Unless you weigh more than 400 pounds, it’s difficult to imagine walking a mile in James Dials’ shoes. In fact, for most of his life, he couldn’t do that either. The gregarious 62-year-old limousine driver made friends easily, escorting musicians and athletes all over town. Sometimes they would shower him with choice tickets to concerts and sporting events. But Dials always had to turn them down. Not because of a company policy or because he didn’t enjoy public events. Not too long ago, Dials weighed 434 pounds, and he couldn’t walk 10 feet without having to stop and catch his breath. The walk from the parking lot to the venue would have been a Herculean task for him to accomplish ...View Story

My father Mansfield Doi was undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, or ERCP, a procedure used to correct a narrowing in the bile ducts. The advantage of ERCP is that it is non-invasive, but after repeated procedures showed limited effectiveness, his UCSF gastroenterologist suggested surgery. He was referred to Dr. Hobart Harris, Chief of the Division of General Surgery at UCSF, who determined that medically he was a candidate for surgery. However, because of his age – my dad is 86 - Dr. Harris encouraged us to coordinate with the UCSF Surgery Wellness Program, which was a new program at the time. That’s when we had our first consultation. I found the service to be a novel way of approaching health ...View Story

My name is Mark Carpenter, and I owe my life to the doctors and nurses at UCSF.  My story began in January 2010, when it became difficult to swallow. A few weeks later my general practitioner delivered the news that changed my life forever: I had esophageal cancer.  I went first to a surgeon in my local community who was unwilling to operate given the advanced stage of the tumor. Along with my wife, I decided to search for a second opinion. We were referred to UCSF where we met with Dr. David Jablons, chief of Thoracic Surgery and program leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program, who believed I was a good candidate for surgery.  I have ...View Story

In 2002, my mother, Fran Cruse, was diagnosed with Stage II lung cancer. In the following months, my three siblings and I took her to surgeons and oncologists near her home in Carson City, Nevada. Because the tumor was extremely large and pressing against her aorta, the doctors told us there was nothing they could do – that she should just enjoy the time she had left with her family. We were devastated. At the time, my mother was a vigorous 60-year-old woman with eight grandchildren. Although she had a serious illness, she wanted to do all she could to fight the cancer. We scoured the Internet and talked to many people, looking for the best treatment center in ...View Story

A Complex Procedure for Life-Threatening Pancreatitis One morning in December 2014, Lorelei Batty woke up screaming in pain and sick to her stomach. Emergency room doctors in her hometown of Santa Maria, Calif., thought the 3-year-old had the flu and sent her home. But Lorelei didn't improve over the next week and a half, and a far more serious diagnosis soon came in: pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas that's rare in children and can be difficult to treat. After spending most of the next nine months in seven different hospitals with deteriorating health, Lorelei finally underwent a lifesaving surgery at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco on Sept. 8, her fourth birthday. By mid-October she was back home with ...View Story

Transplant recipient Michael's thank-you note to his donor's family uncovered a series of coincidencesand sparked a deep connection. Here's the story. ...View Story

The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UCSF provides service to patients from literally head to toe. Surgeons have the technical expertise to perform a wide array of cosmetic procedures and also provide highly specialized surgical procedures for a host of other problems including craniofacial and cleft lip surgery, microvascular reconstruction, and treatment of complex wounds.For patients like Garrett La Fever, who lost his thumb in a woodworking accident, this expertise can mean all the difference. Using a novel technique, Dr. Scott Hansen collaborated with Dr. Charles Lee to replace Garrett's thumb- which is responsible for 40 percent of the function of the hand- with his big toe. The approach paid off. In the years since his successful ...View Story

Our story began on March 5, 2012. We were almost 26 weeks along with our second child, a son. The pregnancy had been uneventful; however, at our 20 week ultrasound our obstetrician was not able to get a clear view of our son’s heart. He told us that from what he could see, his heart appeared fine but he would like a follow up ultrasound in six weeks. We felt no cause for alarm and were pleased that our doctor was being so thorough. On the day of the follow up appointment, our doctor informed us he saw a large collection of fluid in our baby’s chest around his lungs. I also had too much amniotic fluid. He referred us ...View Story

My name is Dwayne Teach and I feel incredibly lucky to be alive to share my story with you today. I had a massive pulmonary embolism in 2007 followed by a gastric bypass in 2009.  Three years ago I received a new heart and could not be more grateful for the care delivered by the University of California, San Francisco. In the matter of a week, my entire life changed. It all began with flu-like symptoms on a Monday. I was feeling much worse by Thursday so I decided to go to the hospital. After checking in at my local hospital in Fortuna I was transferred to a larger institution in Eureka. On Friday doctors put a stent in my ...View Story

I had just crossed the finish line at Bay to Breakers, a 12 kilometer footrace that takes place in San Francisco each spring, when I suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed on the ground. Luckily for me, of the 10,000 race participants, the one that rushed to my aid was an anesthesiologist who performed CPR for 20 minutes before restoring my pulse. I was taken by ambulance to the University of California, San Francisco, where I had a second cardiac arrest and was again resuscitated. I later learned that I had severe coronary artery disease. There were two 90% blockages in my arteries, and a third 99% blockage that had never been detected. Like many patients, I didn’t have ...View Story