WHAT’S UP AT POP?

Peri Operative Programme Péri-Opératoire(POP)

NewsletterSeptember2020

POP has had an extremely exciting year, full of changes.We are continually trying to refine the prehabilitation program, to tailor it to meet the needs of individual patients.We are now not only doing research,but we are building up a clinical practice that matches, in numbers of patients, the research programs. The surgeons have fully endorsed the program and see it as a requirement now for high risk patient before undergoing major surgery. Our major patient population this year has been in colorectal, esophageal,and lung cancer, peripheral vascular disease,and hernia repairs.

Our Prehabilitation group has received research funding from CIHR, Rossy Cancer Network, the European Society Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, MITACS, FRQS. Many of our students have received prestigious awards and scholarships to aid them in pursuing their work. Our students have been writing and submitting to major medical publications, as well as completing their Master and PhD.This year, Dr. Enrico Minnella finished and achieved a PhD in Experimental surgery as well as completing a year of a clinical fellowship in anesthesia at the MGH. Dr. Miquel Coca has completed his Master in Experimental Surgery also and is about to pursue a PhD. Anh Thy Le Quang, working under Dr. François Prince at the University of Montreal, is pursuing a Master in Kinesiology. Sarah Atoui is working on her PhD in Experimental Surgery, studying the relationship between prehabilitation and sleep. Kenny Drummond is pursuing a Master in Experimental Surgery studying the impact of prehabilitation on patients affected by esophageal cancer. Geneviève Lambert is working on the efficacy of delivering the program through online connection with patients(Teleprehabilitation). Vanessa Ferreira has been working on her PhD, researching the effect of nutrition prehabilitation on functional fitness in lung cancer patients,and will finish and submit her thesis Spring 2021

We are happy to report that Dr. Chelsia Gillis, PhD is coming back to the POP Group, having spent the last 5 years in Calgary, at the University of Calgary, working on her PhD in Epidemiology and the effects of prehabilitation on patients going for major surgery. She will head up the Nutrition unit of the POP prehabilitation program. She has been awarded a CIHR award for her post-doctoral studies which she will be pursuing as of this Fallat McGill. Welcome back Chelsia.

We are extremely lucky to have a great team of clinicians who work alongside the POP Program, among whom, there is Dr. Amal Bississow, Dr. Gabriele Baldini, Dr. Enrico Minnella, Dr. Celena Scheede-Bergdahl and Dr. Miquel Coca.

As with everyone, we were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and were forced to close on March 13, 2020. The office and program remained closed till July2, 2020, when we cautiously re-opened with many new protocols and space in force. As the COVID numbers increased in the early spring, our offices were moved to the Livingston Building to make more room for COVID patients in our previous location. We are very pleased with our new location as we have several more rooms to operate in, giving patients the privacy that they need,when consulting with the various practitioners. We continue to have an adequate gym (bikes, treadmill, work bench and resistance equipment), an assessment room with our new CPET machine recently installed, and several consulting rooms. We also continue to be partners with the Pre-Op Clinic, who also moved next to us into Livingston.

New to the program, we are developing a telehealth program, wherein the program is monitored through Zoom sessions with patients. Research is being done to see if the results of using home-based programs yield equivalent results to in-house programs. We are also testing various digital monitoring systems to help motivate and gather adherence of patients to the program. We recognize the importance of adapting to the reality of today’s pandemic and the future of the delivery of medical services.

We are now working with a website specialist to develop a new site to give patients and practitioners the relevant information to make informed decisions about the prehabilitation program. It is under construction now but will hopefully be well populated in the near future.

Last November, we held a second in our series of workshops, which was fully attended, with a little overflow of attendees!It covered all the aspects of setting up a prehabilitation program and included the methodology of running the program. All attendees we very happy with the workshop.

As a result of the workshop, one of the attendees, Siobhan Trotter, a Canadian Nurse Practitioner, practicing in the US, decided to work with Dr. Carli to set up a prehabilitation unit at the OchsnerHealth Centre in New Orleans.She has been the driving force in setting up the American Prehabilitation Society, to distribute information about prehabilitation and convene practitioners (surgeons, clinical personnel, medical students) to share the knowledge and practice of prehabilitation. Dr. Carli was named a founding member and first President of the Society. Marcel Guay, MBA,is a member of the Board and Mary Guay is the Recording Secretary on record. More news about the Society will be forthcoming,once the pandemic is over.

Due to the pandemic, we had to cancel a third series of workshops that was supposed to occur in March. We have moved the date to November 28, 2020, at which time, we will deliver the workshops virtually.

Unfortunately, the 4thWorld Conference,that was supposed to have been held in Barcelona, Spain,during June 2020, had to be canceled due to the pandemic. Hopefully, it will be held next summer. All depends on the outcome of the pandemic.

Our staff has been asked to participate in webinars,on various aspects of prehabilitation,for health care workers, researchers,and the public. These webinars will be publicized on our website soon

The Friends For The Cure 8th Annual Gala ,to benefit POP, was again held in February, weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. We were so lucky to benefit from the committee’s effort this year. The theme this year was VENICE. About 850 people attended. It was held in a new location, in Laval, and proved to be a wild success. The food was great, the band terrific and the raffle and silent auction bringing in record amounts yet again. POP received $125,000 from the Gala. Friends For The Cure have to be commended on their tireless efforts to support POP by putting on a Gala every year for POP. They are the spine of our operation.

received $125,000 from the Gala. Friends For The Cure have to be commended on their tireless efforts to support POP by putting on a Gala every year for POP. They are the spine of our operation.Next year’s Gala is very much up in the air with the pandemic showing no signs of departing soon.It will indeed be a real loss for POP, as the proceeds account for 65-70% of the cost of running the program.

This year’s Texas Hold’Em was unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. Again,the event this coming year is up in the air and dependent on the situation with the pandemic.

This year, a couple of our patients have written the most telling testimonials which sum up what we believe are the advantages of the prehabilitation program:

Dear Dr. Carli + POP Team, Dr. Enrico, Kenny, Vanessa, Hamza, Anh Thy, Mary, As you all know, I am grateful to have found this “phenomenal” program. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in “POP”. Although its been quite the challenge, I can definitely say the benefits have been so significant! From mental heath support, kinesiology, dietician, this team is exceptional.I will forever be grateful for the preparation for my upcoming surgery.I look forward to sharing in the yearly Gala next year.

Best of luck always!

With gratitude + appreciation,

Carole

February 2020

2 years ago I was scheduled to have bowel surgery.

My surgeon, Dr. Liberman suggested to enter the POP program at the Montreal General Hospital, it would be beneficial.

I, an old lady veteran of 4 operations, not exactly minor ones, does not need a PROGRAM! Yet I was curious as what this new school of physicians dreamt up.

So, I showed up at the MGH on Cedar Avenue.

It is hard to describe the welcoming feeling I had right away. Unfortunately I am very bad remembering names, but we did some paperwork, like what the program is all about, what my involvement would entail, yes a contract has to be signed, but I could opt out anytime that it might be difficult for me to continue.

Well, Dr. Francesco Carli and his team are so friendly, sincere, supportive, interested in you, answering all questions.

I don’t remember in which order I met the team, Dr. Carli, of course, lady dietitian, blood test, bone density, weight and cardio.

Did a lot of running in circles, yes literal, the whole range of activity associated with physical fitness.I could not get enough of it, such an uplifting experience.

A few weeks after the operation, which went very well, I was called back by Dr. Carli for the postop exercises.

I am very interested in our health care system. I receive regularly updated pamphlets, on one occasion it talked about “Hospital Heroes”. I did not have to think long: Dr. Carli AND his team! My choice, of course.

Trudi

February 2020

We recognize and want to acknowledge, with thanks, the special donors, that continually support us, including the Louise and Alan Edwards Foundation, The Panarello Family, and the Montreal General Auxiliary. Some very generous new donations came in this year, including the Birks Family Foundation, the Ruth and David Steinberg Family Foundation, the Montreal General Hospital Foundation. Our sponsors, Abbott and Immunotec, continue to supply us with the very needed nutritional requirements of the program. To all of you, we are eternally grateful.

We cannot run this program without your help. To provide the best of patient care during an incredibly stressful time prior to surgery, we need to have the right kind of professionals and equipment to take care of all patients that require our program.

Please consider donating to POP and giving patients the best care possible.