An alumnus of Duke University and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero is the vice chair of clinical research at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine. A nationally recognized leader in perioperative clinical research, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero also serves as the medical school’s director of perioperative quality and patient safety. In this capacity, he facilitates programs such as Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS).
Stony Brook’s ERAS combines best practices from multiple disciplines in the pre-, intra-, and post-operative phases of surgery to enhance recovery time, reduce complications, and improve patient satisfaction. The program is currently offered in four surgical pathways: colorectal, urology, spine, and minimally invasive gynecology. Since its launch, ERAS has led to a decrease in postoperative length of stay by four days for patients who have undergone colorectal surgery, while minimizing post-discharge opioid prescriptions for patients who have undergone minimally invasive gynecological surgery. ERAS is coordinated by a team of qualified surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician assistants, nurses, and pharmacists under the leadership of Dr. Elliott and Dr. Tong Joo Gan. Dr. Gan is the chairman of Stony Brook’s department of anesthesiology and a founding member of the American Society for Enhanced Recovery. Going forward, ERAS will be expanded to include pathways in orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and surgical oncology. Technological innovations will also be added to its practice to monitor compliance and collect patient-reported outcomes.
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Professor and Vice Chairman of Clinical Research at Stony Brook Medicine, Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, MD is an anesthesiologist and prolific contributor to professional publications, including the New England Journal of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero serves as Medical Director of Perioperative Quality and Patient Safety at Stony Brook. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Bennett-Guerrero’s research interests include postoperative morbidity, surgical site infection, quality improvement, and the safety and effectiveness of blood transfusions.
Each year, the Department of Anesthesiology at Stony Brook University hosts an academic research evening open to students and faculty. The 2019 guest speaker was Dr. Evan Kharasch, a professor of anesthesiology at the Duke University School of Medicine, Vice-Chair for Innovation in his department, and Director of Research Entrepreneurship for the entire medical school. Dr. Kharasch has a wide range of research interests spanning topics from outpatient anesthesia to nanotech biomarkers in renal cancer intervention. He is well published, with more than 250 articles appearing in professional research journals, and he has served as Editor-In-Chief of Anesthesiology since 2015. His keynote address at the 2019 Peter Glass Academic Research Evening was titled “Perioperative Opioids, Public Health and Anesthesiology.” The keynote speaker for the academic research evening in 2020 has recently been announced as Dr. Pamela Flood, a professor of anesthesiology, perioperative, and pain medicine at Stanford University. With decades of experience in the field of medicine, Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, MD, is a well published anesthesiologist. Since 2015, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero has worked in Stony Brook University’s (SBU) school of medicine, where he serves as professor of anesthesiology and vice chair for clinical research and innovation with the department of anesthesiology.
SBU has seen many of its programs rise in grad school rankings in the past few years, with U.S. News and World Report highlighting its school of medicine, which now places 56th in the overall Best Medical School research category, one position above where it was ranked in 2018. The rankings looked at a variety of graduate programs across the country, and highlighted several of SBU’s degrees, explicitly noting its Physician Assistant Program, which placed 15th in its specific category. SBU also received praise for its engineering faculty, with its mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering programs each jumping several spaces alongside its materials science degree. The university’s school of social welfare is placed 51st, 8 places higher than the previous year. ![]() The work of professor and researcher Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero has been published in a number of top journals, including Transfusion and the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero teaches anesthesiology at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Practice Greenhealth, an organization that promotes environmental sustainability in the medical field, has given Stony Brook University Hospital an award for “Greening the Operating Room.” One of the Environmental Excellence Awards given by Practice Greenhealth, Greening the Operating Room recognizes an organization that has succeeded in mitigating its surgical suites’ environmental footprint. To reduce its environmental impact, Stony Brook University Hospital has installed LED surgical lighting and implemented a program to lower the temperature at night in unoccupied rooms. In addition, the hospital cut back on its use of disposable basins in favor of reusable metal basins. In 2017, the operating room teams used and reprocessed 10,000 reusable basins. ![]() A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero possesses more than 25 years of medical experience and serves as a professor and vice chair for clinical research at Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York State. Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero’s expertise lies in cardiac anesthesiology and critical care medicine, and his interest in blood transfusions has resulted in the publication of multiple studies on the topic. Dr. Bennett-Guerrero coauthored a study titled, “No association between donor age and recipient outcomes: transfusion of plasma in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.” The study was published in the journal Transfusion in April 2016. The study was based on animal research that indicated a notable additional benefit of using blood from young donors in transfusions for recipients of more advanced age. The research suggested pairing these donors and recipients could reverse age-related changes affecting the older recipients, specifically neurological and cardiac concerns. Prompted by this evidence, the authors of the Transfusion study examined, through the lens of donor versus patient age, the results of patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. In a review of more than 1,300 cases, however, the authors found that while patient mortality appeared to be linked to the amount of blood transfused, the age of the donor was not a significant factor. ![]() Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero serves as a professor and the vice chairman for clinical research at Stony Brook Medicine in New York. A triathlete in his personal life, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero has completed three Ironman half-triathlons. Triathlons are popular within New York State, with several being held over the course of a year. A popular one that many individuals participate in is the River Rock Triathlon. It was last held in August of 2016. Athletes competed in feats such as swimming in the Peconic River, biking a 40k bike race, and running a 10k. Although it was extremely hot, with temperatures over 90 degrees, everyone but five participants managed to finish. The Volunteer Ambulance Corps stood by in case of emergencies. The Riverhead Fire Department offered a pumper truck to spray cold water near the finish line, so runners could cool off and feel refreshed as they finished the race. Although many of the athletes were local, some came as far away as California and even from different countries, including Ireland. ![]() Elliott Bennett-Guerrero serves as a professor and vice chair of clinical research at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. A physician and anesthesiologist with two decades of experience in anesthesiology and critical care, Elliott Bennett-Guerrero previously carried out research at Duke University (where he received grant funding) and holds membership with a number of professional organizations, including the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). The largest nonprofit association of its kind, the SCCM is made up of members who span more than 100 countries around the world. The organization enhances critical care practice through educational, research, and advocacy activities. The SCCM provides a wide range of programs that further the teaching efforts of medical institutions, ensuring students and residents receive the best possible education. The organization’s “Fundamentals” initiative includes the following: -Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS): This training for medical professionals who do not specialize in critical care equips individuals with the skills necessary to keep a critical patient alive for the first 24 hours until a critical care specialist arrives. -Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support (PFCCS): A similar training program to FCCS, PFCCS imparts the knowledge required to manage young patients (children and adolescents) following resuscitation. Students learn to prioritize essential treatment and identify life-threatening conditions. -Fundamental Disaster Management (FDM): This course enables medical personnel to deal with mass casualty situations stemming from major disasters. In addition to training on the types of events that can result in such a situation, trainees learn triage principles and the steps to assembling emergency ventilators. A professor of anesthesiology at Duke University, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero has nearly 20 years of experience as a medical educator. A presenter of many lectures on subjects related to blood storage and transfusions since 2007, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero also takes a special interest in the state of the nation’s blood supply. While donations from all blood types are helpful in preventing supply shortages, the donation of certain rare blood types is extremely important to hospitals and the patients that they treat.
Within the last few years, the American Red Cross has faced some of its most significant blood shortages to-date. This year, medical professionals continue to voice concern over a potential shortage of type O negative, A negative, and B negative blood. Since O negative blood can be given to patients of any blood type, it is frequently used in medical emergencies, allowing professionals to take quick action before a patient’s blood type can be identified. In addition, rare blood types like AB positive and negative are universal donors of plasma, and are also useful in emergency situations. Those interested in giving blood can locate a nearby donation center on the American Red Cross’ website, www.redcrossblood.org. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero is a professor of anesthesiology currently serving Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Additionally, Elliott Bennett-Guerrero acts as director of perioperative clinical research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, where he leads extensive research projects examining issues regarding blood transfusion during coronary artery bypass surgery.
Patients diagnosed with severe coronary heart disease may be recommended for a type of open heart surgery known as coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG, surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon grafts a healthy artery from another location within the body, usually the chest or leg, and binds it to the blocked coronary artery, so as to bypass the blocked portion of it. This rerouting allows blood to flow freely to the heart. CABG surgery may be performed on more than one blocked coronary artery at a time. CABG is effective in reducing angina and strengthening the pumping action of a weakened heart. Although repeat surgery may be necessary over time for some patients, the majority report a reduction or elimination of symptoms and a significantly improved quality of life. Board-certified anesthesiologist Elliott Bennett-Guerrero serves Duke University as professor of anesthesiology, a position he has held since 2008. During his ongoing tenure as director of perioperative clinical research with the Duke Clinical Research Institute, in 2010 Elliott-Bennett Guerrero facilitated clinical trials on the application of gentamicin-collagen sponges onto surgical sites, the results of which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
There is interest in potentially using topical antibiotics to reduce the risk of surgical wound infection. Topical or local use implies that the antibiotic is administered at the site of the wound and not systemically as through an intravenous (IV) catheter or through the mouth, ie gastrointestinal tract. A potential benefit of topical antibiotics is to maintain low levels of drug in the bloodstream despite the high concentration of antibiotic around the site of application. This is important since high levels of some antibiotics in the bloodstream can be harmful, for example to the kidneys. Currently there are no FDA-approved, topically-applied antibiotics for the prevention of surgical site infection after abdominal surgery. |
AuthorDr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero is both an educator and a vice chairman at Stony Brook Medicine. Archives
June 2022
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