Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Always talk to your child's care team about your child's situation.
Content of this collection
Surgery for peptic ulcer disease is indicated for complications: hemorrhage, obstruction, perforation, and intractability—the same indications as 120 years ago. — Jeffrey Ponsky, Special Lecture: Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky | St. George's University · 37:48
Evolution of Endoscopic Techniques2 items
Endoscopy and Surgery
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Jeffrey Ponsky, MD, FACS, professor of surgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, OH, and a founder of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, discusses the history of endoscopy, collaboration between ga
video11:29 · Jul 2026
Special Lecture: Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky | St. George's University
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St. George's University presents a special lecture by the Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky, a distinguished surgeon and gastroenterologist presenting on: "Peptic Ulcer Disease: the Evolution of Treatment, Thought and Therapy in
Medici
video45:44 · Jul 2026
Professional Journey & Leadership7 items
ACS Icons in Surgery | Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
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About American College of Surgeons:
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards f
video20:00 · Jul 2026
Meet the Master: Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
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In the latest installment from the VideoGIE Meet the Masters series, Dr. Jeffrey L. Ponsky shares insights and advice from his professional experience.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vgie.2019.03.014
video1:05:06 · Jul 2026
SAGES Stories Episode 11 – Jeff Ponsky, MD
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Welcome to the SAGES Stories Podcast!
In episode 11, we have extraordinary privilege of listening to one of the funniest smart guys (or smartest funny guys) to ever be a part of SAGES: Dr. Jeff Ponsky!
Your hosts Shirin Towfigh, MD an
video1:01:24 · Jul 2026
Residency Advice: Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky | St. George's University
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Preparing for your residency interviews? Tonight's guest lecturer, Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky - named one of America's Top Doctors® for over a decade, offers his advice for residency seekers.
http://www.sgu.edu
video2:20 · Jul 2026
Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
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Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS - PMC Skip to main content An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Here's how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in t
article · Jul 2026
Jeffrey Ponsky: Portrait of a SAGES Pioneer
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Presented during the SAGES 2019 Annual Meeting.
video50:04 · Jul 2026
Jeffrey L. Ponsky Master Educator in Endoscopy
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This is "Jeffrey L. Ponsky Master Educator in Endoscopy" by SAGES Webmaster on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
video · Jul 2026
SAGES & Professional Community1 item
SAGES/ALACE Symposium: Integrating New Technologies, Old Tricks, and Operative Approaches
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Natan Zundel, M.D. & Jeffrey L. Ponsky, M.D., discussion
video12:32 · Jul 2026
Some patients would be better off without a PEG, and clinicians should have the courage to decline placement in patients who won't live two weeks, are septic, or have multi-organ failure — Todd Ponsky, Lessons learned from the introduction of a new endoscopic procedure: PEG · 13:11
PEG Tube Development4 items
From Idea to Ubiquity - the PEG Journey
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This talk was presented at the Innovation and Investment for the Surgical Entrepreneur (non CME) session by Jeffrey Ponsky on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 during the SAGES 2022 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado
video27:18 · Jul 2026
Ponsky and Gauderer invent the PEG tube
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Great story from Jeffrey ponsky about the invention of PEG.
video7:03 · Jul 2026
Lessons learned from the introduction of a new endoscopic procedure: PEG
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Presented by Jeffrey L Ponsky at the Panel: Firsts and Pioneers - Evolutions and Revolutions in Surgery held during the 2017 SAGES Annual Meeting in Houston, TX on Thursday, March 23, 2017
video14:32 · Jul 2026
Innovations in Surgery: PEG Tube
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In the fifth episode of the âInnovation in Surgeryâ series, Dan Scheese sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky to discuss his innovation, the PEG tube. Dr. Ponsky sh
podcast · Jul 2026
From Concept to Clinical Practice1 item
From Idea to Ubiquity
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This talk was presented at the Innovation and Investment for the Surgical Entrepreneur (non CME) session by Jeffrey Ponsky on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 during the SAGES 2022 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado
video · Jul 2026
Single-port surgery may make it difficult in the ER or clinical care to determine what procedures patients have had done due to lack of visible scars. — Jeffrey Ponsky, Overview of Single Incision Surgery Tool Box and Technique: Jeffrey Ponsky, M.D. · 0:57
POEM (Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy)5 items
International multicenter experience with peroral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of spastic esophageal disorders refractory to medical therapy (with video)
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POEM offers a logical therapeutic modality for patients with SEDs refractory to medical therapy. Results from this international study suggest POEM as an effective and safe platform for these patients.
article · Jul 2026
Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) leads to similar results in patients with and without prior endoscopic or surgical therapy
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We found favorable outcomes following POEM in patients who have had prior endoscopic or surgical treatments for achalasia, as well as for patients without prior intervention. There were no significant differences between these two groups wi
article · Jul 2026
Retrograde myotomy: a variation in per oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) technique
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POEM was developed as a minimally invasive method for the treatment of achalasia. Our retrograde dissection modification allows the most critical portion of the case, namely division of the lower esophageal and upper gastric circular muscle
article · Jul 2026
How i do it: per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM)
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In our experience, the method appears to be a safe alternative to standard laparoscopic Heller myotomy, but further assessment is needed to understand long-term outcomes.
article · Jul 2026
POEM by Surgeons – Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky
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Lectures from the 32nd annual GTSC meeting March 7 - 10, 2019, Naples, Florida
video20:52 · Jul 2026
NOTES (Natural Orifice Surgery)3 items
Comparison of anterior transgastric access techniques for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery
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This study supports the presumption that an anterior transgastric access technique for NOTES procedures is safe. The use of a wire to mark the site and another wire to retain the gastrotomy provided safe, efficient, and reproducible transga
article · Jul 2026
Current status of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES)
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Current status of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES)
article · Jul 2026
Transgastric natural-orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery peritoneoscopy in humans: a pilot study in efficacy and gastrotomy site selection by using a hybrid technique
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NOTES peritoneoscopy with a gastrotomy on the anterior stomach permits adequate visualization of organs in the right upper and both lower quadrants. Visualization of the left upper quadrant and spleen is, however, limited unless access is g
article · Jul 2026
Intramural & Novel Approaches1 item
Intramural Surgery: A New Vista in Minimally Invasive Therapy
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Intramural Surgery: A New Vista in Minimally Invasive Therapy
article · Jul 2026
Single Incision Surgery1 item
Overview of Single Incision Surgery Tool Box and Technique: Jeffrey Ponsky, M.D.
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Pediatrics Session: Next-Generation Pediatric MAS - A Move Toward Scarless Surgery
video13:37 · Jul 2026
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) allows removal of flat, long, broad tumors by lifting tissue and shaving down to the next layer, providing better cancer or pre-cancer resection than EMR. — Jeffrey Ponsky, All About Advanced Surgical Endoscopy · 7:36
Endoscopy, An Issue of Surgical Clinics, E-Book
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This issue of Surgical Clinics of North America focuses on Endoscopy and is edited by Drs. John Rodriguez and Jeffrey L. Ponsky. Articles will include: History of Flexible Endoscopy; Quality Measures in Diagnostic Endoscopy; Endoscopic Equi
article · Jul 2026
All About Advanced Surgical Endoscopy
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Endoscopic procedures have undergone a multitude of innovations over the past several decades. Jeffrey Ponsky, MD shares the history of these surgeries and how
podcast14:45 · Jul 2026
Featured picks for families are being prepared — the summaries above are written for you.
Expert statements from the recordings in this collection.
ACS Icons in Surgery | Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
Basil Morrison in England was marking the tips of polyps with India ink to track polyp behavior over time.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky6:47
Endoscopic marking of colonic lesions with India ink was developed in 1975 to enable surgeons to locate polypectomy sites when pathology revealed cancer.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky7:01
India ink tattooing remains useful in the laparoscopic era when surgeons cannot palpate the colon to locate lesion sites.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky7:28
The first endoscope cost $5,200 in 1974.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky8:02
In the mid-1970s, endoscopes were cleaned with green soap before use.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky8:48
Transillumination of the abdominal wall during pediatric endoscopy, where the endoscope light shone through the belly and finger indentation was visible, led to development of the PEG procedure.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky9:01
Jacques Perrisat presented a video on laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a SAGES meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in 1989.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky10:44
Dr. Jeff Ponsky's impact on surgical endoscopy has been foundational through academic advancement of technology and technique, mentorship, and leadership in professional organizations like ASGE and SAGES to bring gastroenterology and surgery together in endoscopy.
Host summaryThe host summarizes what Dr. Jeffrey L. Ponsky said — not the host's own clinical position11:19
The American Board of Surgery asked SAGES to nominate three members for a board director position representing minimally invasive surgery.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky12:01
Ponsky contributed to the American Board of Surgery by developing educational components for minimally invasive surgery, creating examination questions, and establishing endoscopy training requirements for surgical residents.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky12:42
Dr. Ponsky served as director and chair of the American Board of Surgery, president of both ASGE and SAGES, and vice president of the American Surgical Association and SSAT.
Host summaryThe host summarizes what Dr. Jeffrey L. Ponsky said — not the host's own clinical position14:36
Dr. Ponsky trained 35 endoscopic surgery fellows who now carry on his legacy.
Host summaryThe host summarizes what Dr. Jeffrey L. Ponsky said — not the host's own clinical position14:59
The endoscope should be conceptualized as a vehicle like a car or bus that transports surgeons to operative sites rather than primarily as a tool for mucosal inspection.
Surgeons use the endoscope as a vehicle to reach sites for operations including POEM, POP, Zenker's procedures, and NOTES.
Jeffrey L. Ponsky19:38
SAGES Stories Episode 11 – Jeff Ponsky, MD
Ponsky graduated high school with a 2.027 GPA and his college counselor recommended trade school instead of college.
Jeffrey Ponsky6:53
Ponsky's father sold used tires for a living and the family had no money for college.
Jeffrey Ponsky8:26
Ponsky attended Miami University of Ohio on loans and scholarships, studying by memorizing everything and taking copious notes.
Jeffrey Ponsky9:01
Ponsky worked as an orderly at Mount Sinai Hospital during his first college summer, giving bed baths and changing bedpans, which increased his commitment to medicine.
Jeffrey Ponsky10:56
Ponsky was promoted to scrub tech the following summer and was allowed to close fascia, despite the head nurse objecting.
Jeffrey Ponsky12:10
Ponsky chose Case Western Reserve medical school partly because he had to live at home due to financial constraints.
Jeffrey Ponsky14:14
Case Western Reserve had a 'new curriculum' with pass/fail grading (pass, fail, and honors) rather than letter grades during Ponsky's time.
Jeffrey Ponsky14:48
Ponsky received honors in every medical school clerkship including psychiatry, internal medicine, cardiology, OBGYN, and surgery.
Jeffrey Ponsky17:11
Bill Holden, chairman of surgery at Case Western, was an elegant teacher who used the Socratic method, though not the greatest technician.
Walter Pore taught using showmanship, including having students perform pinch grafts at bedside by injecting local anesthetic, cutting postage-stamp-sized skin pieces, and placing them on scraped bedsores.
Jeffrey Ponsky20:14
Walter Pore made Ponsky rewrite his first paper (a letter to the New England Journal about paradoxical air embolism) six times and read German poetry to teach more poetic writing.
Jeffrey Ponsky22:33
During residency, residents worked 36 hours on, 12 hours off, every other night.
Jeffrey Ponsky25:08
The head of GI at University Hospitals refused to train surgeons in endoscopy, telling Ponsky 'we're not training any surgeons, just forget it.'
Jeffrey Ponsky25:29
Ponsky trained in endoscopy with Jim King in Canton, Ohio, performing about 500 cases over 5-6 months using a mid-length colonoscope not designed to reach the cecum.
Jeffrey Ponsky25:47
Ponsky's mother-in-law purchased his first colonoscope as a Hanukkah present after hearing he couldn't use the hospital's scope.
Jeffrey Ponsky26:51
In the early days of endoscopy, scopes were washed with green soap (no high-level disinfection) and Ponsky kept his scope and light source in the back of his car.
Jeffrey Ponsky26:57