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Jefferson Surgical Solutions

Tom and Felice Wiener of Wynnewood, PA, are supporting a Quality and Safety Fellowship following Tom’s successful lobectomy in May 2014.

Last March, Tom Wiener’s physicians noticed a small lump on the side of his neck. Tom dutifully followed through with a CT scan at his community hospital. While the scan confirmed that the lump in his neck was nothing to worry about, it also revealed something more suspicious in the upper part of his right lung. As Tom recalls, the physicians said it could be one of two things – a tumor or an infection. After two follow-up tests, Tom and his wife, Felice, received the frightening diagnosis: lung cancer.

Referred to Jefferson, Tom soon met Scott W. Cowan, MD, FACS, at Methodist Hospital. Dr. Cowan told him that many of his patients undergo operations on “incidental findings” like his. In early May, Dr. Cowan performed a minimally invasive lobectomy to remove the tumor from Tom’s lung – and he made a full recovery without the need for radiation or chemotherapy.

“Fortunately, it turned out to have been a slow-growing adenocarcinoma. It was the size of a golf ball and totally self-contained,” says Tom, who lives in Wynnewood and practices law in Bala Cynwyd, PA.

In reflecting on his experiences as a patient, Tom lauds Dr. Cowan both for his surgical prowess and his warm personality.“Scott and the entire Jefferson team took great care of me,” Tom says. “I’m very grateful; they did a wonderful job.”

When presented with the opportunity to make a contribution to the Department of Surgery, Tom and Felice were happy to support Dr. Cowan’s efforts as Jefferson’s NSQIP (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) Surgeon Champion. The Wieners’ generous gift is helping to offset the cost of Dr. Adam Johnson’s two-year Quality and Safety Fellowship – the first of its kind at Jefferson (see cover story). Both say they plan to continue contributing as long as they are able.

Felice is thankful to Dr. Cowan “because he did such a good job with my sweet husband” – and she says she already had good memories of Jefferson, having given birth to one of the couple’s four children at Jefferson some 40 years ago. These days, the Wieners are enjoying good health and an extra special “gift” from their daughter: their third grandchild (and the first to live nearby).

For information about making a contribution to the Department of Surgery, please contact Lara GoldStein in the Jefferson Office of Institutional Advancement at 215-955-8797 or lara.goldstein@jefferson.edu.

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