Amputation or limb salvage shouldn't come down to your ZIP code.

New research led by @ColumbiaMed plastic surgeon Dr. Jarrod Bogue examines how race, income, and geography impact access to limb-sparing surgery for sarcoma patients. 🧵 Dr. Bogue looked at national SEER data to explore disparities in access to reconstructive surgery for lower extremity sarcoma.

His finding? Access is far from equitable.

🧵 In the US, until recently, your chances of receiving a donated #liver w/in 30 days would vary significantly depending on where you lived—as low as 1%, or as high as 60%. Remember Steve Jobs' speedy liver transplant? He got on multiple waitlists...🧵 columbiasurgery.org/news/end-liver… For decades, experts and providers have been pressing for a more equitable system of organ allocation, one that would even the odds between, say, a patient in a dense urban center with a long waitlist and a patient in a more rural, statistically healthier area with a short one.

Medical term of the day: Gender Dysphoria

Significant research among children, adolescents, & adults demonstrates that access to gender-affirming therapy and gender-affirming interventions greatly improves mental health, health outcomes, and saves lives. #TransHealthcare We talked to Dr. Melina Wald about what it means to treat the whole person. Gender-affirming care is an evidence-based approach to health that is focused on instilling pride and celebration of gender diversity. columbiasurgery.org/news/what-gend… #ProtectTransYouth #TransIsBeautiful

Interesting @NYPost story—do street lamps cause thyroid cancer? We asked endocrinologist Dr. Pinar Smith to give perspective. Thread 1/6 nypost.com/2021/02/08/str… "The article raises the question: does 'light at night' specifically means city lights? Could someone watching TV or using their computer/device at night also influence risk? Maybe the study could have also incorporated 'screen time' after dark as a variable." 2/6

Heart failure deaths are increasing rapidly, and one key factor in the rise? The majority of treatment in the U.S. is stuck in the past, most physicians' mindsets haven't evolved. (thread)

Part 1 of an interview with @NirUrielMD not to miss: columbiasurgery.org/news/state-uni… #HeartMonth "You know, [the rise in heart failure deaths] is a critical question not enough people are addressing," says @NirUrielMD. "Heart failure historically was a disease that a primary physician or cardiologist could treat, or theoretically, every doctor could. But it's evolved."

Donna Farber is an immunologist who studies the immune response to respiratory viruses, lung immunity, and human immunology. The COVID-19 and Immunology webinar starts now! Follow along #FarberCOVID19 COVID-19 symptom breakdown (based on 72,314 cases in China)
-1% asymptomatic
-81% acute disease w/out pneumonia
-14% severe disease
-5% critical
Case mortality=2.3% (*23 times more lethal than influenza)
#FarberCOVID19

Every day Dr. Craig Smith, Chair of the Dept of Surgery, sends out a #Covid_19 update. We will be posting them here each evening.

This is the COVID-19 update for today, 3/20/20 COVID-19 Update: Saturday, 3/21/20

Link to updated recommendations for conservation and reuse of PPE: mcusercontent.com/ecc5b4df67cc8f… #Covid_19