STS News, Winter 2020 — Through its charitable arm, The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF), the Society provides awards that enable cardiothoracic surgeons to become better clinicians and researchers. Several of these awards are named in honor of cardiothoracic surgery leaders whose accomplishments significantly improved patient care.
One such honoree is Carolyn E. Reed, MD, who became the first woman to serve as STS treasurer, chair of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and president of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. She died in 2012 and was posthumously elected as STS's first female president.
In 2013, TSF and Women in Thoracic Surgery jointly established the Carolyn E. Reed Traveling Fellowship. The award provides female cardiothoracic surgeons or residents with up to $10,000 for visiting another institution and learning a new skill or technology.
A dozen Reed fellowships have since been awarded, and recipients have traveled throughout the world to study esophageal disease, pectus excavatum, and more.
"This experience will enable me to increase my productivity and impact as a surgeon-scientist in esophageal disease."
Pectus Excavatum Repair
Another 2019 fellowship recipient, Crystal J. Erickson, MD, spent a week training with Dawn Jaroszewski, MD, MBA, in pectus excavatum repair at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
“During my first 2 years of practice, I have seen a fair number of adult patients with pectus excavatum,” said Dr. Erickson, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon at UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “There is no one in my local community outside my own group who performs pectus repair in this patient population, so while I had some familiarity with this procedure from my fellowship training, I wanted to maximize my exposure of the entire evaluation and treatment process.”