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Dr. Ginsburg, LVRS, and Lung Disease Programs Featured in New York Times
 Mark Ginsburg, MD The NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia lung disease programs were prominently featured in a three-page spread in the November 28, 2007 New York Times about lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The Section of General Thoracic Surgery's lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) program took center stage in an article on surgical treatments for COPD.
The article included photographs of a recent lung volume reduction surgery performed by Mark Ginsburg, MD and an NYPH/Columbia surgical team.
Patricia A. Jellen, a nurse at the Center for Chest Disease at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, was also interviewed andphotographed.
In a separate article, on women and lung disease, Dr. Byron Thomashow, director of the Chest Disease Center, was quoted about how COPD, while often-overlooked, can be properly managed through the appropriate use of medications and exercise.
He was featured in an accompanying article offering advice on symptoms of COPD, and also answered reader questions on NYTimes.com.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed with lung cancer, mesothelioma, emphysema, or another serious lung disease.
A new program at Columbia University Medical Center aims to turn the tide on both genetic and acquired lung diseases by helping people who are at high risk to get the care they need in the earliest stages of disease progression.
New this year, the High-Risk Lung Assessment Program is directed by Joshua Sonett, MD, Chief, General Thoracic Surgery, and
Charles A. Powell, MD, Director of Thoracic Oncology Research, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
Alandmark study in The New England Journal of Medicine has shown that early detection of lung cancer can favorably change outcomes (2006;355:1763-1771).
The study, a multinational collaboration published under the auspices of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP), was initiated by Weill Cornell investigators at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital under the direction of Claudia I. Henschke, MD, PhD, principal investigator.
Dr. Henschke also chaired the Writing Committee of I-ELCAP; the other members were David Yankelevitz, MD, Daniel Libby, MD, Mark Pasmantier, MD, James Smith, MD, and Olli Miettinen, MD, PhD.
From the initiation of I-ELCAP, Columbia investigators led by John Austin, MD, have been key collaborators.
Dr. Sonett Receives Humanitarian Award
Dr. Joshua R. Sonett Chesed of New Square in Spring Valley, New York has presented Joshua R. Sonett, MD, with its 2007 Chesed Humanitarian Award for excellent medical/surgical care in the Rockland community. Chesed of New Square is a community service organization dedicated to facilitating access to medical care for members of the Rockland community.
The Second Edition of this standard-setting text/atlas from the acclaimed Mastery of Surgery series was published in October, 2006.
Mark E. Ginsburg, MD, is the author of the book's chapter on surgery for emphysema
Dr. Sonett featured in The New York Times
Dr. Joshua R. Sonett Dr. Joshua R. Sonett, Associate Professor of Surgery and Director, Lung Transplant Program,
was featured in a February 16, 2005 New York Times article, "Linked Forever by the Ultimate Gift: One Woman's Death Provides Life for Another," by Marc Santora.
The article delved into the path of a lung transplant, from the family's decision to donate to the transplant operation and the recipient's recovery.
Until recently, Ramona Gomez, a 39-year-old insurance consultant from Rockaway, New Jersey, had to offer her clients hugs instead of handshakes because of her pronounced fear of one thing—her sweaty palms.
"I could literally hold my hand parallel to the ground and you could see the sweat drip off of it," explains Mrs. Gomez.
In her early 20s, Mrs. Gomez found some initial answers.
She learned that she had a medical condition known as hyperhidrosis, which literally means excessive sweating.
A 31-year-old attorney from West Orange, New Jersey, who asked that his name not be mentioned in this article, thought he had an anxiety problem when he would sweat excessively in the courtroom.
"I thought it was just me, that it was a simple case of suffering from lack of self-confidence or nerves," he says.
But there was one problem with that assumption—he was not feeling nervous; he was feeling perfectly confident.
So, why was sweat trickling down his forehead every time he had an audience?
The attorney began a personal journey to get to the bottom of a case that had remained a mystery for years.
Most people haven't heard of hyperhidrosis and, once they do, they'd probably never guess what the word means: excessive sweating.
About 1% of adults suffer from hyperhidrosis, even though many of them don't even realize it.
However, there is one dead give-away—sweat, and lots of it.
A 27-year-old graphic designer knows the symptoms of hyperhidrosis all too well.
For all of her life she has suffered from palmar hyperhidrosis, or sweaty palms.
"As far back as I can remember, I've always had sweaty hands," she says.
"They were always wet and cold, and just left me feeling uncomfortable.
They would sweat from morning to tonight, for no reason at all; nothing would trigger it, not even temperature.
Even in the freezing cold of winter, they were sweaty."
Results of the largest study of bilateral lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) to treat severe emphysema indicate that, on average, patients who undergo LVRS with medical therapy are more likely to function better after two years compared to those who receive medical therapy only.
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia was the only New York facility to participate in this national study.
The site directors were Mark E. Ginsburg, MD and Byron M. Thomashow, MD.
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