Department of
Surgery

Publications

Scholarly Activities Publications July 1,2024 - June 30 2025

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Timing of breast biopsy and axillary ultrasound does not affect the false positive rate of the axillary ultrasound. G Stimac, A Jones, F Afridi, G Vasilakis, M Miranda, R Norcini, K Lupinacci, M Cowher. Surgical Oncology Insight. Volume 1, Issue 4. December 2024. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soi.2024.100098

Granulicatella adiacens Producing an Interesting Etiology of Delayed Breast Cellulitis. R Norcini, L Marku, H Rajjoub, K Woodberry. Eplasty. Accepted for publication, publication pending.

Koenig ZA, Uygur HŞ. Letter to the Editor: Medical Weight Management Considerations in Plastic Surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Mar 11. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000012082. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40096701.

Bohler F, Koenig ZA, North, C. Plastic Surgery Research Fever: Temperatures Rise Without Step 1 Scores. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open 13(3):p e6590, March 2025. | doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000006590

Koenig ZA, Shabih S, Uygur HŞ. Blunt Vascular Injuries of the Face and Scalp: Systematic Review and Introduction of a Grading Scheme and Treatment Algorithm. J Craniofac Surg. 2025 Mar 7. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000011196. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40062961.

Miller NW, Koenig ZA, Woodberry KM. Management of a Muskellunge Fish Bite to the Thumb With Subsequent Flexor Tendon Laceration. Cureus. 2024 Dec 11;16(12):e75541. doi: 10.7759/cureus.75541. PMID: 39803061; PMCID: PMC11721989.

Miller NW, Koenig ZA, Woodberry KM. Bilateral Nipple Piercings and Subsequent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Breast Abscess Formation. ePlasty. 2024 Nov 2024. https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/eplasty/case-report/bilateral-nipple-piercings-and-subsequent-methicillin-resistant. Awaiting PubMed indexing. 

Salisbury FK, Koenig ZA, Uygur HŞ. Management of Frontal Bone Exposure Following Paramedian Forehead Flap for Nasal Reconstruction. J Craniofac Surg. 2024 Oct 25. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000010809. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39453754.

Bohler F, Koenig ZA, Herr B, Gelman JJ. Non-municipal water sources as a potential for surgical site infections in plastic surgery. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2024 Dec;99:395-396. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2024.10.029. Epub 2024 Oct 18. PMID: 39442435

Retrospective Review to Evaluate the outcomes of panniculectomy in a rural population. Feno Monaco, Yaheya Idris, Vardhan Avasarala, Kerri Woodberry

Evaluation of the Effect of GLP-1 Agonists in Post-Body Contouring Patients: A 10-Year Analysis. Vardhan Avasarala, Zack Koenig, Halil Safak Uygur.

Nordstrom NK, Miranda M, Seifarth FG, Drews JD. Polymicrobial lower extremity necrotising fasciitis in a young toddler with sepsis. BMJ Case Rep. 2024 Nov 26;17(11):e262142. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2024-262142. PMID: 39603680.

Quiroga LH, Koenig ZA, Marku L, Welch L, Henderson J, Brooke S, Woodberry K. The Impact of Penicillin Allergy on Infection Rates in Tissue Expander Breast Reconstruction: A 7-Year Analysis.

Koenig ZA, Patel NK, Norcini R, Quiroga LH, Woodberry K. Comprehensive Rotation Analysis of Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency in the United States: Clarification of Rotation Metrics.

Vaile JR, Tipps JA, Struble SL, Patel NK, Kota A, Mendenhall SD. Current surgical outcomes of free functional muscle transfer for Volkmann’s ischemic contracture: A scoping review. In. Journal of Hand and Microsurgery. March 2025.

Maley G, Patel NK, Anderson D, Blanks W, Crihălmeanu T, Climov M, Uygur HS. Management of Wild, Non-Canine Mammalian Attacks Complicated by Bacterial Infection: A Case Report and Systematic Literature Review. In. Journal of Emergency Medicine. February 2025.

Struble S, Patel NK, Graham EM, Tipps JA, Vaile JR, Leeflang EJ, Goodwin I, Mendenhall SD. Outcomes of Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix for Soft Tissue Reconstruction of the Hand and Extremities. In. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open. July 2024.

Tabrizi E, Pourteymour Fard Tabrizi F, Mahmoud Khaled G, Sestito MP, Jamie S, Boone BA. Unraveling the gut microbiome's contribution to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: mechanistic insights and therapeutic perspectives. Front Immunol. 2024 Jul 9;15:1434771. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1434771. PMID: 39044834; PMCID: PMC11263025.

Niemann B, Zarfoss E, Victory J, Smida T, Petros K, Sestito M, Bardes J. Evaluation of Oral Vasoactive Medications to Maintain Mean Arterial Pressure in Spinal Cord Injury. J Surg Res. 2024 Oct;302:339-346. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2024.07.059. Epub 2024 Aug 12. PMID: 39137515.

Gootee J, Tham E, Sestito M, Abunnaja S, Tabone L, Szoka N, Garland-Kledzik M. Incidental GIST in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review of Incidence and Management. Obes Surg. 2025 Mar;35(3):1009-1017. doi: 10.1007/s11695-025-07725-8. Epub 2025 Feb 4. PMID: 39904834. Systematic review.

Sestito M, Niemann B, Boone BA. Pancreatic Cancer [Book Chapter]. Complex General Surgical Oncology – Preparing for Boards and Early Practice. Springer Publishing. June 2025.

H Pratt BS, A Stevens BS, M Sestito MD, M Ojetunde BS, A Ivey BS, N Mihalik PhD, K Steinberger BS, B Niemann MD, EH Hoblitzell, TD Eubank PhD, BA Boone MD. Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Modulate Recruitment and Immunosuppressive Characteristics of Macrophages in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Immunology Research. [Accepted for publication]

Godfrey EA, Choi SJ, Sestito M, Lukomski S, Boone BA. Development of an scl1-expressing Lactococcus as a novel therapeutic against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Anticipate submission April 2025. [Manuscript under review]

D Gillis MD, M Sestito MD, A Race MD, SS Abunnaja MBchB, LE Tabone MD, EM Ritter MD, LM Dudas MD, N Szoka MD. Bowel Anastomosis Simulation Trainer: A Novel Surgical Simulation Device Designed to Enhance Surgical Education. [Manuscript under review]

Sestito M, Schwartzman K, Niemann B, Schmidt CR, Boone BA. Robotic-assisted Lateral Pancreaticojejunostomy for Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis. JoVE.[Manuscript under peer review]

Sestito M, Stevens A, Niemann B, Boone BA. Intraoperative Video Consultation Following Bile Duct Transection Facilitates Direct OR Transfer for Robotic Hepaticojejunostomy at Tertiary Center. JoVE. [Manuscript under peer review]

Niemann B, Puleo A, Sestito M, Schmidt CR, Boone BA. Robotic Duodenal Sleeve Resection for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor with Rare Exon 8 KIT Mutation Following Neoadjuvant Imatinib. JoVE. [Manuscript under peer review]

Top 10% most-viewed papers published by the Journal of Surgical Oncology in 2023: Sestito M, Pratt H, Schmidt C, Thomay A. Recent advances for treatment of upper gastrointestinal malignancy. J Surg Oncol. 2024 Jan;129(1):48-62. doi: 10.1002/jso.27530. Epub 2023 Nov 27. PMID: 38010879.

Luo X, Hayanga JWA, Tham E, Ryan KJ, Rothenberg P, Mehaffey JH, Lamb J, Reddy S, Badhwar V, Toker A. Salvage surgery is safe and effective for clinical stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2025 Mar 29;40(4):ivaf084

Rothenberg P, Patel S, Dua A, Minc SD. Building Your Research Team: Insights on hiring, assembling and leading research teams. J Vasc Surg - Vascular Insights. Accepted Online 14 May 2025, pending publication.

Young S, Weber M, Ryan KJ, Rothenberg P, Carrott P, Mehaffey JH, Hayanga JW. Impact of Preoperative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Use on Lung Transplant Outcomes. Annals of Thoracic Surgery, article in press.

Review of computed tomography imaging can decrease non therapeutic after facial trauma. Connor Mamikunian, MD, James M. Bardes, et al. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 2025

Niemann BR, Murthy J, Breinholt C, Swords J, Stevens A, Garland-Kledzik M, Mayers K, Groves E, Train K, Murken D. Postoperative C-Reactive Protein Trend Is a More Accurate Predictor of Anastomotic Leak than Absolute Values Alone. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(9):2931. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm1409293.

Niemann B, Zarfoss E, Victory J, Smida T, Petros K, Sestito M, Bardes J. Evaluation of Oral Vasoactive Medications to Maintain Mean Arterial Pressure in Spinal Cord Injury. J Surg Res. 2024;302:339-346. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.07.059.

Brown C, Coleman K, Bardes J, Schroll R, Alabaster K, Schroeppel T, Zachery E, Teicher E, Lita E, Ferrada P, Han J, Fullerton R, McNickle A, Fraser D, Truitt M, Grossman Verner H, Todd S. R, Turay D, Pop A, Godat, L, Costantini T, Khor D, Inaba K, Wilson A, Myers J, Haan J, Lightwine K, Berdel H,  Bottiggi A, Dorlac W, Zier L, Chang G, Lindner M Martinez B, Tatum D, Fischer P, Lieser M, Mabe R, Lottenberg L, Velopoulos C, Urban S,  Duke M, Brown  A, Peckham M, Gongola  A, Enniss  T, Teixeira  P, Kim  D, Singer G,  Ekeh P, Hardman C, Askari R, Okafor B, Duchesne J, Smith A. Tourniquet in Place as Full Trauma Team Activation Criterion Maintains an Acceptable Overtriage Rate. J Surg Res. 2025 May 20;311:64-69. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2025.04.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40398338.

Gomez-Tschrnko M, Guilfoose J, Badhwar V, Mehaffey J. Lyme Disease: A Rare Cause of Infective Endocarditis. JCTVS Techniques. 2024.

Crum, AE, Balise, S., Stimac GP, Lupinacci, K. Secondary ALK-positive Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma Masquerading as Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Arch Breast Cancer. Vol. 12 No. 2. May 2025

Stimac GP, Lupinacci K, Cowher MS, Hazard-Jenkins, HH.  Outpatient Mastectomy is a safe surgical option for patients treated in a rural Appalachian tertiary facility. Surgical Oncology Insight. Vol 1, Issue 2.  June 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.soi.2024.100054

Wang CC, Farmer T, Garland-Kledzik M, Magge DR. Disparities in Advanced Stage Colorectal Cancer Outcomes in Appalachia: A Comprehensive Review. Am Surg. 2025 Apr;91(4):633-638. doi: 10.1177/00031348241312124. Epub 2025 Jan 3. PMID: 39749412.

Gootee J, Tham E, Sestito M, Abunnaja S, Tabone L, Szoka N, Garland-Kledzik M. Incidental GIST in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review of Incidence and Management. Obes Surg. 2025 Mar;35(3):1009-1017. doi: 10.1007/s11695-025-07725-8. Epub 2025 Feb 4. PMID: 39904834.

Grimm M, Harman H, Gootee J, Seifarth FG. Concomitant ileocolic intussusception and perforated appendicitis in a toddler. BMJ Case Rep. 2025 Apr 23;18(4):e264665. 

Coloarticular Fistula as a Long-Term Sequela of the Hartmann Procedure. Jeevan J. Murthy, Jake Engel, David DeFazio, Keri Mayers. Published in Cureus.

Double Autologous Pericardial Patch Reconstruction of Two-Cusp Aortic Valve Endocarditis with Annular Abscess David DeFazio MD ,Lawrence Wei MD, Nathan Kister MD, Luigi Lagazzi MD, Nestor Dans MD, Ali Darehzereshki MD, Goya Raikar MD, Vinay Badhwar MD, J. Hunter Mehaffey MD. Published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports

Book Chapters

Swords, J, Likar C, Garland-Kledzik, M. Genetics of Cancer. Complex General Surgical Oncology – Preparing for the Boards and Early Practice. Springer. Pending Publication in July

Gootee J, Szoka N (2025) Digital Surgery Chapter in 2nd edition of SAGES Manual of Robotic Surgery. Chapter completed awaiting publication

Paper Competitions

Raymond H. Alexander, MD Resident Paper Competition. 1st Place Clinical Science. Rural Facial Trauma: Opportunities for Teleconsultation Triage. Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. 2025.