The compassion in a surgeon's hands
He was driven to medicine by a desire to help patients lead a normal life. Today, St. Joseph’s surgeon Dr. Shahid Lambe does just that through kidney transplant operations that transform lives from daily dialysis to routine check-ups.
Dr. Lambe is Doctor of Medicine (MD), and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC) with a specialization in kidney transplant and general urology. He has been with St. Joe’s since coming to Canada 10 years ago from Mumbai, India.
After starting his fellowship at St. Joe’s and then becoming a resident, Dr. Lambe now says “St. Joe’s is my home.” About 30 per cent of his practice is transplant and the rest is working with kidney stones, bladder issues and prostate problems. Dr. Lambe selected surgery as a specialization because he was interested in using hand eye coordination to build and put things together in the human body. Dr. Lambe shares his knowledge by working with the next generation of surgeons, training residents who are at St. Joe’s from McMaster. It’s a full schedule. “The most challenging part of my job would have to be managing my time, mainly in respect to juggling my work time with my family time.” When he is not working, Dr. Lambe enjoys hiking the beautiful trails in Hamilton with his family.
Dr. Lambe, MD, FRCSC.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Kidney transplants without a doubt are the most rewarding part of my job. I have been doing transplants for 10 years now and each time it amazes me. When you see a kidney working on the table, it means the patients are able to get back to their normal life.
People who are on dialysis will spend a major chunk of their time here at the hospital. When you see them after their transplant and they are not tied to a machine that is when I am truly touched.
The St. Joe’s mission is simple. Living the legacy. What does that mean to you in your job?
The St. Joe’s mission is tied to the values that we all work hard to uphold daily. Patient centered and compassionate care is at the core of my work. Even with kidney surgery, it comes down to basic compassion and caring for our patients.
What is your favorite part about working at St. Joe’s?
My favorite part about working at St. Joe’s would have to be my colleagues. Coming into work, even first thing on a Monday morning, is not a chore for me. It’s something that I enjoy and a big part of that is the people around me. I also enjoy interacting with the residents. They are a major part about why I love what I do.
St. Joe’s is natural leader in the education of future surgeons and physicians. Can you explain a bit about your work with the residency program?
We have been doing the residency program for 15 years now and we are very proud of our residents. Dr. Edward Matsumoto is the program director. I enjoy working with the residents as they keep us on our toes, they are very in tune with what is going on. Once they are done with the program they will go into fellowships and get jobs and that is something that we are really proud of.
You recently took part in live-streaming a kidney transplant here at St. Joes. What was that experience like for you?
The live-stream kidney transplant surgery was important for creating more awareness for people to fill out their donor cards and support good kidney health.
Bringing awareness to what happens behind the doors of the operating room was also important. We are lucky to have a dedicated team that works to coordinate everything for the renal transplant . A lot happens behind the scenes and without the complete team the surgery would not happen. It was a very unique experience taking part in the live streaming. The surgical lead was Dr. Anil Kapoor our surgical transplant director. He has been a mentor for me and many urology residents, he is an amazing surgeon. It was fun being with him for this surgery reliving my urology residency and renal transplant fellowship days. It was a great experience to have people sending in all their questions. I was amazed at the questions that were coming from the students, they were residency level questions.
Dr. Lambe during the live-streamed kidney transplant.
As you know St. Joe’s Kidney and Urinary program is one of the best in Canada. What do you think makes the program so unique?
Our program is unique in the collaboration that we have with the transplant surgeons and nephrologists. Last year we did 140 transplants and that wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of my colleagues. When I have any questions I know I can call our transplant nephrologists at any time to ask for their input.
What do you envision the future of the kidney and urinary program at St. Joe’s to be like?
My vision would be to incorporate robotics into the transplant program. I would also love to get more transplant research out. We have amazing numbers and I want to use that to put St. Joe’s on the map for kidney transplant to show people the success of our program.
Is it true that you are a gamer, and are a fan of PlayStation?
Yes, I used to play PlayStation a lot, which may explain why I enjoy activities that require hand eye coordination so much, but unfortunately I’m not much of a gamer anymore.
What else do you do in your downtime?
In my downtime I try to spend as much time with my family. I have two kids who are eight and five, they are amazing kids. They are very understanding when I have to get up in the middle of the night and go to work. As much as I would love to spend more time with them, they know that this is part of the job that I do.
What is your favorite spot in Hamilton?
It used to be Chucks Burger Bar. I used to love spending time there with my colleagues when I was in Urology residency. Now, I would say it is hiking on the beautiful trails here in Hamilton with my family.
What is your go to coffee or tea order?
I am not much of a coffee drinker. The only tea I enjoy is the one I make myself at home with just the right amount of ginger and spices, and that’s not something that I can find in a Tim Horton’s Chai.