Richenbacher Named the Nicholas P. Rossi Professor of Cardiothoracic
Surgery
Wayne Richenbacher, M.D., UI Hospitals and Clinics cardiothoracic surgeon and professor of cardiothoracic surgery in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, has been named the Nicholas P. Rossi Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
This endowed professorship honors the contributions of Nicholas Rossi, M.D., UI professor emeritus of surgery. The Rossi professorship, which is a permanent appointment, was established by gifts to the UI Foundation from friends and alumni of the cardiothoracic surgery program and from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, Iowa.
Richenbacher, a cardiothoracic surgeon with UI Heart and Vascular Center at UI Hospitals and Clinics, joined the UI faculty in 1993 as surgical director of the Heart Transplant Program. He is an acknowledged leader in the field of heart transplantation and the development of artificial organs.
"This a great honor for Dr. Richenbacher and one which he richly deserves for his contributions to the field of cardiothoracic surgery and education," said Mark Iannettoni, M.D., the Johann L. Ehrenhaft Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and head of the newly created Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. "But more importantly, it allows Wayne to carry on the traditions established by Dr. Rossi of being an outstanding surgeon and tireless educator, which we all recognize as a great opportunity and responsibility for the future of cardiothoracic surgery here at the UI Hospital and Clinics and the Carver College of Medicine."
Richenbacher received a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He then completed training in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of The Pennsylvania State University.
Under Richenbacher's leadership, the Heart Transplant Program at UI Hospitals and Clinics achieved Medicare certification, acknowledging the quality of the program in terms of outcomes and life expectancy after transplantation. The program's surgeons perform more than 12 transplants a year.
Richenbacher has participated in several national trials investigating the efficacy of ventricular assist devices, which have opened up new life-saving options for patients with severe heart failure. He has authored two books, more than 60 scientific articles, and 13 book chapters on artificial organs and other aspects of cardiac surgical care. He is a section editor for the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) Journal and is an associate editor for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Richenbacher also is a member of several professional societies, including the Society of University Surgeons and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
Rossi received a medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in 1955 and came to join the UI faculty in 1960 at a time when the development of thoracic surgery was burgeoning in the areas of congenital heart surgery, valve surgery, coronary artery surgery, and pulmonary and tuberculosis surgery.
Rossi noted that the efforts of the department in all these areas have led to an unbroken tradition of excellence, which continues through the present time.
Rossi became a full professor in 1972 and served as chief of thoracic surgery at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Iowa City Health Care System in the late 1990s. His research interests include clinical cardiovascular projects and thoracic oncology. He became a professor emeritus in 2000.
Latenser Appointed to the Clara L. Smith Professorship
Barbara Latenser, M.D., UI Hospitals and Clinics surgeon, associate professor of surgery in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, and medical director of the Burn Treatment Center at UI Hospitals and Clinics, has been named the Clara L. Smith Associate Professor of Burn Treatment.
The professorship is only the second endowed position in burn treatment in the country, and Latenser is the first woman to be appointed to such a position. The appointment is effective immediately. Latenser will hold the endowed professorship for the duration of her tenure as medical director of the UI Burn Treatment Center.
Clara Smith of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a lifelong resident of the state. She died in 2002 and made an estate gift to the UI Foundation to establish a fund to be used for the greatest needs of the UI Burn Treatment Center. Clara Smith made the gift in thanks to the Burn Treatment Unit and the hospital, which had saved her husband's life when he was a burn patient.
"The state of Iowa and all Iowans benefit from the presence and services of the UI Hospitals and Clinics and a first-class verified burn treatment center. This burn center was started in 1968, and Dr. Latenser is the fourth medical director of the UI Hospitals and Clinics Burn Treatment Center," said G. Patrick Kealey, M.D., professor and interim head of surgery.
"She is a highly motivated, very well trained, and expert burn surgeon. She will exemplify and foster the standards of excellence that have always been the hallmark of the UI Hospitals and Clinics burn treatment center. We are fortunate to have her on staff here at the Carver College of Medicine," Kealey said.
Latenser, who joined the UI faculty in 2004, has a national and international reputation as a leader in research and care of trauma and burn patients. She also has widely shared her clinical expertise on managing burn and trauma patients with physicians around the world.
Through her involvement with the American Burn Association, Latenser also has worked to extend burn care to patients in the Third World. She has been active in organizing the American Burn Association's international outreach, educational, and clinical efforts and has been instrumental in developing outreach clinics in India and, most recently, in Africa.
Latenser's research focuses on issues related to treatment of burns and trauma. Her interests include the acute management of burn and trauma patients, the physiologic alterations that occur in the single or multiple trauma patient, abdominal compartment syndrome, necrotizing acute soft tissue infections, and burn prevention.
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