Benjamin Starnes

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Benjamin Starnes
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Personal details
Born Delaware
NationalityAmerican
SpouseMarjorie Starnes
ChildrenCara Elise, Jessica Nicole
Alma mater Albright College
Jefferson Medical College
OccupationPhysician
Military service
Branch/service US Army Medical Corps
Rank US-O5 insignia.svg Lieutenant Colonel
Unit250th Forward Surgical Team [1]
Battles/wars Kosovo War, Iraq War

Benjamin Starnes (born 1966) is a vascular surgeon and medical researcher. He holds the Alexander Whitehill Clowes Endowed Chair in Vascular surgery at the University of Washington. [2] He served as a U.S. Army surgeon for 15 years, doing three tours of duty, including in the last M.A.S.H. unit. [3] On the day of the September 11 attacks he was at the Pentagon rendering medical aid to victims, and his experience was later recounted in the book American Phoenix: Heroes of the Pentagon on 9/11. [4] [5] He is among the primary authors of the official guidelines for diagnosis and management of aortic disease adopted by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Starnes was raised in Odessa, DE by his father Ronald, a Methodist minister who taught philosophy and religion at Wesley College (Delaware), and his mother Martha, an elementary school teacher. [7] [8] [9] In 1985 he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. [10] Starnes graduated with a BS from Albright College and received his MD from Jefferson Medical College in 1992. [1] [11]

Career

After medical school, Starnes joined the U.S. Army. In 1998 and 1999, he was part of Task Force Hawk, supporting the NATO and U.S. involvement in the Kosovo War. Starnes, who became a captain, was stationed in Albania in the U.S. Army's last M.A.S.H. unit. [12]

Starnes served as a vascular surgery fellow at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the September 11 attacks. [13] When American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, Starnes provided medical care to the injured. [5] Soon after, Starnes encouraged his brother to write a book about the events. Starnes recounts his experience in the book. [5] [13] [4]

In 2003, Starnes deployed to Iraq as a major and vascular surgeon. He was in the 250th Forward Surgical Team stationed at the Bashur Air Base in Northern Iraq. [1] Starnes became a lieutenant colonel. [14]

Starnes completed 15 years of service as an army surgeon and served three tours of duty, including two in Iraq. [3] [13]

Starnes later became chief of vascular surgery and professor of surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. [15] [16] He holds the Alexander Whitehill Clowes Endowed Chair in Vascular Surgery. [2]

Starnes founded the company Aortica in 2014, which produced technology for treating complex abdominal aortic aneurysm disease. [17] In 2017, he led clinical trials of Aortica's technology at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. [17]

Research

In 2010, Starnes and his colleagues published a study on outcomes of different treatment regimens for hospital patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, an injury with short-term survival rate of less than 58% in one hospital study. [18] The study found that the survivability rate increases when patients with different injury characterics are placed into corresponding treatment regimens such as endovascular aneurysm repair, open surgery, or palliative care. [18] [19]

In 2012, Starnes was an author of research providing a classification system for patients with blunt thoracic aortic injuries. [20] [21] The system is intended to guide therapy based on probable patient outcomes given the type of injuries. [22] [23]

In 2017, Starnes published clinical trial results for an emerging type of treatment for patients with juxtarenal aortic aneurysms. Starnes tested the efficacy of endovascular grafts made by a physician specifically for the patient, instead of grafts manufactured beforehand. [24] The research found that physician-modified grafts were successful long-term for 94% of patients in the trial of 59 people. [25] [26]

To develop further guidelines for medical decisions on vascular surgery, Starnes and colleagues in 2018 studied mortality rates of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm hospital patients, examining which factors before surgery predict mortality. [27] He and his colleagues developed a scoring system [27] based on age, systolic blood pressure, and creatinine concentration values. They found that higher scores predicted low survival rates and thus low benefits of surgery. [28] [29]

Starnes is among the primary authors of the official guidelines for diagnosis and management of aortic disease adopted by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association [6] [30]

Personal life

Starnes is married to Marjorie Starnes. [9] They have two daughters. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aneurysm</span> Bulge in the wall of a blood vessel

An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus for clot formation (thrombosis) and embolization. As an aneurysm increases in size, the risk of rupture, which leads to uncontrolled bleeding, increases. Although they may occur in any blood vessel, particularly lethal examples include aneurysms of the circle of Willis in the brain, aortic aneurysms affecting the thoracic aorta, and abdominal aortic aneurysms. Aneurysms can arise in the heart itself following a heart attack, including both ventricular and atrial septal aneurysms. There are congenital atrial septal aneurysms, a rare heart defect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vascular surgery</span> Medical specialty, operative procedures for the treatment of vascular disorders

Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which vascular diseases involving the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiovascular surgery where it refined the management of just the vessels, no longer treating the heart or other organs. Modern vascular surgery includes open surgery techniques, endovascular techniques and medical management of vascular diseases - unlike the parent specialities. The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system excluding the coronaries and intracranial vasculature. Vascular surgeons also are called to assist other physicians to carry out surgery near vessels, or to salvage vascular injuries that include hemorrhage control, dissection, occlusion or simply for safe exposure of vascular structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aortic aneurysm</span> Excessive enlargement of the human aorta

An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm ("AAA") has been reported to range from 2 to 12% and is found in about 8% of men more than 65 years of age. The mortality rate attributable to AAA is about 15,000 per year in the United States and 6,000 to 8,000 per year in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Between 2001 and 2006, there were approximately 230,000 AAA surgical repairs performed on Medicare patients in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdominal aortic aneurysm</span> Medical condition

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is greater than 3 cm or more than 50% larger than normal. An AAA usually causes no symptoms, except during rupture. Occasionally, abdominal, back, or leg pain may occur. Large aneurysms can sometimes be felt by pushing on the abdomen. Rupture may result in pain in the abdomen or back, low blood pressure, or loss of consciousness, and often results in death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoracic aortic aneurysm</span> Medical condition

A thoracic aortic aneurysm is an aortic aneurysm that presents primarily in the thorax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ischemic colitis</span> Medical condition

Ischemic colitis is a medical condition in which inflammation and injury of the large intestine result from inadequate blood supply. Although uncommon in the general population, ischemic colitis occurs with greater frequency in the elderly, and is the most common form of bowel ischemia. Causes of the reduced blood flow can include changes in the systemic circulation or local factors such as constriction of blood vessels or a blood clot. In most cases, no specific cause can be identified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annuloaortic ectasia</span> Medical condition

Annuloaortic ectasia is characterized by pure aortic valve regurgitation and aneurysmal dilatation of the ascending aorta. Men are more likely than women to develop idiopathic annuloaortic ectasia, which usually manifests in the fourth or sixth decades of life. Additional factors that contribute to this condition include osteogenesis imperfecta, inflammatory aortic diseases, intrinsic valve disease, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan syndrome, and operated congenital heart disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traumatic aortic rupture</span> Medical condition

Traumatic aortic rupture, also called traumatic aortic disruption or transection, is a condition in which the aorta, the largest artery in the body, is torn or ruptured as a result of trauma to the body. The condition is frequently fatal due to the profuse bleeding that results from the rupture. Since the aorta branches directly from the heart to supply blood to the rest of the body, the pressure within it is very great, and blood may be pumped out of a tear in the blood vessel very rapidly. This can quickly result in shock and death. Thus traumatic aortic rupture is a common killer in automotive accidents and other traumas, with up to 18% of deaths that occur in automobile collisions being related to the injury. In fact, aortic disruption due to blunt chest trauma is the second leading cause of injury death behind traumatic brain injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endovascular aneurysm repair</span> Surgery used to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a type of minimally-invasive endovascular surgery used to treat pathology of the aorta, most commonly an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). When used to treat thoracic aortic disease, the procedure is then specifically termed TEVAR for "thoracic endovascular aortic/aneurysm repair." EVAR involves the placement of an expandable stent graft within the aorta to treat aortic disease without operating directly on the aorta. In 2003, EVAR surpassed open aortic surgery as the most common technique for repair of AAA, and in 2010, EVAR accounted for 78% of all intact AAA repair in the United States.

Michael L. Marin is an American vascular surgeon. Together with Drs. Frank Veith, Juan C. Parodi and Claudio J. Schonholz, he was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery. In 2004, he was the first doctor to implant an intravascular telemetric monitor -- a device that alerts to physicians any leakage in aortic stent-grafts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter H. Lin</span>

Peter Lin is an American vascular surgeon, medical researcher, specializing in minimally invasive endovascular treatment of vascular disease. He has published extensively in the area of vascular surgery and endovascular surgery.

Surgical Outcomes Analysis & Research, SOAR, is a research laboratory of the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center with expertise in outcomes research. SOAR investigates surgical diseases and perioperative outcomes. The group focuses on pancreatic cancer, other gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies, vascular disease, and transplant surgery. SOAR's goal is to examine quality, delivery, and financing of care in order to have an immediate impact on patient care and system improvements. The group members utilize national health services and administrative databases, as well as institutional databases, to investigate and to address factors contributing to disease outcomes and healthcare disparities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open aortic surgery</span> Surgical technique

Open aortic surgery (OAS), also known as open aortic repair (OAR), describes a technique whereby an abdominal, thoracic or retroperitoneal surgical incision is used to visualize and control the aorta for purposes of treatment, usually by the replacement of the affected segment with a prosthetic graft. OAS is used to treat aneurysms of the abdominal and thoracic aorta, aortic dissection, acute aortic syndrome, and aortic ruptures. Aortobifemoral bypass is also used to treat atherosclerotic disease of the abdominal aorta below the level of the renal arteries. In 2003, OAS was surpassed by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) as the most common technique for repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms in the United States.

Juan Carlos Parodi is an Argentinian vascular surgeon who introduced the minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) to the world and performed the first successful endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on 7 September 1990 in Buenos Aires. In 1992 he was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery together with Drs. Frank Veith, Michael L. Marin and Claudio J. Schonholz. He continues to develop new techniques, including seat belt and air bag technique for cerebral protection during carotid stenting. He is recognized as a renowned pioneer in the specialty of endovascular repairs of the aorta.

Endovascular and hybrid trauma and bleeding management is a new and rapidly evolving concept within medical healthcare and endovascular resuscitation. It involves early multidisciplinary evaluation and management of hemodynamically unstable patients with traumatic injuries as well as being a bridge to definitive treatment. It has recently been shown that the EVTM concept may also be applied to non-traumatic hemodynamically unstable patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolai L. Volodos</span> Ukrainian surgeon (b. 1934 d. 2016)

Nicolai Leontievich Volodos, was a Soviet/Ukrainian cardiovascular surgeon and scientist. An innovator, Volodos developed and introduced into clinical practice the world's first endovascular stent graft for the treatment of stenotic and aneurysmal diseases of arterial system. Volodos was described by his colleagues as ”a pioneer innovator and a giant in vascular and endovascular surgery” and ”a giant of historic proportions in the vascular and endovascular specialties, and the father of endovascular grafting”.

Herbert (Chaim) Dardik was a vascular surgeon who served as the chief of vascular surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey, and founded that institution's first vascular surgery fellowship program in 1978. Dardik made many developments in vascular surgery, including the first tissue-engineered bypass graft used to prevent gangrene and save lower limbs. In 2017 he earned the Society for Vascular Surgery's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the profession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazim J. Safi</span> Physician

Hazim J. Safi, MD, FACS, is a physician and surgeon who is well known for his research in the surgical treatment of aortic disease. Safi and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine were the first to identify variables associated with early death and postoperative complications in patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic operations. Safi now serves as professor of cardiothoracic surgery, and founding chair at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX.

Gustavo S. Oderich is a Brazilian American vascular and endovascular surgeon who serves as a professor and chief of vascular and endovascular surgery, and is the director of the Advanced Endovascular Aortic Program at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann Health System. He previously served as chair of vascular and endovascular division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Oderich is recognized for his work in minimally invasive endovascular surgery and research in fenestrated and branched stent-graft technology to treat complex aortic aneurysms and dissections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jes Sanddal Lindholt</span> Danish vascular surgeon, physician, author, and academic

Jes Sanddal Lindholt is a Danish vascular surgeon, physician, author, and academic. He is a professor of Vascular Surgery and Head of the Cardiovascular Excellence Center in Region South as well as a research leader for the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital. He also holds the position of Adjunct Professor of Vascular Epidemiology at Aarhus University.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dilanian, Ken (April 9, 2003). "Army surgeon, team jump into Iraq and set up surgical tent". McClatchy DC. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Benjamin W. Starnes, MD, FACS". UW Medicine. University of Washington Medicine. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Sternberg, Steve; Huth, Lindsay (April 19, 2018). "Safety in Numbers: Low Volumes at Military Hospitals Imperil Patients With few opportunities to hone their skills, military surgeons are inadvertently putting certain patients at risk for adverse outcomes". US News & World Report. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Starnes, Lincoln M. (May 24, 2022). American Phoenix: Heroes of the Pentagon on 9/11, with a foreword by Benjamin W Starnes. Seattle, WA: Girl Friday Books. ISBN   9781734880243.
  5. 1 2 3 Talbott, Chris (September 10, 2021). "'American Phoenix' details UW surgeon's 9/11 experiences when he was an Army doctor and first responder at the Pentagon". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Isselbacher, Eric M.; Preventza, Ourania; Hamilton Black, James; Augoustides, John G.; Beck, Adam W.; Bolen, Michael A.; Braverman, Alan C.; Bray, Bruce E.; Brown-Zimmerman, Maya M.; Chen, Edward P.; Collins, Tyrone J.; Deanda, Abe; Fanola, Christina L.; Girardi, Leonard N.; Hicks, Caitlin W.; Hui, Dawn S.; Schuyler Jones, William; Kalahasti, Vidyasagar; Kim, Karen M.; Milewicz, Dianna M.; Oderich, Gustavo S.; Ogbechie, Laura; Promes, Susan B.; Gyang Ross, Elsie; Schermerhorn, Marc L.; Singleton Times, Sabrina; Tseng, Elaine E.; Wang, Grace J.; Woo, Y. Joseph (December 13, 2022). "2022 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Aortic Disease: A Report of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines". Circulation. 146 (24): e334–e482. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001106. PMC   9876736 . PMID   36322642.
  7. ↑ Gellens, Jackie (November 16, 1970). "For Christmas In Odessa Starnes house to be open". Morning News (Wilmington, DE). p. 29.
  8. ↑ "3 newsboys win scholarships". The Morning News. May 1, 1984.
  9. 1 2 "Obituary-Ronald Ware Starnes". The News Journal (Wilmington, DE). January 25, 2002. p. 23.
  10. ↑ "Scout Honored". Morning News (Wilmington, DE). March 13, 1985. p. 60.
  11. ↑ "1992 Commencement for Jefferson Medical College and College of Graduate Studies". Commencements, Jefferson Medical College. 168th: 11. June 5, 1992. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  12. ↑ "MASH makes a comeback: Series namesake finding a new home in Kosovo conflict". Charleston Daily Mail. Charleston Newspapers. April 27, 1999.
  13. 1 2 3 Land, Ted (September 10, 2021). "Harborview doctor recalls treating the wounded at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001". King 5 (NBC). Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Harborview doctors who served in Army focus mission on patients". King 5 (NBC). November 12, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  15. ↑ Esposito, Lisa (December 16, 2020). "Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: When It's Surgery Time". US News & World Report. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Cook Medical's advanced TEVAR technology for new conformable stent- graft gets positive response from medical community". Interventional News. April 20, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Mcgrane, Clare (June 28, 2017). "Biotech startup Aortica raising $4M to develop personalized blood vessel stents for aortic aneurysms". Geekwire. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Zettervall, SL; Buck, DB; Soden, PA; Cronenwett, JL; Goodney, PP; Eslami, MH; Lee, JT; Shermerhorn, ML (2016). "Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative. Regional variation exists in patient selection and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms". J Vasc Surg. 64 (4): 921–927. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2016.02.036. PMC   5036976 . PMID   27066949.
  19. ↑ Starnes, BW; Quiroga, E; Hutter, C; Tran, NT; Hatsukami, T; Meissner, M; Tang, G; Kohler, T (2010). "Management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in the endovascular era". J Vasc Surg. 51 (January): 9–18. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2017.12.075 . PMID   29753581. S2CID   21680383.
  20. ↑ Forman, M. J.; Mirvis, S. E.; Hollander, D. S. (2013). "Blunt thoracic aortic injuries: CT characterisation and treatment outcomes of minor injury". European Radiology. 23 (11): 2988–95. doi:10.1007/s00330-013-2904-0. PMID   23722899. S2CID   27189871.
  21. ↑ Brenner, M; Hoehn, M; Rasmussen, TE (2014). "Endovascular therapy in trauma". European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. 40 (6): 671–678. doi:10.1007/s00068-014-0474-8. PMID   26814781. S2CID   20405041.
  22. ↑ Nagpal, P.; Mullan, B. F.; Sen, I.; Saboo, S. S.; Khandelwal, A. (2017). "Advances in imaging and management trends of traumatic aortic injuries". CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology. 40 (5): 643–654. doi:10.1007/s00270-017-1572-x. PMID   28078377. S2CID   24552422.
  23. ↑ Starnes, BW; Lundgren, RS; Gunn, M; Quade, S; Hatsukami, TS; Tran, NT; Mokadam, N; Aldea, G (2012). "A new classification scheme for treating blunt aortic injury". J Vasc Surg. 55 (1): 47–54. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2011.07.073 . PMID   22130426.
  24. ↑ Wu, H; Zhang, L; Li, M; Wei, S; Zhang, C; Bai, H (April 9, 2022). "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Published Studies on Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm With the p-Branch". Front Surg. 9 (879682): 879682. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.879682 . PMC   9098825 . PMID   35574550.
  25. ↑ Kansagra, K; Kang, J; Taon, MC; Ganguli, S; Gandhi, R; Vatakencherry, G; Lam, C (2018). "Advanced endografting techniques: snorkels, chimneys, periscopes, fenestrations, and branched endografts". Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 8 ((Suppl 1)): S175–S183. doi: 10.21037/cdt.2017.08.17 . PMC   5949586 . PMID   29850429.
  26. ↑ Starnes, BW; Henegan, RE; Tatum, B (2017). "Midterm results from a physician-sponsored investigational device exemption clinical trial evaluating physician-modified endovascular grafts for the treatment of juxtarenal aortic aneurysms". J Vasc Surg. 65 (2): 294–302. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2016.07.123 . PMID   27687323. S2CID   5524761.
  27. 1 2 Tomic, I; Zlatanovic, P; Markovic, M; Sladojevic, M; Mutavdzic, P; Trailovic, R; Jovanovic, K; Matejevic, D; Milicic, B; Davidovic, L (April 15, 2022). "Identification of Risk Factors and Development of Predictive Risk Score Model for Mortality after Open Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair". Medicina (Kaunas). 58 (4): 549. doi: 10.3390/medicina58040549 . PMC   9028269 . PMID   35454387.
  28. ↑ Ito, H (September 25, 2019). "Operative Strategy of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms and Management of Postoperative Complications". Ann Vasc Dis. 12 (3): 323–328. doi:10.3400/avd.ra.19-00074. PMC   6766759 . PMID   31636741.
  29. ↑ Garland, BT; Danaher, PJ; Desikan, S; Tran, NT; Quiroga, E; Singh, N; Starnes, BW (2018). "Preoperative risk score for the prediction of mortality after repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms". J Vasc Surg. 68 (4): 991–997. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2017.12.075 . PMID   29753581. S2CID   21680383.
  30. ↑ Fontana, F; Coppola, A; Ferrario, L; et, al; al (2022). "Internal Iliac Artery Embolization within EVAR Procedure: Safety, Feasibility, and Outcome". J Clin Med. 11 (24): 7399. doi: 10.3390/jcm11247399 . PMC   9782076 . PMID   36556015.
  31. ↑ "Obituary for Martha Nash Starnes". News Journal (Wilmington, DE). January 27, 2004.
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