<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=799546403794687&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Blogs

Department of Surgery News and Stories

GITES

Community    Burn    GITES

Burn Trip to Uganda and Rwanda Focuses on Building and Strengthening Relationships

An ocean, several countries, and more than 8,000 miles lie between the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Kibogora Hospital in Kirambo, Rwanda. The similarities between the two locations, however, are significant.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 26, 2023
Full Story

Community    Obesity    GITES    Bariatric surgery

Bariatric Surgery Journey Takes Man from Knee Pain to the Lightness of Flying

Danny Naranjo was still several years from his 40th birthday, but he was increasingly aware of that milestone on the horizon.

His body mass index (BMI) was about 80. He had back pain and struggled with lymphedema. His knees hurt when he had to walk even short distances for his job at Elitch Gardens, and he did it only with a steady stream of Tylenol, ibuprofen, and sometimes tramadol. As 40 approached, he knew these concerns might only get more acute, with new ones possibly joining them. He wanted to change what was beginning to feel like an inevitable future.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 16, 2023
Full Story

Community    Awareness    GITES

Addressing Some Common Questions About Fecal Incontinence

It’s not uncommon for patients to approach their health care providers in blushes and whispers, burdened by the weight of perceived taboos.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 14, 2023
Full Story

Research    Burn    GITES

Can Alcohol-Associated Burn Injuries Impair Cognitive Function? 

The relationship between alcohol use and burn injuries is a negative one in multiple ways. Not only are about 50% of adults who sustain burn injuries intoxicated at the time of injury, suggesting that alcohol use may have contributed to the incident, but alcohol use among burn-injured patients is associated with more severe complications, delayed recovery, and increased morbidity and mortality. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 07, 2023
Full Story

Community    GITES    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

Thriving in the Complexity and Immediacy of Trauma Surgery

When Lauren Steward, MD, was 5, her parents presented her with three career options: doctor, lawyer, or engineer.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 23, 2023
Full Story

GITES

What is a Gallstone, Anyway?

Gallstones are one of the most common problems affecting Americans and are more common the older you get. When gallstones get stuck in the bile ducts, they can cause the gallbladder to back up with bile and become inflamed, often leading to a cholecystectomy, or removal of the organ altogether.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 14, 2023
Full Story

Community    Awareness    Trauma and Fractures    GITES

Bob Saget’s Death from Accidental Head Trauma Brings Awareness of Signs to Look for Following Head Injury

Comedian Bob Saget’s death on January 9 was a shock to fans who loved him as Danny Tanner on “Full House” or for his stand-up comedy, and to those who admired and respected him as a colleague.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 10, 2022
Full Story

Research    Education    Community    Trauma    GITES

CU School of Medicine Surgery Residents Take First, Second Place in Trauma Paper Competition

Two general surgery residents at the University of Colorado School of Medicine — Margot DeBot, MD, and TJ Schaid, MD — placed first and second, respectively, in the District 8 regional competition for the 2022 American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma Paper Competition in early December. DeBot and Schaid are both T32 NIH research fellows in the CU Trauma Lab.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 17, 2021
Full Story

Patient Care    Community    Child & Adolescent    GITES

CU Surgeon Looking to Extend Bariatric Surgery Services to Adolescent Patients

Over the past five decades, childhood overweight and obesity has transitioned from public health concern to public health crisis. In 1971, 5.2% of U.S. children ages 2 to 19 were experiencing obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a number that increased to 19.3% by 2018.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 30, 2021
Full Story

Research    Patient Care    Community    Burn    GITES

University of Colorado Burn Center Completes Three-Year Verification Survey

Last month, the University of Colorado Burn Center underwent the American Burn Association (ABA) Survey, a verification process that occurs every three years. The Burn Center has achieved continual verification since its first ABA Survey in 1998, and that trend continues this year. The Burn Center received its verification confirmation on May 19, 2021, to continue through April 2024.  


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date June 03, 2021
Full Story

Research    Patient Care    GITES

Bariatric Surgery Public Health Initiative Improves Lives for Patients with Obesity

Fredric Pieracci, MD, MPH/MSPH, an associate professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Surgery, is the senior author on a new paper published in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases that details the results of a public health initiative to provide affordable bariatric surgery to uninsured Denver County residents.  


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date April 28, 2021
Full Story

Patient Care    Community    Trauma    GITES

From Trauma to Triumph

Trapped by a fire in her Aurora apartment building, Alina Miller was forced to jump from a fourth-story window to escape the flames. The fall left her with a broken back and a crushed foot.


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date January 09, 2019
Full Story

Press Coverage    GITES

UCHealth Trauma Docs Rebuild Bodies & Lives

Alina Miller jumped from a four-story building to escape a fire. Luckily she lived near the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) Emergency Department, where experienced trauma doctors treated her injuries. With its years-long track record treating trauma patients, UCH in October 2018 earned a Level 1 trauma center designation for its combination of resources, research, and education.


Author Front Porch | Publish Date January 01, 2019
Full Story

Patient Care    Community    Trauma    GITES

University of Colorado Hospital recognized as Level I Trauma Center

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the American College of Surgeons have designated UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital a Level I trauma center, making it one of only five hospitals in the state with the highest capabilities for trauma care.


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date October 12, 2018
Full Story

Department of Surgery In the News

KDVR

Montana Baby Receives Rare Life-Saving Heart Surgery at Children’s Hospital Colorado

news outletKDVR
Publish DateAugust 20, 2023

A Montana family is no longer planning a funeral after their baby was saved by rare life-saving surgery that was performed at Children's Hospital Colorado last year.

Full Story
Denver Gazette

Successful Robot-Performed Liver Donor Transplant Performed at Aurora Uchealth

news outletDenver Gazette
Publish DateAugust 16, 2023

Surgeons at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital's transplant center in Aurora performed what is believed to be the first robotic liver transplant surgery on a living donor in the Rocky Mountain region, officials announced in a news release.

Full Story
KDVR

Parker Woman First in Colorado To Receive Robotic Liver Transplant Surgery

news outletKDVR
Publish DateAugust 15, 2023

PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — Surgeons at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital have made a medical breakthrough, successfully completing a robotic living donor liver transplant for the first time in state history, according to UCHealth. 

Full Story
Health

What to Know About Small Bowel Obstruction, a Rare Complication of Bariatric Surgery

news outletHealth
Publish DateJuly 20, 2023

The unexpected death of Lisa Marie Presley last January has been linked to a complication of years-old bariatric, or weight loss, surgery, according to an autopsy report.

Full Story