Outgoing and Incoming Residents 2016
Congratulations to our resident class of 2016! We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Dr. Daniel Benson will join a private practice in Dallas, Texas. Dr. C. Tanner Hughes will join Urology Oncology Associates in Mobile, Ala. Dr. Jubilee Tan will begin a Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship here at UAB.
We also welcome our new interns: Carli Calderone, Baylor College of Medicine; Luke Ellenburg, UAB School of Medicine; Ava Saidian, University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Carli Calderone
Carli Calderone was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. For her undergraduate degree she attended Miami University (of Ohio, not Florida!) where she studied Zoology, Spanish and Latin American Studies. Combining her interest in global health, science, and love of people, she decided to become a doctor. Wanting simultaneously to pursue a career in medicine and avoid another freezing Midwest winter, she decided to attend Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. There, she fell in love with the field of urology, and is lucky enough to pursue her training at UAB. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing and watching sports, exercise of all kinds, and most importantly, spending time with her husband and dog, Sadie.
Luke Ellenburg
Luke Ellenburg grew up in Arab, Alabama. He graduated magna cum laude from Samford University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He then attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society during his fourth year. An interest in surgery and the disease processes treated by urologists initially attracted Luke to the field of Urology. As a medical student, he was able to further explore this interest by working with several UAB urology residents and faculty on various research projects. At this early stage of training, his interest in subspecialties remains broad. In his free time, he enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Ava Saidian
Ava Saidian is from Wichita, KS and attended the University of Texas for her undergraduate degree. After receiving a degree in Neurobiology, she went on to medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. In her free time she enjoys gardening, reading non-medical books and playing tennis. Her dream is to one day own a honey bee and berry farm and sell fresh honey and fruit jam at her store "Sweet Thangs." Until then, she is very much looking forward to studying Urology at UAB and being a Urological professor and physician at an academic hospital.
Nix Named Director of Robotic Surgery
Dr. Nix has been named the Director of Robotic Surgery for the University of Alabama Health System. He currently serves as the Director of Robotic Surgery for the Department of Urology. In this new role, he will work with faculty, staff, and administration to update and assess the process of credentialing, evaluating robotic surgery metrics (such as cost, operative time, and conversion rates), and developing a plan for the future direction of robotic surgery within the health system.
Dr. Nix joined the Department of Urology in 2013 and has helped advance the use of robotic-assisted surgery within both the Department and at UAB Hospital. He was an instrumental member of the team responsible for acquisition of the new da Vinci Xi systems brought to UAB, and he has participated in strategic endeavors with Intuitive Surgical and the UAB Health System. His robotic surgery experience has evolved to include post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, off-clamp partial nephrectomy, and nephrectomy with caval thrombectomy. We look forward to the evolution and advancement of robotic-assisted surgery at UAB under the guidance of Dr. Nix.
Dr. Killian shares her training experience in Zambia
by Mary Elaine Killian, MD
The University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, the capital and largest city in Zambia, is a massive complex with 1,800 beds and multiple departments, but there are no pediatric urologists. From September 22 to October 2, 2015, IVUmed, a nonprofit organization committed to making quality urological care available worldwide, hosted a pediatric urology week at the hospital to help address this unmet need. I was thrilled to participate as an IVUmed Resident Scholar, sponsored by the AUA Southeastern Section.
On the first day, the pediatric nursing station served as our clinic room, and patients -- many of whom traveled long distances -- lined up around the ward to be seen. We developed an efficient triage center, with stations for basic information such as weight to be recorded, and places for examinations by the local and IVUmed urologists and anesthesiologists.
We evaluated more than 50 patients with a wide range of urologic issues, including hypospadias, trauma, epispadias, fistulae, UPJ obstruction, exstrophy, and posterior urethral valves. The need for pediatric urologists was evident with each patient we saw. Children who would have had surgery before one year of age in the United States were presenting for the first time at six years of age or older, or with indwelling catheters instead of undergoing immediate surgery. After clinic, we had the difficult task of arranging this operating schedule for the week. Since there were only enough time and resources for about 25 cases, we had to pick the cases best suited for operation that week.
We performed numerous hypospadias repairs, some of which were repeat operations due to extensive scarring or wound breakdown. These are problems that we encounter in the United States but seemed to be more significant in this patient population. We also saw a three-year-old who had a ureteropelvic junction obstruction. His kidney was so dilated that it was easily palpable on physical exam and he had close to one liter of urine drain out intra-operatively once the obstruction was relieved. With the severity of his pathology, it might have been picked up on routine prenatal ultrasounds had he been in the United States. Several of the other cases performed were for patients with posterior urethral valves which were being managed with indwelling catheters, since they do not have a pediatric resectoscope with which to treat this problem. Procedures that would have been outpatient in the States were admitted to the hospital for management, largely due to the travel and financial limitations of many of the families.
Since medical school, I have wanted to participate in an international medical mission trip. I was overjoyed to be admitted to the IVUmed Resident Scholars Program, and the experience I gained exceeded my expectations. Working with the local urologists was an incredible and educational experience. I learned much about patient care, adaptability, and resourcefulness. Our host and local urologist at UTH, Dr. Nenad Spasojevic, is one of the most energetic, creative, and innovative persons I have ever met. “No” is not a word in his vocabulary. The week was not without difficulties, but he was able to find a solution to any issue we encountered, and his work ethic was unmatched.
During that week, the IVUmed attending urologists Dr. Stephany and Dr. Oottamasathien worked with the local residents and staff on each case, focusing on teaching. The patience, thoroughness, and expertise they displayed was inspiring. IVUmed’s motto is “Teach One, Reach Many”, and I plan to embody that by incorporating what I learned during the mission trip into my patient care back in the U.S. Similar to UAB, University Teaching Hospital in Zambia deals with a broad a range of pathology, but without the tools and resources that I realized I take for granted in Birmingham. I consider myself very fortunate to have learned from the creativity, problem-solving skills, and perseverance of the IVUmed staff and local urologists in Zambia.
Assimos gives two talks at AUA
Department of Urology Chair Dean G. Assimos, M.D., presented a plenary session titled "AUA Guideline: Surgical Management of Ureteral Calculi" at the 2016 American Urological Association annual meeting. He also participated in a panel discussion titled "Complex Cases: Stones: 15 mm Lower Pole Stone". Both are available as webcasts online provided by the AUA.