Both Sides of the Stethoscope

In this episode Alin and Colby have a discussion with Tyler Chavez, a heart transplant recipient and surgical physician assistant. They discuss Tyler's incredible story of beating cancer as a child, his acute onset heart failure that saw him operating while getting IV medication infusions and discuss about the role of a physician assistant and the path to that career.

Tyler Chavez is a Certified Physician Assistant residing and working in the greater DC area. Completing the PA program at Duke University in 2012, he went on to complete the Physician Assistant Surgical Residency at Duke as well. He has been practicing for the last 12 years as a surgical PA. For the last 3 years he has been working for the Center for Plastic Surgery sharing his time equally between the operating room and time spent in clinic. In the OR the team focuses mostly on the plastic surgery component of breast reconstruction for women battling breast cancer. When outside of the OR he has founded and manages the Metabolic Aesthetics Clinic within the Center for Plastic Surgery where he is the Clinic Director. The clinic specializes in weight loss, healing, recovery, and longevity through the utilization of peptide therapy. Tyler grew familiar with the medical field at an early age while he was battling leukemia from
the ages of 2-6 years old. From this early time in his life, he was very interested in pursuing a career in medicine. After 31 years of his cancer in remission living a healthy active life suddenly was faced with the diagnosis of heart failure with an ejection fraction of about 5 percent. In a very short period of time, it was known that the medical management route was not going to be an option. One day he was in the Operating Room working with the surgical team to 4 days later being in the ICU on heart lung bypass. Through the amazing team at Inova Fairfax heart failure team, as quickly as this progressed, they worked tirelessly to get a new heart and a very
successful transplant. Now 8 months after transplant life has changed forever, but the new normal affords a healthy
and active life. He returned to work after just 2 months post-transplant and continues to share his time between the operating room and working in his busy outpatient clinic.

This episode is sponsored by Paragonix Technologies, an industry leader committed to protecting the gift of organ donation. To learn how Paragonix is reshaping the standard of care across transplantation to optimize patient outcomes, visit paragonix.com.

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode Alin and Colby sit down and chat with Dr. Anu Lala. They discuss dealing with a diagnosis of heart failure, the approach to changing the narrative to heart function not failure, and patient advocacy. Dr. Lala also turns the tables and interviews Alin and Colby about how they dealt with being told their diagnosis and their resilience in the face of adversity. 

Dr. Anuradha Lala-Trindade (Anu Lala) is an Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist at Mount Sinai. Her clinical interests encompass all aspects of management of heart failure including the selection and care of patients with mechanical circulatory support devices and heart transplantation as well as genetic cardiomyopathies and perioperative management of high risk cardiac surgical cases. She believes in a patient-centered approach, where each individual’s unique needs and preferences are essential components of developing a personalized treatment plan. Dr. Lala seeks to implement guideline directed medical and device based therapies while integrating emotional and spiritual aspects of care.

https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/about-heart-disease-in-women

https://onlinejcf.com/article/S1071-9164(21)00088-9/abstract

This episode is sponsored by Paragonix Technologies, an industry leader committed to protecting the gift of organ donation. To learn how Paragonix is reshaping the standard of care across transplantation to optimize patient outcomes, visit paragonix.com.

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode Alin and Colby have an insightful conversation with Dr. Philip Adamson. Phil Adamson is Divisional Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for the Heart Failure Division at Abbott. In this capacity, Dr. Adamson is responsible for global development of Abbott’s heart failure formulary spanning cardiac resynchronization therapy to the CardioMEMS HF system. They discuss the different devices available to help heart failure patients, the progress that has been made over the last 40 years, the future of heart failure management and much, much more!

This episode is sponsored by Paragonix Technologies, an industry leader committed to protecting the gift of organ donation. To learn how Paragonix is reshaping the standard of care across transplantation to optimize patient outcomes, visit paragonix.com.

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode Alin and Colby have an in depth conversation with two transplant pharmacists. Mary Chandran and Adina Petrosan teach us about the medications that are the mainstay of transplant medicine. We discuss the needs for these meds, side effects, medication compliance, and much more. 

You can contact Mary at Mary.Chandran@unchealth.unc.edu

You can contact Adina at Adina.Petrosan@mountsinai.org

This episode is sponsored by Paragonix Technologies, an industry leader committed to protecting the gift of organ donation. To learn how Paragonix is reshaping the standard of care across transplantation to optimize patient outcomes, visit paragonix.com.

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode we have a riveting discussion with Dr. Jon Friedman the Chief Medical Officer of Transplant Genomics. Dr. Friedman, joined Transplant Genomics as Chief Medical Officer in February 2022 after 22 years with Optum/United Health Group. Dr. Friedman is a Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation and received an AST Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in breaking down financial barriers in support of living kidney donors. Tune in for discussion on the use of blood tests to avoid biopsies, how we are working towards decreasing the amount of immmunosupresion meds in the future, and the future direction of transplant medicine!

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode we pick right back up with our interview with Matt. In part 2 we discuss being a professional patient, new fears that come with having a transplant and parenthood and navigating the healthcare system. 

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In part 1 of this 2 part episode we talk with Matt Brady. Matt is 31 year post heart transplant that he received due to a viral illness at the age of 7. In this first part we discuss what led to his transplant, how he dealt with a transplant at such a young age, and setbacks he has had a long this 31 year journey. Tune in next week for part 2 of the interview!

Email: bothsidesofthestethoscope@gmail.com

Instagram: @bothsidesofthestethoscope 

Twitter: @bsotsthethoscope 

In this episode Alin and Colby have an open and honest discussion with Laura Reff. Laura is the mom of Alin's heart donor Lucy. Tune in to hear about Lucy's story and legacy, being a donor family, the relationship between Alin and Lucy's family post transplant and much, much more! 

In this episode Alin and Colby have a discussion with rheumatologist Dr. Brittany Panico. They discuss everything from post transplant concerns in the field of rheumatology, auto-immune diseases, and the amazing but also dreaded medication prednisone. They also give some tips on how to try and prevent future complications! 

In this episode Alin and Colby  welcome on Dr. Rohan Goswami. Dr. Goswami is an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida. He specializes in the use of AI in the field of heart transplantation and the use of mechanical support systems as a bridge to recovery or a bridge to heart transplantation. This episodes discussions on both of those topics and much, much more! 

In this episode Alin and Colby have a enlightening discussion with Lisa Anderson, Ph.D. the CEO of a company called Paragonix. Paragonix Technologies is a leading developer, manufacturer, and service provider in the organ transplant industry, establishing a novel approach to preservation that represents a significant improvement over the traditional standard of care. This allowed for great insight into an often overlooked part of the transplant process.

In this episode Alin and Colby interview Dr. Rishi Kumar. Dr. Kumar is a cardiac anesthesiologist and a cardiovascular intensivist. Listen for a great discussion about what happens in the OR during cardiothoracic cases, the process of organ transplant, where the future of transplant is headed, and what it is like to use Instagram for medical education to 155K followers! 

In this episode Alin and Colby discuss all things dermatology with double board certified dermatologist Dr. May Hall. Dr. Hall explains to us the risks of skin cancer in the immunocompromised population, sunscreen and clothing recommendations, and prevention strategies! Come for the skin cancer prevention, stay for the pimple popping discussion!

In this episode Alin and Colby discuss an amazing story of living donation to celebrate donate life month! Dr. Ezra Lichtman and Dr. Amos Lichtman join the podcast to share their story. When Amos needed a liver transplant his brother Ezra did not hesitate to give him part of his. Tune in to hear how Amos found himself in need of a new liver and what life has been like afterwards for both donor and recipient. 

In this episode Alin and Colby interview Hannah Sharma. Hannah is a heart transplant recipient who lives across the pond in the UK. They discuss her time waiting for transplant, the cause of her heart failure and look into the differences between transplant in the UK vs the USA. 

In this episode Alin and Colby discuss surviving cardiac arrest with Mike Papale. Mike discusses his story of his cardiac arrest, coming to terms with his diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and tells us about his recent book he wrote called "A Big Heart". Mike is the founder of In A Heartbeat Foundation, host of A Big Heart podcast, and an outreach manager at Defibtech, a device company that manufactures automated external defibrillators. Stay until the end for a very important and in depth conversation about American sports. 

In this episode Alin and Colby interview Andrew (AJ) Jones. AJ developed acute heart failure and needed first an LVAD and then a heart transplant. AJ gives us the details of these procedures, how he lived his life as a fitness enthusiast afterwards, and how this shaped his future and led him to work with New England Donor Services. 

In this episode Alin and Colby Interview Craig Smith. Craig is a heart transplant recipient who post transplant wanted to give back to the transplant community. He started Second Chance Fundraising which spreads awareness for organ donation and much much more. Hear Craig's story of acute illness, need for LVAD and then transplant, and what he is up to now to give back!