Surgeons
Child Prodigy Turned Surgeon Chooses Silver Cross as Medical Home
Joliet, IL (Nov. 18, 2005)—Brian Lahmann entered high school at the age of 10. The aspiring doctor was accepted into college at 14, before he could even drive. By age 26 he had finished medical school and a 5-year medical residency. He completed a surgery fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, "Hospital of the Stars," where he performed surgery on a number of celebrities. By then, Lahmann's surgical talents, academic history, and impressive résumé made him one of the most qualified and sought-after surgeons in the country. Now, Dr. Lahmann is contributing his brilliant surgical techniques to the Joliet area. This highly skilled surgeon, who had his pick of working anywhere, chose Silver Cross Hospital.
A Child Prodigy
Lahmann grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began to feel like he wasn't being challenged enough in his grade school classes, so he started taking two grades a year. By the time he was 8 or 9 years old, the grade schools had nothing left for him.
His school recommended that he attend a school for the gifted in Covington, Kentucky—a high school where the average age of an incoming freshman was 12 or 13. Lahmann was the youngest child ever to be accepted into the school.
Yet while he was so ahead of the average child, Lahmann says that his ability came naturally to him and that he didn't have to work that hard. "My parents didn't push me at all. In fact, if they did, I probably wouldn't have come this far."
At 14, Lahmann graduated from high school. While he was accepted to a handful of schools, he chose Xavier University in Cincinnati so he could stay close to home. Of course, being a 15-year-old college student was a one-of-a-kind education. "My second year, when I was 15, I moved into the dorms which might surprise some people," says Lahmann.
Overall, Lahmann finished high school in 4 years, college in 4 years, and med school in 4 years. "It's like I peaked at age 11," says Lahmann.
Doctor or Surgeon?
Lahmann pretty much always knew that he wanted to be a doctor. As far as becoming a surgeon, he had a few doubts.
"To be honest, the first few years of medical school I thought I might want to do surgery, but I was hoping I wouldn't like it. You see these surgery residents working 120 hours a week and never having time for themselves. But when I got to my surgery rotation I realized how rewarding it is and that I had some level of skill for it," says Lahmann.
With the help of a few mentors during med school at the University of Cincinnati, Lahmann began to realize his full potential as a surgeon. "I realized I was good at something I enjoyed and—lifestyle be damned—let's go ahead and go for it."
Just prior to beginning his 5-year residency in general surgery at the University of Kentucky, Lahmann got married to Janie. He also began drifting towards laparoscopic surgery. He liked the fact that it was new, evolving, cutting-edge technology, and he discovered it was an area that he had talent in. Adrian Park, a mentor of Lahmann's at Kentucky and one of the most skilled laparoscopic surgeons in the country, taught him a great deal about laparoscopic surgery and helped him figure out what he might want from a fellowship, but neither of them knew what was coming.
"Hospital of the Stars"
A friend of Lahmann's who was from L.A. had done a fellowship at Cedars-Sinai in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. When his friend returned, Lahmann got the chance to operate with him, and his techniques learned from Cedars-Sinai left quite an impression. "He was just phenomenal," says Lahmann, "his technique was just unbelievable; it blew me away."
So, Lahmann looked into a Cedars-Sinai fellowship—an extremely competitive position. The year that Lahmann applied, there were 1,000 general surgery applicants, 400 of which applied for laparoscopic fellowships. Only 40 were accepted and Lahmann was one of them.
"I almost jumped out of my skin when he called and offered me the job," says Lahmann, "Cedars was everything I wanted. It was a good mixture of laparoscopic and bariatric, and the volume was high so we got to operate all day long almost everyday of the week." In fact, Lahmann operated on many celebrities during his time at Cedars-Sinai and he confesses to being star struck—at least in the beginning.
"To some degree it's unavoidable, but then you realize you're there to do a service and take care of these people."
New Surgery Techniques
Dr. Lahmann specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures. This involves doing general surgery procedures through small incisions. For example, instead of having one 18-inch-long incision, the patient would have several smaller incisions less than an inch apiece. Dr. Lahmann refers to this surgical procedure as "keyhole" surgery; instead of opening the whole door, doctors can look through the keyhole. High-definition cameras and long instruments are used during surgery so the surgeons are not looking at the patient during surgery, but at the monitor.
These new techniques are performed to increase the comfort of the patient. Unlike traditional open surgery, these laparoscopic procedures allow for a shorter hospital stay, quicker recovery, less scarring, and less post-operative pain. You might be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days with an open surgery, whereas you'd be in the hospital for 24 hours with laparoscopic surgery.
Dr. Lahmann says that he always preferred the laparoscopic area of surgery. "I liked that it was very much the future of surgery. The operations are very difficult and that drew me in even more because, to me, the things that are the most challenging are often the most rewarding."
In addition, Dr. Lahmann has performed the first laparoscopic procedures in the area for weight-loss (LAP-BAND). He has also performed the very first laparoscopic splenectomy and the first Heller myotomy (surgery to treat achalasia of the esophagus) at Silver Cross Hospital.
New city, new hospital, new home
While Dr. Lahmann was offered a permanent position at Cedars-Sinai in California, he and his wife were originally from the Midwest, and they missed their families very much. One Thanksgiving at the family's home in California it dawned on Lahmann and his wife that something was missing.
The family laid out a map of the United States on the floor of their apartment building and started crossing out the states they didn't want to live in. What was eventually left on the map were Ohio and Illinois, the two states where Lahmann and his wife grew up, and where their family and support was. Realizing they wanted their own kids to grow up with the support of their families, they decided to move to the Chicago-land area.
Lahmann had about 10 hospital interviews with surgeons from all over the Chicago-land area. One of these surgeons was Dr. Christopher Joyce, general and bariatric surgeon at Silver Cross Hospital. Lahmann left Silver Cross with a smile on his face, thinking he had found his new home.
"From the get-go I had a really good feeling about the hospital, the personnel, and especially about Dr. Joyce. He was a genuinely nice guy and I knew he was a good surgeon," says Lahmann, "I was comparing other hospitals downtown, in North Shore, and other practices out this way, and they didn't even come close to Silver Cross."
Dr. Doug Lee, a gastroenterologist on staff at Silver Cross, now refers many of his patients to Dr. Lahmann for surgery. Lee says that he is impressed with his technique in laparoscopic surgery.
"Dr. Lahmann is very qualified and he has been through a good training program in regards to minimally invasive surgery," says Dr. Lee. "Normally, a lot of surgeons are more comfortable performing surgeries at academic medical centers, but Dr. Lahmann is comfortable doing it right at the hospital so patients can stay close to home."
As far as his bedside manner, Dr. Lee says, "He's fantastic. He's great with the patients, his colleagues, the staff, and everyone else."
Now, after a year and a half of being on staff at Silver Cross, Dr. Lahmann still couldn't be more satisfied with his decision.
"I love it. There are a lot of great people here from the doctors to the staff to the administration. Everyone here is working to make it the best hospital it can be and it shows. The hospital isn't too big but it isn't too small. We offer almost every specialty here along with high-quality doctors, and at the same time the hospital has a very personal feeling to it. Overall, I couldn't be happier and I feel very blessed to have found this hospital."
Dr. Brian Lahmann's office is located with Dr. Christopher Joyce in the Specialty Care Pavilion on the Silver Cross Hospital Campus. For an appointment with Dr. Lahmann, call (815) 723-8571.