Dr. Zahriya has brought to this
level.
The Zahriya Clan
Dr. Zahriya and his wife, Kamleh, have also been productive on the home front. His
oldest son, Mahmoud, has started his own business. His second son, Osama, followed
his father’s tradition and is currently a surgical resident in the WSU surgical program.
His third son, Dean, is in his third year of medical school. Karim is convinced that when
Dean gets onto his clinical rotations, he’ll be “bit by the same bug” when he does a surgical rotation and will decide to become a surgeon. His two young
children are girls. Their oldest daughter, Amanah, was married
two months ago. Their baby, Deanna, is now 18 years old. She
thinks that she might want to become involved in optometry, although Karim things that she is probably the smartest one of the lot
and will probably end up choosing ophthalmology.
Dr. Zahriya’s grandchildren feed one of
the horses
Despite the many hours dedicated to work, Karim and his lovely
bride find time to enjoy camping and boating. They sponsor a biannual office camping trip that has now has expanded to include hospital staff and their
families, growing to nearly 50 people. They also have five Arabian horses and they enjoy
riding as a family and with students whenever there is an opportunity. They are avid
travelers and have recently returned from trips to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.
Dr. Zahriya and his family extend their best wishes to the surgical clan. He can be
reached a kzahriya@gmail.com.
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MARCH 2014
THE TOLEDO SURGICAL SOCIETY
Dr. Mallory Williams (WSUGS 2006) is the current president of the Toledo Surgical Society. This
past month, Dr. Charlie Lucas (WSU/GS 1962/67)
had the privilege of addressing the Society and had
the opportunity to visit with a number of former
residents. The presentation dealt with “Vignettes
on Pancreatic Malignancies” and stimulated many
questions. A good time was had by all.
(Left to right) Dr. Charlie Lucas with Dr. Mallory Williams (WSUGS 2006), Dr.
Don Martin (WSUGS 1986), and Dr. Joe Sferra (WSUGS 1991)
DR. CONRAD F. BERNYS SAYS
“GOOD BYE”
Each decade, a WSU surgical program trains a number of individuals who then become important leaders in the Southeast Michigan communities. One of these leaders
was Dr. Conrad (Connie) Bernys (WSUGS 1964), who left us this past November. Dr.
Tom Siegel (WSU/GS 1977/82) identified Connie as a 20 th century surgeon making his
great contribution before many of the confusing quality issues of the 21 st century.
Tom likes to describe how Connie did his thing before:
1. Surgical outcomes were measured by compliance with SCIP protocols and the routine, timely entries of “uploaded templates” of nearly identical “H&Ps,” “updated
H&Ps,” “problem lists,” “brief postop notes,” and “discharge summaries.”
2. The avalanche of “rules and regulations,” “policies and procedures,” mandatory
second opinions, “peer to peer” denials, and the many conflicting edicts put out by
“CMS,” “the joint commission,” “HIPAA,” “Stark,” “ACGME.”, “HCAHPS,” and “PressGaney.”
3. The patient’s chart became a confusing inventory of 4,000 ICD-9 procedural codes
(soon to become 72,000 ICD-10 codes), driven by the “Medical Industrial Complex.”
4. “Meaningful use” (an oxymoron if ever there was one) entered the lexicon.
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DR. CONRAD F. BERNYS SAYS
“GOOD BYE”, cont..
5. The Electronic Medical Record became a cyberspace labyrinth of countless pages of
meaningless “copy & paste,” signed and cosigned templates of progress notes, consultation notes, operative notes, nursing notes, midlevel notes, discharge summaries, lab reports, and x-ray reports.
6. The surgeon had to navigate multiple screens to successfully find a kernel of meaningful information so deeply secreted.
7. The sometimes silly restrictions on duty hours in surgical resident education, when
the surgeon was judged by true surgical outcomes such as how the patient did.
Dr. Bernys, known as Connie to his friends and colleagues, was a master surgeon by
anybody’s definition. Both the residents and students sought him out for technical and
cognitive teaching. He was a skilled anatomist, which helped in his very diverse surgical practice. During his medical school years at the University of Michigan, he helped
support his growing family by teaching anatomy and prosecting cadavers. He also supported the growing family by being an outstanding accordion player in a small band.
He even wrote a Polka, which is liked by many.
Connie grew up in Jackson, Michigan, the son of Polish immigrant parents. He was
the baby and the only boy with his four older siblings being girls. One of his most
memorable events occurred when FDR delivered his “Day of Infamy” speech while Connie was riding in his father’s car. Following high school, he attended Kalamazoo College
and then the University of Michigan School of Medicine, where he became a lifelong fan
of the U of M athletic program. He never missed a U of M
football game, home or away, and his tailgate parties
were legendary. During these parties, he would always
pull out the old accordion in order to entertain his many
guests with a number of oldies, which always included
“The Victors.”
During his medical school years, Connie knew that he
wanted to be a surgeon and was accepted by the
Belleview Hospital program in New York City, the U of M,
and WSU. Connie had a heart-to-heart discussion with
his mentor, Dr. Charlie Johnston, the long-term chairman
of surgery at WSU.
Page 7
Dr. Conrad Bernys and his bride, Mary, tailgating at a
U of M football game
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MARCH 2014
DR. CONRAD F. BERNYS SAYS
“GOOD BYE”, cont..
Charlie emphasized that Connie could get a pretty good surgical experience in New York but he would be paid too little to support a
growing family, ultimately three sons and a daughter. Also, while
the salary at the U of M was somewhat better than New York, he
was unlikely to get the surgical experience that WSU offered; Connie decided to stay in Detroit in the WSU surgical program.
Connie did his first year of internship in West Virginia working
with Dr. Robert Crowley, who later came to WSU and wrote a fa- Dr. Conrad F. Bernys (right), a master surgeon
mous book about the strengths of the men (there were no women
then) working as WSU surgical residents. Shortly after starting the program, Dr. Charlie
Johnston died, but Connie was exposed to outstanding WSU surgeons and researchers including Dr. Nick Gimble, Dr. Alan Thal, and Dr. Robert Wilson (WSUGS/TS 1963/65).
After completing his residency, Connie entered private practice at the Oakwood Hospital and
the Harper Hospital while continuing as a consultant at the Allen Park Veterans Administration
Hospital. His reputation as a master surgeon continued to grow, and his practice continued to
get larger. He was often called upon to help other surgeons in difficult cases, even when they
occurred in hospitals where he did not have privileges. His volume of parathyroid surgery rivaled that of the leading endocrine surgeons in Michigan. His skills continued to attract the
attention of surgical residents who wanted to emulate his techniques, and fourth-year medical
students who were interested in surgery. His elective rotation was always filled. Students
were provided a wide exposure of intraoperative experience. Dr. Siegel reports that the students felt that the “Bernys rotation” rivaled the Lucas and Ledgerwood rotation offered in the
fourth-year rotation known as “Day Wards” (a misnomer as the students rarely saw the light
of day). Taken together, these two fourth-year electives provided medical students with the
very best teaching experience in surgery anywhere. Tom relates his own experience with
these two rotations and reports that he was captivated and convinced that he had to be a surgeon. Tom reports that Connie’s excellence was in the operating room. He was always professional,
sometimes autocratic, but with the patients best interest in mind.
He was able to analyze the problem, respond quickly
to the challenges, and then proceed with the mastery of a conductor directing a symphony orchestra. During an operation, he would
periodically slow down in order to teach very important points to a
resident and later hurry up as he hollered, “Come on! Boom
Continued page 9
Dr. Conrad Bernys, his bride, Mary, and the Boom!” when things went too slow.
family
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MARCH 2014
DR. CONRAD F. BERNYS SAYS
“GOOD BYE”, cont..
Connie was not an academic surgeon but enjoyed teaching. He
was a clinical professor of surgery in the WSU School of Medicine
Department of Surgery. He was always well read and up-to-date on
the surgical literature. He was instrumental in developing a surgical
first assistant program at Oakwood, which gained national attention
and has evolved into a career of great value for countless individuals.
Connie was early in the adoption of the laparoscopic approach to
Dr. Bernys entertaining the fans in
surgery and became adept at it. He enjoyed the respect of his col- front of his famous motor home with
the Michigan Stadium mural
leagues, he was elected to two terms as chairman of the department
of surgery at Oakwood Hospital and served as president of the Academy of Surgery and of
the Detroit Medical Club. He belonged to many surgical societies and actively participated
in them. Among the many achievements in his career, he was particularly proud of being
named “Attending Surgeon” to the Detroit Police Department. He even carried a shield.
Dr. Siegel recalls, “I had the distinct honor to be associated with Connie for 17 years of
practice, and I can honestly say that they were among the most enjoyable of my professional career. In those years, we never missed an opportunity to scrub together, frequently wordlessly anticipating one another’s moves now as a surgeon, now as assistant.
From the earliest, he would take great pride in my solo triumphs in difficult cases. He
was always motivating and challenging the scrub techs, CSAs, and circulating staff who
would eagerly choose to work with him. While Connie could be austere in the operating
room, he was a different man at leisure. He managed a large walk-in wine cellar which
provided many outstanding tasting to his many friends. I counted him among my closest
friends and he treated me as a member of his family. At his memorial service, his son,
Kevin, noted that, to his father, the glass was neither half full nor half
empty; the glass was always filled to overflowing.”
Remembrance from Dr. Lloyd A. Jacobs (WSUGS 1974)
Dr. Bernys with his son, Kevin,
and daughter, Lisa, at a Rose
Bowl game
Page 9
“I worked with Connie Bernys almost daily from the moment I finished by residency and for about five years thereafter. It was a wonderful experience. He was a consummate surgical technician and his
mentorship completed me as a surgeon. We became great friends so
that my decision to join the WSU department and the Veterans Administration Hospital full-time was a bittersweet occasion.”
MARCH 2014
The Clan Remembers Ernie Berkas
From Dr. Jeffrey Beaudoin (WSU/GS 1991/96)
Dear Editor, thank you for the great article on Dr. Berkas. Although I was not yet in kindergarten in the glory years you described, I did have time peripherally to intersect with this great man. My aunt helped me land a job at Oakwood, 1985 or so, wiping butts, transporting, etc. to get that coveted “hospital experience” on my future applications.
I soon was able to move down to the ER as an orderly. I always admired the RESPECT that the ER docs and nurses had for Dr.
Berkas. He walked kinda slow, slight limp as I recall, and mild mannered. O yes, there were some loud-mouthed, full-ofthemselves surgeons there, but without really knowing him, I knew he was good and had something that can’t be taught….that
being CLASS!
I originally thought I wanted to be an ER doc, but as they were freaking out over some sick people in the ER, Dr. B would calmly
see them and get them to the OR or wherever they needed to be. So one day after working a double shift (16 hours) without eating,
we had a patient come in stabbed with an ice pick, Dr. Berkas taking him for exploration just as my shift ended. So I introduced
myself, told him I was interested potentially in surgery but had never seen an operation. He let me observe, and I soon became
lightheaded at the start and nearly fainted (really impressed him, I am sure)!!
A year or so later,in his office, he removed a lipoma from under my arm, the significance of which that being his LAST operation
ever, which he told me upon completion. (It never grew back, but the one on my back that Dr. Bouwman removed in 1991 and
1992 has returned once again.)
Hence, he was involved with my first operation and I was the recipient of his LAST :)
A couple of years ago in our ER in Petoskey (HIPPA ALERT) while seeing someone else, I looked down and saw a face sheet
with his name on it. I inquired as to where he was, as I wanted to re-introduce myself and show him I no longer would faint at the
site of blood. I was told that I had just missed him as he had been discharged home. I wish now that I had at least called him. Perhaps I will have the privilege to take care of his Cheboygan family at some point.
March 30
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The Clan Remembers Ernie Berkas, cont..
From Dr. Hubert C. Huebl (WSUGS 1965)
In 1962, after about 2-1/2 years in a pyramided surgical training program on the Cornell Division of Bellevue Hospital in New York
City, and after having met my future wife, Helen Sugrue, a nurse at Bellevue Hospital, I was accepted by Dr. Raymond Read at the
Wayne State University surgical training program in Detroit.
After an initial introduction at Detroit Receiving Hospital, I was assigned to the clinic at the Veterans Hospital in Allen Park. It
was there that I met Dr. Ernest M. Berkas, who had arrived not long before as chief of surgery at the Veterans Hospital. He soon
placed me in the surgical residency training program on the wards and in the operating room.
It rapidly became clear to me, and to all of us, that he was a master surgeon in diverse fields, including not only general surgery, but
also vascular, head and neck, trauma, thoracic, and plastic/reconstructive. He had been trained by Dr. Owen Wangensteen at the University of Minnesota. When he came to Detroit, he brought with him as academic associates, Dr. Alan Silbergleit (WSUGS/TS
1960/65) and Dr. Agustin Arbulu (WSUGS/TS 1961/65), both of whom joined the faculty of WSU and have remained here ever since.
During my early training at the Veterans Hospital, he established one of the first surgical intensive care units in this area.
After completing my general surgical training, I became an instructor in surgery at WSU and simultaneously trained in thoracic
surgery under the mentorship of Dr. Berkas, completing my training with a fellowship in Southern California in 1967-1968. Dr. Berkas had resigned his position at the Veterans Hospital in order to enter private practice at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, and he
offered to have me join him as an associate. Due to illness in my wife’s family in New York, I declined his offer at the time, instead entering practice in general thoracic surgery with a group in the Boston area, which was only about a three-hour drive from Long island.
Nine year later, in 1977, the family and practice situation had changed, and when, at a surgical meeting, the same opportunity to join
Dr. Berkas as an associate was presented, I was able to accept the offer. I was fortunate to be able to practice with Dr. Berkas as an
associate for the next twelve years until his retirement.
In addition to being a master technical surgeon, he displayed superb clinical judgment, which is one of the most difficult things to
learn or to impart to others. He also was exemplary in his compassionate care for patients and in his professional conduct among all
members of the staff and administration. Paraphrasing my wife, Helen, who was a nurse working at the hospital, “The nurses all admired and were fond of Dr. Berkas. Whenever he came to the floor, they would immediately be eager to see how they could help him.”
During my time in practice, I always regarded myself as a “Berkas-trained surgeon.” It was truly an honor and a privilege to have
had Dr. Berkas as my mentor, associate, and friend.
Dr. Hubert Huebl has been a long-time supporter of WSU and both the student and residency teaching program. He has received awards for his teaching contributions with which he is still involved.
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The Clan Remembers Ernie Berkas, cont..
From Dr. Donald Smith
“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can”
John Wesley, His Rule
“Although this rule by John Wesley was not a tenet of the Covenant Church that Ernie Berkas attended and served, it certainly
was a rule to which he subscribed. I approached Dr. Berkas in the early 1960s to inform him that one of the patients, who had
been successfully separated from a large oral cancer adjacent to the mandible, could have maintained his ability to masticate his
food if we (oral surgery) would have seen him preoperatively. After patiently listening to my explanation, Ernie asked, “Do all of
the head and neck surgery?” I responded in the negative, frankly admitting that I was not capable or desirous of such a challenge
but merely wanted to help these patients when possible. That idea was enough for Dr. Berkas! He then told me that he was doing
a head and neck case in the morning and asked if I could join him. Quite naturally, I accepted.
During the radical neck dissection that occurred the next morning, Dr. Berkas (always so kind and thoughtful) did not include
me in the questioning that was always directed toward his residents as part of his teaching. Oh, I learned a whole lot but was not
embarrassed by having my ignorance exposed. I was soon included in all of his teaching quizzes and assumed responsibilities of
helping during an operation and closing after the dissection was completed. With time, these operative duties expanded greatly.
Preoperative clinical, oral, and roentgenographic examinations allowed us to eliminate potential infections, fabricate appropriate prostheses, and instruct patients in postoperative care. Subsequently, the active involvement of the oral surgeons in all operative areas made postoperative care much easier and safer, which has always been our primary goal. An unplanned benefit of
several general surgical residents was their expanded exposure to various surgical procedures performed under local regional
block anesthesia. Some of those residents who were later headed for “missionary” type surgeries in Third World countries were
especially pleased to learn and become expert at regional blocks prior to going to foreign lands.
While we all worked to improve the clinical care of patients, Dr. Berkas introduced me to the Christian Medical Society, to several other groups of physicians, and to another aspect of his love for his fellow man. Ernie didn’t just talk about religion, he lived
it! Several years later, my late wife, Jackie, and I dined with Ernie and Mary and were presented with a one-of-a-kind gift. Ernie
had gone through the entire Bible and condensed each chapter into a few sentences and typed the key sentences in red print. This
masterpiece has been a treasure for my family.
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The Clan Remembers Ernie Berkas, cont..
After I left the Veterans Administration Hospital, I had the privilege of working with Ernie at the Oakwood Hospital on patients with head and neck cancer. It was still a thrill and a privilege.
I had a nice note on my Christmas card and had hoped to see the Berkas family at the cottage next summer. My advice to all:
“Don’t put off a call or a visit or it may be too late!” I was pleased to read his daughter, Carol’s, report that “He died a happy
man.” It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!!!
Dr. Don Smith was the chief of the oral surgical program at the Veterans Administration Hospital and an
associate professor in the department of surgery at Wayne State University. He is now retired.
From Dr. Anna Ledgerwood (WSUGS 1972)
I recall asking Dr. Ernie Berkas to see a patient at the VA who had been treated for a perforated appendix with diffuse peritonitis. He was at the VA for the conference and kindly went to see my patient who was quite ill. As we walked toward the patient’s
room, I asked Dr. Berkas whether a pyloroplasty or an antrectomy was better for duodenal ulcer disease. His very quick response was, “It makes no difference, as long as you do a complete vagotomy.” I believe that statement is true today. Dr. Berkas
could operate in any cavity and almost every organ. He was always willing to help out people in training such as myself. He was
a committed physician and surgeon to his patients and was known to schedule eight cases in a day at Oakwood, with the last one
being a Whipple. He was very knowledgeable regarding the literature but felt free to comment that his experience often differed
significantly from what was written.
March 20
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MARCH 2014
WSUSOM RETURNING TO DETROIT
The WSUSOM is returning to Detroit in 2014 to
celebrate their annual Alumni Day. This will be the
first time that this annual event has occurred in our
great city since the beginning of the 21st century.
The meeting will begin with a scientific CME session,
which will be held at the new Mazurek Building next
to Scott Hall. Following a light breakfast, the scientific session begins at 8 a.m. and extends to the noon hour. The topics are currently being
selected and will include many up-to-date and innovative presentations covering all specialties.
Following a business meeting during the lunch hour in Scott Hall,
the evening function will occur at the Motor City Casino in downtown Detroit. Those from Southeast Michigan should plan on visiting their classmates on the evening of Saturday, May 10, at the
Motor City Casino. Put this date on your calendar. Additional
information will be included in the subsequent monthly email reports. Hopefully, we will have enough surgical alumni to have a
separate room dedicated to our department.
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Wayne State Surgical Society
MARCH 2014
2014 Dues Notice
MARK YOUR
Name:
CALENDARS
Address:
March 6-8
Central Surgical Association
City/State/Zip:
Indianapolis, Indiana
Service Description
Amount
2013 Dues Payment
__ $200__
My contribution for “An Operation A Year for WSU”
*Charter Life Member
_
____
_$1000__
Total Paid____________________________________________________
Marriott Copley Place
Boston, Massachusetts
May 10
Detroit, MI
Include your credit card information below and mail it or fax it to
313-993-7729.
Credit Card Number:_________________________________________
MasterCard
American Surgical Association
WSUSOM Alumni Day
Payment by Credit Card
Type:
April 10-12
Visa Expiration Date: (MM/YY)__________
Name as it appears on card:__________________________________
May 14-16
Michigan Chapter of the ACS
The Inn at the Bay Harbor
Petoskey, MI
Signature:__________________________________________________
Billing address of card (if different from above):
Street Address______________________________________________
City______________________ State____________ Zip Code_______
*I want to commit to becoming a charter life member with payment of $1000 per
year for the next ten (10) years.
Send check made payable to Wayne State Surgical Society to:
Deborah Waring
Department of Surgery
Detroit Receiving Hospital, Room 2V
4201 St. Antoine Street
Detroit, Michigan 48201
Please Update
Your Information
The WSUSOM, Department of Surgery wants to
stay in touch. Please contact Deborah Waring at
dwaring@dmc.org to update your contact information.
Page 15
MARCH 2014
Page 16
WSU MONTLY CNFERENCES
2014
Didactic Lectures - 8 am
Kresge Auditorium
Harper Hospital
Death & Complications
Conference
Every Wednesday from 7-8
Wednesday, March 5
Death & Complications Conference
“ARDS”
Ehssan Zare, D.O.
WSU Department of Surgery
Wednesday, March 12
Death & Complications Conference
“Education on New Perioperative Hand-Over Initiative in O.R
Tentative Rollout date 4/14/14”
Vinay Pellekonda, M.D.
“Intestinal Failure”
Terra Pearson, M.D.
WSU Department of Surgery
Wednesday, March 19
Death and Complications Conference
“The Role of Endoscopic Biliary Sphincterotomy for the Treatment of Type 1 Biliary Dysfunction (Papillary Stenosis) With or Without Biliary Stones”
Choichi Sugawa, M.D.
WSU Department of Surgery
Wednesday, March 26
Death and Complications Conference
“Carotid Artery Disease”
Brad Jones, M.D.
WSU Department of Vascular Surgery
(Location Change: Crockett B, University Health Center”
MARCH 2014
Page 17
Missing Emails
Over the years the WSU Department of Surgery has lost touch with many of its alumni. If you know the email, address, or phone number of the following WSU Department of Surgery Residency Program graduates please email
us at clucas@med.wayne.edu with their information so that we can get them on the distribution list for the WSU
Department of Surgery Alumni Monthly Email Report.
Ram Agrawal (1974)
R. Kambhampati (2003)
Edgar Roman (1971)
Mohammad Ali (1973)
Aftab Khan (1973)
Renato G. Ruggiero (1994)
David B. Allen (1992)
Mark Leiser (1996)
Parvid Sadjadi (1971)
Tayful R. Ayalp (1979)
Samuel D. Lyons (1988)
Samson P. Samuel (1996)
Robert C. Birks (1970)
Dean R. Marson (1997)
Knavery D. Scaff (2003)
Juan C. Calzetta (1982)
Syed A. Mehmood (2007)
Steven C. Schueller (1974)
Sebastian J. Campagna (1969)
Mehul M. Mehta (1992)
Anand G. Shah (2005)
Kuan-Cheng Chen (1976)
Toby Meltzer (1987)
Anil Shetty (2008)
Elizabeth Colaiuta (2001)
Roberto Mendez (1997)
Chanderdeep Singh (2002)
Fernando I. Colon (1991)
Mark D. Morasch (1998)
Raj A. Sukhnandan (1966)
David Davis (1984)
Daniel J. Olson (1993)
D. Sukumaran (1972)
Teoman Demir (1996)
Ellen Beth Ozolins (2000)
David G. Tse (1997)
Judy A. Emanuele (1997)
David Packer (1998)
Peter VandenBerg (1986)
Lawrence J. Goldstein (1993)
Daniel S. Paley (2003)
Christopher N. Vashi (2007)
David M. Gordon (1993)
Y. Park (1972)
Carlos M. Villafane (1990)
Raghuram Gorti (2002)
Bhavik G. Patel (2004)
Larry A. Wolk (1984)
Karin Haji (1973)
Michael M. Peikoff (1970)
Peter Y. Wong (2002)
Michelle Hardaway (1989)
Jerome P. Pucelik (1966)
Shane Yamane (2005)
Morteza Hariri (1970)
Everton Quadros (1968)
Chungie Yang (2005)
Abdul A. Hassan (1971)
Ami Raafat (1998)
Hossein A. Yazdy (1970)
S. Amjad Hussain (1970)
Kevin Radecki (2001)
Lester S. Young (2008)
Rose L. Jumah (2006)
Sudarshan R. Reddy (1984)
Lawrence S. Zachary (1985)
Paul Zidel (1986)
WAYNE STATE SURGICAL SOCIETY
The Wayne State Surgical Society (WSSS) was established during the tenure of Dr. Walt as the
chairman of the Department of Surgery. WSSS was designed to create closer contact between
the current faculty and residents with the former resident members in order to create a living
family of all of the WSU Department of Surgery. The WSSS also supports department activities.
Charter/Life Membership in the WSSS is attained by a donation of $1,000 per year for ten years
or $10,000 prior to ten years. Annual membership is attained by a donation of $200 per year.
WSSS supports a visiting lecturer each fall and co-sponsors the annual reception of the department at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Lisa Flynn
(WSU/GS/VS1993/98/99) passed the baton of presidency to Dr. Mark A. Herman (WSU/GS
1994/2001) at the WSSS Gathering during the American College of Surgeons meeting in October 2012. Members of the WSSS are listed on the next page. Dr. Herman hopes that all former
residents will become lifetime members of the WSSS and participate in the annual sponsored
lectureship and the annual reunion at the American College of Surgeons meeting.
MARCH 2014
Page 18
Members of the Wayne State Surgical Society
Charter-Life Members
Ahn, Dean
Colon, Fernando I.
Allaben, Robert
Conway, W. Charles
Ames, Elliot L.
Davidson, Scott B.
America, Kathryn C.
Flynn, Lisa M.
Auer, George
Fromm, Stefan H.
Bassett, Joseph
Fromm, David G
Bouwman, David
Galpin, Peter A.
Clink, Douglas
Gerrick Stanley
Grifka Thomas J.
(Deceased)
Herman, Mark A.
Huebl, Herbert C.
Johnson, Jeffrey R.
Johnson, Pamela
Kovalik, Simon G.
Lange, William
(Deceased)
Lim, John J.
Rosenberg, Jerry C.
Weaver, Donald
Lucas, Charles E.
Sarin, Susan
Whittle, Thomas J.
Montenegro, Carlos E.
Shapiro, Brian
Wilson, Robert F.
Narkiewicz, Lawrence
Smith, Daniel
Wood, Michael H.
Novakovic, Rachel
Stassinopoulos, Jerry
Ramnauth, Subhash
vonBerg, Vollrad J.
Rector, Frederick
Washington, Bruce C.
Rose, Alexander
Walt, Alexander
(Deceased)
Members of the Wayne State Surgical Society
Bodzin, Jason
AN OPERATION A YEAR FOR WSU
January 1, 2014 through
December 31, 2014
Kathryn C. Amirikia
Jason Bodzin
Scott B. Davidson
Peter A. Galpin
The WSU department of Surgery has instituted a new group of alumni who are remembering their training by donating the proceeds of one operation a year to the department. Those who join this new effort will be recognized herein as annual contributors.
We hope that all of you will remember the department by donating one operation, regardless of difficulty or reimbursement, to the department to help train your replacements. Please send you donation to the Wayne State Surgical Society in care of Dr.
Charles E. Lucas at Detroit Receiving Hospital, 4201 St. Antoine Street (Room 2V), Detroit, MI, 48201.