News & Events

Dr. Nancy Ascher and Dr. Holger Willenbring were interviewed by PBS NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michaels about the transformation of embryonic stem cells into new liver cells as a treatment for patients.

"A specific gene mutation may be useful in predicting the level of aggression of thyroid cancer and help guide treatment options and follow-up care, according to new study findings. The mutation, called BRAF V600E, is a genetic alteration in the BRAF oncogene, a modified gene believed to cause cancer. ......."

At most hospitals nationally, it takes nearly four hours on average before the surgeon on call becomes available, and even longer before the operation is finally begun. At UCSF Medical Center, the goal is for the patient to be seen by a "surgical hospitalist" in less than 30 minutes................"Over the first...

As the new Director of the Fetal Treatment Center, Dr. Hanmin Lee will continue the Center's and its co-founder Dr. Michael Harrison's pioneering spirit of multidisciplinary research and innovation to improve our understanding of fetal disease and further advance the treatment and management of infants and...

"Most of the 325,000 tummy tucks, breast augmentations and lifts done in 2006 were "mommy makeovers," or postpartum moms turning to plastic surgery to erase evidence of pregnancy. Dr. Mary McGrath, a professor of plastic surgery at UCSF, urges postpartum moms to wait at least six months before seeking surgery."

Dr. Jasleen Kukreja "is not the first surgeon to perform a minimally invasive lobectomy at UCSF, but she may be a pioneer in the two-finger clamp technique, because her predecessors are men who have a tougher time squeezing in both fingers. Last summer, she became the first doctor to be hired by UCSF to focus...

"After 13 years doing trauma surgery at San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Andre Campbell knows just about everything there is to know about calamity, mayhem and long nights. "........."For as long as he has been at General, Campbell has worked beside the head of trauma surgery, Bill Schecter, who is 10 years...

UCSF News reports on the the difficult choices that patients, families and doctors face because of the shortage of donated organs for transplantation. A difficult conundrum for the nation's transplant patients was aired September 22 when the news program California Connected featured UCSF's Liver Transplant...

"Watching 11-year-old Weston Williams ride his unicycle or three-year-old Delaney Williams play, one would never suspect that brother and sister were born with a serious, life-threatening heart condition that causes an abnormally slow heartbeat. Weston's first pacemaker was implanted at UCSF in July 1998. And...

At the 60th Annual Vascular Meeting on June 1, 2006 in Philadelphia, more than 1,000 members of the Society of Vascular Surgery gathered to honor Ronald J, Stoney, M.D. with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Stoney is a Professor of Professor Emeritus of Surgery in the Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery at...

Afghan Boy's U.S. Surgery A Success: 7-year old with Heart Defect Came to U.S. With Help of U.S. Army Doctor Jonas said Umer owes his life to Maj. T. Sloane Guy, an Army surgeon who took up his cause while on duty in Afghanistan. Guy and others had been working to get Umer to the United States for more than a year...

"Researchers can more easily set their sights on targets for new treatments for the deadliest skin cancer, thanks to landmark findings by UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center member Boris Bastian, MD, PhD, and colleagues.The skin pathologist and his colleagues showed that the skin cancer known as melanoma comes in at...

"Of all the things for a married couple to bicker about, Nancy Ascher and John Roberts have hit on a first -- a pulsing human liver. To be precise, they are standing forehead to forehead with a man splayed out between them. Roberts wants more of his liver to take next door to a waiting recipient. Ascher wants more...

"The body's rejection of transplanted organs and tissues is an unfortunate risk of transplant surgery. Historically, rejection rates in a simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant have been as high as 80% and, in 2001, averaged nearly 20%. ........Diabetes Center surgeons Peter Stock, (left) and Chris Freise...

UCSF Medical Center staff performed the biopsy and told us the next day that William had a condition called biliary atresia, which is the closure or absence of some or all of the major bile ducts. That evening William had surgery to assess the damage to his liver and to open bile ducts. Later, during clinic visits...