Penn Medicine Physician Interviews

Abdominal wall hernias appear at points of congenital or acquired weakness in the abdominal muscle wall, and their correction involves an understanding of both the nature of the precipitating flaw and the character of the abdominal wall. In this podcast, Lancaster-based surgeon Kelly Janke, DO, discusses these elements in the context of advanced hernia surgery. and reviews the factors that predispose individuals to either good or less-than-optimal outcomes following intervention.

For more than two decades, advanced practice providers at the Penn Surveillance Clinic have monitored and counseled patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease. A congenital disorder, BAV is associated with the connective tissue syndromes and in these and other affected populations is a leading cause of irreversible aortic root dilation, aneurysm, rupture, and dissection. Affiliated with the Center for Bicuspid Aortic Valve Diseases at Penn Medicine, the APP-led Surveillance Clinic follows patients as they progress from dilation to aneurysm to monitor the size of their aortic diameter via imaging, adjust treatment plans, and, when needed, prepare patients for surgery and recovery.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Sarita Sonalkar provides an insightful review of the Penn Pregnancy Early Access Center, or PEACE Program, an integrated family planning and urgent pregnancy care center. In her engaging discussion, Dr. Sonalkar highlights the various benefits and services of the Program, including shared decision-making, timely appointments, contraception, counseling, ultrasound and surgical services, and much more.

Aortic aneurysms contribute to thousands of aortic dissections and ruptures every year in the United States, and are virtually undetectable in the general population. In this podcast, cardiac surgeon Jeremy McGarvey, MD, describes the effort to detect aortic aneurysms and their multidisciplinary management at PennMedicine. 

Learn more about Jeremy McGarvey, MD

Drs Timothy Markman and Keith Cengel review the devices, medications and surgical approaches to ventricular tachycardia (VT), an arrhythmia linked to sudden death, our current understanding of the origins of VT, and clinical research into new approaches at Penn, including RADIATE VT, which compares radioablation to radiofrequency for VT ablation.

Is there a surgical answer to intractable hypertension? Drs. Taisei Kobayashi and Debra Cohen offer their clinical insights (surgery and nephrology, respectively) on catheter-based renal denervation and its indications for patients with refractory hypertension, as well as supporting evidence for efficacy and precautions for eligibility.

The second most common hematologic malignancy, multiple myeloma has an incidence of ~35,000 new cases a year in the United States. In this episode, Drs. Adam Cohen and Shivani Kapur convene to lay out a roadmap for the treatment journey for patients with the disease, from early treatment options, particularly autologous transplant, to recent advances in immunotherapy, combination maintenance therapies, and clinical trials.

Dr. Leonid Emerel reviews the management of non-small cell and small cell lung cancer at the multidisciplinary cancer clinic in the Medical Arts Pavilion at Penn Medicine Princeton Thoracic Surgery. Dr Emeril reviews diagnostics, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery, and the value of rapid access to the surgeons on staff.

Alexander W. R. Bridges, MD, offers the insight of a cardiothoracic surgeon to an engaging discussion of atrial fibrillation, its causes, risk factors, pathophysiology, populations affected, and treatments. The object of therapy, Dr. Bridges attests, is to stabilize the heart rhythm and reduce the lifetime risk of stroke and heart failure. Dr Bridges reviews the Cox-Maze 3 procedure, left atrial appendage removal, percutaneous ablation, and other advances for atrial fibrillation at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

Heritability has long been known to play a role in aortic aneurysm and dissection for individuals with the Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndromes. Recent research at Penn Medicine and elsewhere has revealed the presence of genetic variants linked to these syndromes in non-syndromic disease. In this podcast, clinical genetics specialist Staci Kallish, DO, discusses this phenomenon, reviews ongoing studies to determine the risk for aortic aneurysm and dissection in the general population, and the protocols for candidates for genetic evaluation and testing in at- risk populations.