Residents, medical students present at Southeastern Surgical Congress
Posted on May 4, 2026 by Carol McPhail
Surgical residents from USA Health and medical students from the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine gave presentations at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Surgical Congress recently.
The conference, held at Amelia Island, Florida, in February, drew surgeons, subspecialists, residents and medical students to present, evaluate and discuss current knowledge and research in general surgery.
Alexander McNally, M.D., a fourth-year surgery resident at USA Health, presented a poster titled “Effects of Alcohol on Disposition Time for Minorly Injured Trauma Patients.”
“The objective of this study was to assess outcomes among our community trauma patient population and optimize institutional protocols to enhance patient outcomes,” McNally said. He was mentored by Caleb Butts, M.D., a USA Health trauma and burn surgeon and an associate professor of surgery at the Whiddon College of Medicine.
Sam Motz, a fourth-year medical student, presented a poster titled “The Impact of a Geriatric Trauma Protocol on Outcomes in Pelvic and Femur Injuries.”
Motz’s research concluded that the implementation of a geriatric trauma protocol in patients with pelvic and femur fractures was associated with improved efficiency of care, decreased hospital utilization, and trends toward better discharge outcomes
“These findings highlight the value of multidisciplinary geriatric-specific trauma care in high-risk fracture patterns,” he said. “However, larger studies are warranted to confirm these improvements and assess long-term functional recovery and healthcare costs.
Motz was mentored by Maryann Mbaka, M.D., a trauma surgeon at USA Health and an associate professor of surgery at the Whiddon College of Medicine.
Carlysle Salter, a third-year medical student, presented “Robotic Surgery in Acute Care: Development of an Educational Pathway and Single-Institution Outcomes.”
“The main finding was that robotic surgery is feasible for acute-care surgeries,” said Salter, who was mentored by Mbaka.
Other presentations included:
- Ciara Jenkins. M.D., a fourth-year surgery resident, presented “A case of Fatal Vasculitis Without Fasciitis Caused by Photobacterium Damselae.” She was mentored by Ashley Williams Hogue, M.D., trauma and burn surgeon and associate professor of surgery.
- Danielle Stephens, M.D., a second-year surgery resident, presented “Cardiopulmonary Bypass in the Management of Retrohepatic IVC Injuries: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.” She was mentored by Steven Miller, M.D., trauma surgeon and assistant professor of surgery.
- Juan Borja Ceballos, M.D., a first-year surgery resident, presented two research studies: “Scurvy in Surgical Patients, A Disease of the Past?” and “Sleeve Gastrectomy Outcomes Using Titan Stapler.” He was mentored by William Richards, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery.
- Nicole Lemon, a second-year medical student, presented “RIG Implementation to Decrease Complications in Trauma Patients.” She was mentored by Butts.
- Tillery French, a second-year medical student, presented “Evaluating Utility of Routine Post-operative Transthoracic Echocardiography in Patients with Penetrating Cardiac Injuries.” She was mentored by Butts.