UCSD Regional Anesthesia Gears Up for ASRA 2008

The UCSD Division of Regional Anesthesia will be well-represented at the 2008 Spring meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at the Aventura Resort on the Mayan Riviera. 

Four abstracts from UCSD will be presented during the poster sessions, including one case report and 3 randomized clinical trials completed recently.  Regional Anesthesia Fellow, Dr. Gloria Cheng, will be discussing the inventive use of ultrasound-guided perineural catheters in pediatric patients for medical missions abroad.  In addition, Dr. Cheng will present the results of two multi-center studies comparing different concentrations of ropivacaine for outpatient continuous peripheral nerve blocks (PAINfRE Research Group, http://www.PAINfRE.com). 

Dr. Brian Ilfeld will be moderating the parallel session on continuous peripheral nerve blocks as well as the upper extremity nerve block comprehensive workshop and teaching a workshop on continuous brachial plexus nerve block techniques.  Dr. Ilfeld will also be presenting the results of his landmark randomized controlled trial on continuous femoral nerve blocks and time to meet discharge criteria after total knee arthroplasty.  Dr. Edward Mariano will be teaching workshops on pediatric regional anesthesia, thoracic paravertebral blocks, and upper extremity nerve blocks. 

For a complete list of abstracts to be presented at the upcoming ASRA meeting, please visit http://www.asra.com. 

Currently Accepting Fellowship Applications for 2009-10

 

In 2006, UCSD launched the first RegionalAnesthesia Fellowship to be recognized by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia. We are now accepting applications for the 2009-10 academic year.

Please click on the Fellowship tab from the toolbar on the left for more information.

Dr. Sandhu's New Book on Perioperative Ultrasound
Our very own Dr. NavParkash Sandhu has pioneered many of the techniques that practitioners currently employ for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia and vascular access. Dr. Sandhu and colleagues kicked off the new year with the first edition of their book on perioperative ultrasound. With book chapters and a DVD dedicated to ultrasound guidance for nerve blocks, pain procedures, vascular access, and critical care medicine, this book covers all of the main clinical uses of ultrasound for the anesthesiologist. Click the image for more information

We are pleased to announce that the Division of Regional Anesthesia has a new director of resident education! Dr. Vanessa Loland completed her anesthesiology residency and was the first regional anesthesia fellow at UCSD. She has served on the faculty since the completion of her training. As a resident, Dr. Loland conducted a research study to evaluate the efficacy of a block room model in residency training. Building on this project, Dr. Loland hopes to track our residents’ experience with regional anesthesia procedures during their 3 years of residency and find new ways to improve our training methods. Dr. Loland has already completely revised the resident regional anesthesia rotation syllabus with new goals and objectives in addition to the most up-to-date articles. While hands-on regional anesthesia training is essential, the clinical experience should be paired with didactic teaching, so Dr. Loland is currently developing a set curriculum of core lectures for residents on the rotation. Her plans for the coming year include revamping the advanced regional anesthesia rotation for residents to incorporate academic projects, increase early resident exposure to regional anesthesia, and stimulate resident participation in regional anesthesia research.

Contact Information:

Division of Regional Anesthesia
UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest
200 W. Arbor Drive
San Diego, California 92103-8770

Contact:
Bertha Englund
email: benglund@ucsd.edu
phone: (619) 543-5742
Fax: (619) 543-5424