Dr. Kemp Kernstine

 Monday afternoon, June 20, 2016- Summer is beginning!  Glad to be alive to see it!

Dear “Mirigl”

 Not being able to read anything about you on the “about me” page, I am left to suppose that either you, a friend, or a loved one, has been diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer.  Now that seems to be a sensible supposition, why else would you be inquiring here?  So with that in mind, although I know a good deal about Esophageal Cancer since my husband is now entering his 14^th year of survival from “Adenocarcinoma at the GastroEsophageal (GE) junction, and staged as a “T3N1M0” patient, I feel qualified to know just who would be a good thoracic surgeon and who would not.  However, I had not heard of Dr. Kemp Kernstine until you wrote here, so obviously this info provided below is from web references.  Accordingly, if I needed surgery, and desired to remain in the Dallas area, I can see no reason not to schedule an appointment with him.

 Moreover, I would always highly recommend, first and foremost, that the patient have a SECOND opinion, and that one of those consultations would be with a highly-rated, highly-experienced Thoracic Surgeon proficient in the minimally invasive surgical field.  Our own thoracic surgeon was Dr. James D. Luketich, pioneer of the “Ivor Lewis Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy”.  This surgical procedure was first introduced by Dr. Luketich in the mid-90s and is now the surgery of choice at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  That is where my husband had his “Ivor Lewis Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy” in 2003.    With that in mind, I have done some research on the web pertaining to Dr. Kernstein.

 I must tell you that I am highly impressed with his credentials.  And from all the info that I have referenced if someone needs an Esophagectomy in the Dallas area, Dr. Kernstein should be one of the top surgeons to have.  So I would make sure that the appointment is with him, and not another associate.  He does accept new patients, so that should be good news.

 Furthermore, I called the Simmons Comprehensive Clinic this afternoon, and I was given this number to call.  1-888-980-6050. I identified myself, and asked if Dr. Kernstein performed the Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy.  That was before I had finished my research.  When I called, the person said, “I will give “Maria” your message, and she will call.  Now that was over an hour ago, so maybe she is too busy, or doesn’t see the need to return my call.  And she may well call, after I have posted this information for you.  But I can see that Dr. Kemp H. Kirstein, in my opinion, is well-qualified to take care of an Esophageal Cancer patient.  He is a professor and teaches as well.  So he has to know what he is doing and what he is talking about.  Moreover, he has written numerous publications relative to his field of expertise that have been accepted by major medical journals.  That is another way I judge their level of expertise.

 Usually pre-op chemo/radiation treatments (neo-adjuvant) will precede the actual Esophagectomy. That, of course, depends on the Stage of Cancer.  Clinical trials have shown that those who opt for a “tri-modal” approach are longer-term survivors.  And that is the ultimate aim.

 In my husband’s, William’s case, he had pre-op chemo/radiation.  Chemo was a combination of Carboplatin/5-FU, plus 25 radiation treatments.  He had his successful MIE surgery about 4 weeks after the last of his treatments.  Since scar tissue does build up from the radiation treatments, surgeons like to perform the surgery soon after cessation of pre-op treatments.  Also 23 lymph nodes were removed during the surgery for pathology purposes.  None of the nodes contained cancer, so no further post-op (adjuvant) chemo treatment was prescribed.

 So listed below my name, are some of the many places I “traveled” this morning on the web.  This biological information serves to confirm what I have written here. Incidentally, I see that UT Southwestern is rated among the top 25% hospitals in our GREAT country.  And another plus, he is the recipient of numerous awards, among them,

 So may whoever needs medical treatment for Esophageal Cancer have a successful and preferably MIE surgery, and be a very long-term survivor.  Since I’m already telling you more than you asked for, I will stop for now.

 Hoping that this not-so-good “beginning” will ultimately turn out to be a great “ending”, I am,

 Loretta Marshall (Wife of William Marshall, EC Stage III (T3N1M0) MIE performed by Dr. James D. Luketich at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) May 17, 2003. 

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PS. Tuesday morning- June 21, 2016 - Maria, Dr. Kernstine's nurse, returned my call.  She spoke directly to Dr. Kernstine.  I had asked her to ask him how many of the Minimally Invasive Esophagectomies he performed each year.  He said he operates on 20 to 40 patients a year, and has been performing them since 1995, so he must have learned the procedure from Dr. Luketich "way back" then.  If anyone is diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer, and is a good surgical candidate, then the "MIE" is the very best way to go.  Okay, just thought I would just add this note.  The nurse was very nice and gave me a number to call for an appointment.  She gave me this number.  214-645-HOPE.  So don't give up "hope".  There are survivors I'm happy to say.  That's (214-645-4673). 

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References you might like to read listed below:

1.  http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Kemp_Kernstine.html

2. http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Kemp_Kernstine/profile

3. http://profiles.utsouthwestern.edu/profile/125019/kemp-kernstine.html

4. https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-kemp-kernstine

5. http://www.ctsnet.org/home/kkernstine

6. http://health.usnews.com/doctors/kemp-kernstine-4013

  7.  http://www.utswmedicine.org/cancer/programs/esophageal/

 8.  http://www.utswmedicine.org/cancer/programs/esophageal/medical-treatment.html