2.19.23 APDCRS Robotic Series: Splenic Flexure Mobilization with Dr. Garrett Friedman

  Dr. Garrett Friedman is a Colon & Rectal Surgeon with Las Vegas Complex Surgical Specialists in Las Vegas, NV. Dr. Friedman has treats a wide variety of conditions but specializes in minimally invasive robotic surgery with a special interest in robotic transanal surgery (Xi/SP), robotic re-operative surgery, natural orifice robotic surgery and fully robotic single port trans-abdominal procedure. Dr Friedman is also a PI for the FDA clinical trial for SP Robotic Colectomy. Dr. Friedman obtained his medical degree from Medical College of Wisconsin. He did his residency at Loma Linda University and his fellowship at Weill-Cornell/New York Presbyterian Memorial Sloan Kettering Columbia University Program. Dr. Friedman is also an expert in hereditary colon cancer syndromes, and has edited a textbook on the management of these complex syndromes. He is a co-author of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for colon cancer survivorship and the lead author for the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Lynch Syndrome for the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons.

2.5.23 Transanal TME: A story of collaborative innovation with Dr. Patricia Sylla

Dr. Pat Sylla graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College in 2000 and completed her General Surgery residency at Columbia University Medical Center. She completed fellowship training in Colorectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Sylla is an innovator with particular interest in minimally invasive approaches to rectal diseases. While still a clinical fellow, she initiated a transanal NOTES project in a swine model that transitioned to a cadaveric model and led to the first clinical case of transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) for rectal cancer in 2009. Dr. Sylla has helped implement taTME worldwide and is leading the North American Phase II Multicenter North American trial of taTME for rectal cancer. Dr. Sylla is a Professor of Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital where she serves as System Chief of colorectal surgery, associate program director of the colorectal fellowship, and director of clinical trials for the Department of Surgery. Her clinical practice focuses on minimally invasive treatment of colorectal rectal cancer, diverticular disease and IBD. She is president elect of SAGES.  

1.29.23 Health Literacy in Colorectal Surgery with Dr. Daniel Chu

Dr. Daniel I. Chu is an Associate Professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed his undergraduate at Yale and medical school at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After residency at Boston University Medical Center, he completed a colon and rectal surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. His clinical practice specializes in the spectrum of colorectal disease including inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, diverticular disease, and anorectal disorders. His NIH-funded research interests focus on identifying, understanding, and reducing health disparities in surgery with particular attention to health literacy.