News

Physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Corrigan Minehan Heart Center recently marked a significant milestone by becoming the first team in New England to perform a transcatheter mitral valve replacement in a non-calcified mitral valve—a minimally-invasive procedure for patients who suffer from mitral valve regurgitation. The disease, which can cause patients to feel symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue, occurs when blood flows back through the diseased valve to the atrium of the heart. Statistics show one in five patients age 70 and older are affected by this condition. If left untreated, it can lead to heart failure. Traditionally, patients able to receive replacement valves do so through open-heart surgery.

When Jeanette Bernard needed an urgent kidney transplant in January 2018, it was not a stranger from a donor list but her own cousin, Jill Palermo, who came to her aid.

In February, faculty from the MGH Cancer Center and the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) launched the Program for Enhanced Training in Cancer (POETIC).

On June 3, Volcano Fuego in Guatemala erupted in what was the most destructive eruption in its history. Within hours, Kenneth Lim, MD, PhD, attending physician in the MGH Division of Nephrology joined rescue workers with Misión Hispana to provide medical care to those injured.

“Summer is a time when blood donations slow down and demand goes up,” says John Petty, Police and Security operations supervisor. Recognizing this need, Petty and members of MGH Police, Security and Outside Services kicked off their first blood drive in partnership with the MGH Blood Donor Center.

The MGH Youth Scholars Class of 2018 celebrated an impressive feat during their June 27 graduation ceremony – every one of the 28 graduates will attend college next year, making them the third class out of seven to attain such an accomplishment.

Research at the MGH is interwoven throughout more than 30 departments, centers and units and is conducted with the support and guidance of the MGH Research Institute. The Research Roundup is a monthly series highlighting studies, news and events.

Every career path is different, proving there is no set course to success. This was one of the main messages from the six panelists at the second annual Speed Mentoring Roundtable with Administrative Leaders.

Earlier this year, the Charlestown Coalition – supported by the MGH Center for Community Health Improvement – received a City of Boston 2018 Love Your Block mini-grant for a neighborhood beautification project.