Where are you going, where have you been

Louisville!

As yet another first in the annals of the Igor Laufer Visiting Professorship, I paid a visit to the University of Louisville where my former abdominal imaging fellow and future SAR member (once she finally sends in her application) Brittany (aka Tiffany) Schulz works. It was a great way to end my Kentucky trip.

One thing I learned on the GI side of things during my visit is that the University of Louisville is a leader in the use of irreversible electroporation to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer (electroporation uses externally applied electrical fields to irreversibly damage cells by increasing membrane permeability without inducing coagulative necrosis). Hopefully we will soon be seeing some reports on the follow-up imaging appearance in these patients from the Louisville group. Desiree, you should talk to these guys!

One thing I learned on the GU side of things during my visit is that the men’s room at the 21c Museum Hotel features a combination one-way mirror/urinal/work of art that caters to your inner exhibitionist. Talk about stage fright! Regardless, it’s considered one of the best restrooms in America and is not to be missed (the dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Proof on Main, was also superb- Thanks Greg!).

I had some stimulating discussions with the Chairman of Radiology, Dr. Gregory Postel, about incentivized compensation plans and spent some time discussing U of L’s prostate MRI protocol with faculty. Unfortunately, I was a bit travel weary and had a hard time keeping everything straight. I’m afraid they might be considering incorporating the endorectal prostate coil into their compensation plan at my recommendation.

The U of L residents did a great job in my case conference on focal liver lesions, and my lecture on imaging of RCC was very well attended by faculty and residents alike. After my talk, I wolfed down a sandwich and headed to the airport. It’s a good thing I didn’t delay, because I ended up driving back to the hospital to reclaim my jump drive, missed my exit for the airport, and forgot to refill my rental car with gas. This latter error led to my aimlessly driving around the much-maligned Crown-Plaza (aka Executive West) hotel looking for a gas station (not fun, but still better than paying $10/gallon).

I have to say, I have some pretty unpleasant memories of Louisville and the Crown-Plaza/Executive West, so I can understand why prior SAR VPs left this gem off their list. Some examiners absolutely loved going to Louisville. Then again, I’m sure there are people out there that enjoy wedgies, tax audits, and keeping up with the Kardashians. I have tremendous respect for Ray Dyer, but we definitely disagree on the fun factor of the old oral boards. Unlike some examiners, Ray wasn’t one of those demon examiners that delighted in the sound of a human soul being crushed (FYI, it sounds remarkably like someone losing continence). To Ray, the boards were a sacred ritual akin to the Jedi trials, and the examiner was like a member of the Jedi council (for more information, check out Wookieepedia). Sure, there were a few sith lords mixed in (we all know who they were), but to Ray, the work was noble and honorable. Me? I lived in fear of making a math error that would forever relegate someone to a life of reading screening mammograms in North Dakota (I’m pretty sure no mammographers from North Dakota read my blog, so I should be safe here. If you are from North Dakota, substitute South Dakota here). Even though I didn’t enjoy the process of examining, whenever Reed Dunnick was around, I would tell the examinees to pretend they were crying when leaving the room just so I would get invited back. You might be wondering why, if I didn’t like examining, I would want to go back year after year. Simple- the food was awesome! Come on, what examiner didn't gain at least 10 pounds every spring!

Despite the painful memories invoked by driving past one of the quirkiest hotels in America, I’m glad I had a chance to visit my friends at the University of Louisville. They have a great group of young, enthusiastic abdominal imagers there, and I expect to be hearing great things from them in the future!