In the Media

Top US News & World Report Rankings

US News & World Report ranks UCLA GI Surgery #4 in the country along with Gastroenterology.

April 18, 2024
How Medicare reimbursement trends may affect breast surgeries – Dr. Mediget Teshome, chief of breast surgery and director of breast health at UCLA Health, provides expert commentary to Medscape.

April 17, 2024
Baby Levi’s parents knew something was wrong, so a UCLA Health team jumped in to solve the mystery – Dr. Ming-Sing Si, a congenital cardiac surgeon at UCLA Health, performed surgery to address the narrowing of Levi’s aorta. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

April 11, 2024
Black women with breast cancer are less likely than white women to undergo preventative removal of the unaffected breast - The study was led by Amulya Vadlakonda, a third-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and other Department of Surgery investigators including Dr. Carlie Thompson, assistant professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Dr. Peyman Benharash, associate professor-in-residence of surgery and bioengineering at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

Additional Coverage: Drugs.com, Health Day, Medical Xpress, U.S. News and World Report, 

April 5, 2024
AACR: Preliminary study finds immunotherapy combination before surgery improves outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer - Dr. Timothy Donahue, chief of surgical oncology and professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, director of the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases and senior author of the study, provides expert commentary on a pilot study led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study investigators suggest that for people with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, administrating an immunotherapy drug in combination with chemotherapy before surgery is safe and may improve long-term outcomes. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

Additional Coverage: Drugs.com, The HealthCast, MSD Mannual

April 4, 2024
Olivia was born with only half her heart functioning - 4 years later, she's thriving - Dr.Glen Van Arsdell, chief of congenital cardiovascular surgery at UCLA Health, performed a transplant on four-year-old Olivia Lopez. The lengthy procedure was even more complex than usual given the location of her heart on the right side of her chest. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

March 26, 2024
Volleyball player takes on his toughest opponent: a very rare form of cancer – Dr. Joseph Crompton, surgeon-scientist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Dr. Mark Girgis, assistant professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Director of Robotic Surgery, perform major abdominal surgery on Sina Sinbari. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

March 4, 2024
Competitive athlete Hilary Witbrodt's greatest victory? Her win over colorectal cancer - Dr. Kevork Kazanjian, clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, performs surgery for Hilary Witbrodt. Hear Hilary Witbrodt's story at the UCLA Health Newsroom.

March 2024
TED Talk on Transplantation - Dr. Abbas Ardehali, professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director, UCLA Heart, Lung, and Heart-Lung Transplant programs, investigates how to keep human hearts and lungs alive outside the body before they are transplanted. Listen to Dr. Ardehali's talk at TED. 

February 29, 2024
UCLA researchers uncover dual role of GAN gene in neurological disorder, head and neck cancer  - Dr. Eri Srivatsan, a professor of surgery at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA GLAHS) Medical Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, leads a study on a specific genetic variant (GAN gene exon 8 SNP T allele) of the GAN gene and its impact on the production of certain proteins that make cancer cells more likely to spread and become resistant to treatment. Learn more at News-Medical.

February 14, 2024
Cerritos family grateful for double-lung transplant – Dr. Abbas Ardehali, cardiac surgeon, director of the UCLA Heart, Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Programs, William E. Conner Chair in Cardiothoracic Transplantation, and professor of surgery and medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Health, helped perform surgery on Jermell Robinson, who received an organ transplant through the UCLA Health Lung Transplant Program. Learn more at KNBC.  

February 7, 2024
Surgeons are humanizing the esophagectomy – Dr. Haley Tupper, general surgery resident at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Health, provides expert commentary to the American College of Surgeons Bulletin. 

February 6, 2024
The Dr. Now Diet: pros, cons and how to follow it – Dr. Erik P. Dutson, surgical director of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health (COMET) at UCLA Health, provides expert commentary to U.S News & World Report. 

Additional coverage: WTOP News 

January 25, 2024
#ASC2024: Ethnicity as survival predictor for gastric cancer, early liver retransplantation, risk factors for chemical restraint use among adult trauma patients and more - UCLA Health surgeon-scientists present the latest academic research at the 19th Annual Academic Surgical Congress Feb. 6 to 8 in Washington, D.C. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

January 17, 2024
Breast surgical oncologist Dr. Mediget Teshome named chief of breast surgery at UCLA Health - Dr. Mediget Teshome has been appointed to breast surgical oncology leadership across UCLA Health, including the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Teshome is dedicated to advancing the care of individuals with breast cancer and improving equity in health care and society. Learn more at the UCLA Health Newsroom. 

Additional coverage: MynewsLA, HeySoCal, KNX News, Healio

January 9, 2024
Hospitalizations for scooter injuries nearly tripled in the U.S. between 2016 and 2020 - Dr. Peyman Benharash, cardiac surgeon at UCLA Health, is a study author, on scooter injuries tripling from 2016-2020,with a concurrent increase in severe injuries requiring orthopedic and plastic surgery over the same period. Learn more on the UCLA Health Newsroom.