Student’s Research Program

The Microsurgery Research and Training Lab, Dept of Orthopedics has a year-long Microsurgery Research Program for CU medical students. This Program is directed by Drs. Mel Rosenwasser and Yelena Akelina, and based in our Microsurgery Laboratory, PH 1158. Our goal in creating this program is to provide research opportunities in Microsurgery for medical students at CU.

We offer this research opportunity as a volunteer (unpaid) position to 3rd year medical students who are taking a year off from the standard 4 year curriculum to gain research experience in an academic environment.

   Team work

We expect that this program will help the student in making a decision about their surgical specialty since microsurgery is a surgical skill that relates to many surgical fields. The medical school curriculum provides little exposure to microsurgery and our proposed program will present a unique opportunity to have hands-on experience, performing experimental microsurgical procedures under the direct supervision of the instructor. Students will also participate in the design and performance of scientific experiments.  In addition, they will perform post-operative care of relevant animal models and participate in data analysis and interpretation. Each student will be encouraged to submit it for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or/and present it on a major specialty meeting.

Those are the Students/Residents who took advantage of this opportunity and their projects and accomplishments:

1. 2007-08 - Maria Codreanu, MD- PGY2 in General Surgery at New York Hospital of Queens
2. 2008-09 - James Shin, CU MS3, Columbia Univeristy
3. 2009-2010 - Geoffrey Konopka, CU MS3, Columbia University
4. 2010-2011 - Bukola Ojo, MS3, Mount Sinai Medical School
5. 2009-2011 - Ayhan Kilic, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Visiting International Fellow, Istanbul, Turkey (worked with a students on many projects)

   James Shin and Maria Codreanu

Projects were initiated by one student and continued by the next:

Certified in Basic and Advanced Microsurgery, assisted in teaching the one-week Basic and Advanced Microsurgery Courses to visiting surgeons, and conducted research in microsurgery, wrist biomechanics, and post-fracture apoptosis. Investigated the use of novel and standard microsurgical techniques in rodent models as applied to interpositional vein grafting, transected nerve repair (acute, subacute, and partial injury) painful neuroma prevention; assessed post-operative outcomes through behavior studies and quantitative histomorphometric analysis.

Publications and Presentations:

• (Manuscript Pending Submission)
  Shin J, Konopka G, Oh J, Akelina Y, Strauch R. Operative management of subacute partial
  nerve lesions in a rodent sciatic nerve model. Sep ‘10
  
  
• (Manuscript Pending Submission)
  Shin J, Codreanu M, Sung YJ, Gardner T, Yao C, Akelina Y, Strauch R. Novel intraoperative
  application of cyanoacrylate for the prevention of painful neuroma formation. Sep ‘10
  
  
• European Federation of Societies for Microsurgery, 10th Biennial Congress
  Codreanu M., Shin J., Konopka G., Akelina Y. Collagen tubes as support for disparate sized
  vein grafts. May 20-22nd ‘10
  
  
• American Society for Peripheral Nerve, Annual Meeting
  Shin J, Akelina Y, Yao C, Codreanu M, Strauch R. Novel intraoperative application of cyanoacrylate for the prevention of painful neuroma formation. Jan 8-10th ‘10

Geoffrey Konopka and Ayhan Kilic

Certified in Basic and Advanced Microsurgery, assisted in teaching the one-week Basic and Advanced Microsurgery Courses to visiting surgeons, and conducted research in microsurgery, biomechanics, and post-fracture apoptosis. Investigated the use of novel and standard microsurgical techniques in rodent models as applied to nerve cable grafting, different fracture models, and to interpositional vein grafting.

   Team work

Publications and Presentations:
(Submitted Manuscripts)

• White NJ, Sorkin AT, Konopka G, McKinley TO.  Static Intramedullary Nailing of the Femur and Tibia Without Intra-Operative Fluoroscopy.  Submitted to Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
  
  
• Kilic A, Konopka G, Regalbuto R, Akelina Y, Gardner T and Tang P. Rat Sciatic Nerve Injury Defect Treated with Ipsilateral, Cabled Sural Nerve: A Standardized Experimental Model and Testing Protocol of a Novel Grafting Technique in the Rat. Submitted to Journal of Peripheral Nerve Society.
  
  
• Tang P, Konopka G, Kilic A, Regalbuto R, Akelina Y, Gardner T. Functional and Histological Outcomes of Nerve Defects Treated with Matched-Diameter Allograft vs. Cabled Autograft in a Rat Model.Accepted for presentation at the Annual AAOS meeting, February 16th, 2011
  
  
• Greisberg J, Swart E, Konopka G, Gardner T, O J, Kelly S. Delayed Cartilage Apoptosis following Intra-articular Fracture. Accepted for presentation at the Annual AAOS meeting, February 16th, 2011
  
  
• Tang P, Konopka G, Kilic A, Regalbuto R, Akelina Y, Gardner T. Functional and Histological Outcomes of Nerve Defects Treated with Matched-Diameter Allograft vs. Cabled Autograft in a Rat Model.Accepted for presentation at the Annual AAHS meeting, January 14th, 2011
  
  
• Kilic A, Konopka G, Regalbuto R, Akelina Y, Gardner T, Tang P. Treatment of a Segmental Nerve Defect with Use of a Cabled Sural Nerve Autogenous Graft as a Novel Experimental Model in the Rat.Accepted for presentation at the Annual ASPN meeting, Cancun, Mexico, January 15th, 2011
  
  
• Konopka G, Fujio K, Katcherian C, Raskolnikov D, Swart E, Tang P. Does Capitate Morphology Affect Proximal Row Carpectomy Contact Biomechanics? Accepted for presentation at the Annual ASSH meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, October 6th, 2010
  
  
• Konopka G, Fujio K, Katcherian C, Raskolnikov D, Swart E, Tang P. Does Capitate Morphology Affect Proximal Row Carpectomy Contact Biomechanics? New York Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Residents and Fellows Meeting, Presented May 11, 2010. Received 1st Prize
  
  
• Konopka G, Codreanu M, Shin J, Akelina Y. Collagen Tubes as Support for Disparate Sized Vein Grafts. 10th Congress of the European Federation of Societies for Microsurgery. Genoa, Italy. Presented May 20, 2010

Bukola Ojo and Ayhan Kilic

Certified in Basic Microsurgery, assisted in teaching the one-week Basic and Advanced Microsurgery Courses to visiting surgeons, and conducts research in microsurgery. Investigates vessel patency as an outcome of novel and standard microsurgical techniques in rodent models.

Presentations/Posters:

• Ojo, B., Strauch, R., Kilic, A., Konopka, G., Akelina, Y. Practicality of the Eversion Technique of Microvascular Anastomosis for Microsurgical Training. Oral presentation at the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand: 2011 Residents and Fellows Night, May 2011, New York, NY.
• Kilic, A., Ojo, B., Rajfer, R.A., Konopka, G., Hagg, D., Jang, E., Akelina, Y., Mao, J.J., Rosenwasser, M.P., Tang, P. Nerve Regeneration Using White Adipose Tissue (WAT) Flap and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) as a Scaffold. Accepted as a paper presentation at the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting, February, 2012, San Francisco, CA
• Kilic, A., Ojo, B., Konopka, G., Hagg, D., Rajfer, R., Jang, E., Akelina, Y., Tang, P. Improvement of Sciatic Nerve Regeneration Using Enriched White Adipose Tissue Flap as a Biologic Scaffold. Oral presentation at the 6th Congress of the World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, June-July, 2011, Helsinki, Finland. [Presented by R.R.]
• Kilic, A., Ojo, B., Konopka, G., Rajfer, R., Jang, E., Tang, P. Sciatic Nerve Regeneration Using Enriched White Adipose Tissue Flap as a Biologic Scaffold. Poster presentation at the 66th Annual Meeting of the ASSH, September, 2011, Las Vegas, NV.

Manuscripts in Preparation:

Ojo, B., Akelina, Y., Strauch, R.J. Eversion is Comparable to the Minimal-touch Anastomosis Technique in a Rat Model.
Kilic, A., Ojo, B., Rajfer, R.A., Konopka, G., Hagg, D., Jang, E., Akelina, Y., Mao, J.J., Rosenwasser, M.P., Tang, P. Rat Sciatic Nerve Regeneration Using White Adipose Tissue Flap and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 as a Biologic Scaffold

Grant Support for Research:

Orthopaedic Scientific Research Foundation Grant for the project titled: Comparison of vessel patency using the eversion versus minimal-touch anastomotic technique.