Lung transplant recipient Mike Preston visits with his grandchildren. An uncontrollable cough led Tampa Bay-area resident Mike Preston to seek medical attention. Preston visited his primary care physician and specialists to find out the cause. Within five months,…
George John Arnaoutakis, M.D., has joined the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is an assistant professor. Arnaoutakis earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from the UF College of Medicine. He completed his general…
In March, Ronald “Ronny” Pruitt, the head football coach for Union County High School in Lake Butler, and his wife, Robin, packed their bags for a spring break trip to the Bahamas. Before leaving, Ronny had the beginning of what seemed like a cold. His family physician prescribed a Z-Pak…
Robin Thomas lived one struggling breath at a time. Diagnosed with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, her only option for survival was a lung transplant. However, the odds of finding a set of donor lungs did not appear to be favorable. By some estimates, nearly 80 percent of donor lungs…
Tiago Machuca, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine, recently performed UF Health’s first lung transplants using organs treated on the XVIVO Perfusion System. The device preserves donated lungs that do not initially meet the standard criteria for lung transplantation but may…
Vincent C. Daniel, M.D., was named director of thoracic oncology at UF Health by the UF Department of Surgery. He is also an associate professor of surgery in the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the UF College of Medicine. Daniel earned his medical degree from the University…
Jessica Cioffi, MD, is an assistant professor in the division of general surgery at the UF College of Medicine. She specializes in pancreatic, biliary and liver surgery. Dr. Cioffi earned her medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine/ She completed her general…
