A board certified general surgeon, Dr Kelz’ interests include minimally invasive parathyroid and thyroid surgery. In addition to Endocrine surgery, Dr Kelz is dedicated to medical education through the use of innovative technologies and approaches including simulation and live video broadcasts. Dr Kelz, the Clerkship Director for the Core Surgery rotation is the champion for medical student education within the Department of Surgery. As the surgeon champion for ACS-NSQIP at HUP, she is intimately involved in the delivery of quality surgical care as defined by surgical outcomes. Her current work places her at the intersection of medical education, surgical outcomes and quality surgical care.

• 2004-present American College of Surgeons
  • Associate Fellow, 2004-2007
  • Fellow, 2007-present
• 2004-2007 American College of Epidemiology (Associate Member)
• 2004-2009 Society of American Gastrointestinal & Endoscopic Surgeons
• 2006-2008 Surgical Outcomes Club
• 2006-2007 Endocrine Society
• 2007-present Association for Surgical Education
• 2009-present American Thyroid Association
• 2011-present               Surgical Outcomes Club
• 2012-present               American Association of Endocrine Surgeons

• Identification of modifiable causes of variability in surgical cost and outcomes to improve surgical quality and reduce disparities
• Development of innovative approaches to surgical education.

1. Auran JD, Koester CJ, Rapaport R, Florakis GJ. Wide field scanning slit in vivo confocal microscopy of flattening-induced corneal bands and ridges. Scanning 16(3):182-186, May/June 1994.
2. Auran JD, Koester CJ, Kleiman NJ, Rapaport, R, Bomann JS, Wirotsko BM, Florakis GJ, Koniarek JP. Scanning slit confocal microscopic observation of cell morphology and movement within the normal human anterior cornea. Ophthalmology 102(1):33-41, Jan. 1995.
3. Abt P, Kelz RR. Survival among pediatric liver transplant recipients: Impact of segmental grafts. Liver Transplantation 10(10):1287-1293, Oct. 2004.
4. Kelz RR, Gimotty PA, Polsky D, Norman S, Fraker D, DeMichele A. Morbidity and mortality of colorectal carcinoma surgery differs by insurance status. Cancer 101(10):2187-2194, Nov 15, 2004.
5. Silber JH, Rosenbaum, PR, Trudeau ME, Chen, W, Zhang X, Rapaport Kelz R, Mosher RE, Even-Shoshan O. Changes in prognosis after the first post-operative complication. Medical Care 43(2):122-131, Feb. 2005.
6. Silber JH, Rosenbaum, PR, Trudeau ME, Chen W, Zhang, X, Kelz RR, Mosher, RE, Even-Shoshan O. Pre-operative antibiotics and mortality: Results from the surgical outcomes study. Annals of Surgery 242(1):107-114, July 2005.
7. Kurichi JE, Kelz RR, Sonnad SS. Women authors of surgical research. Archives of Surgery 140(11):1074-1077, Nov. 2005.
8. Karakousis G, Han D, Kelz R. Interpretation of intra-operative PTH changes in patients with multi-glandular primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Surgery 142(6):845-850, Dec. 2007.
9. Han R, Roses R, Karakousis G, Kelz R, Neemani D, Karmacharya J, Fraker D. Surgical pitfalls in the era of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 205(3):S61-S62, 2007.
10. Roses RE, Foley PJ, Resnick AS, Kelz RR, Williams NN, Mullen JL, Kaiser LR, Morris JB. The resident perspective on the state of general surgery training. Journal of Surgical Education 65(1 ):18, Jan. /Feb. 2008.
11. Paulson EC, Ra J, Wirtalla C, Rohrbach J, Kelz R, Cooper J, Rosato E, Gorman J, Kaiser L, Kucharczuk J, Spitz F. Predictors of postoperative course following esophagectomy at a high volume institution. Journal of Surgical Research 144(2):363, Feb. 2008.
12. Kelz RR, Freeman KM, Hosokawa PW, Asch DA, Spitz FR, Moskowitz M, Henderson WG, Mitchell ME, Itani KM. Time of day is associated with postoperative morbidity: An analysis of the national surgical quality improvement program data. Annals of Surgery 247(3):544-552, Mar. 2008.
13. Ra J, Paulson EC, Kucharczuk J, Armstrong K, Wirtalla C, Rapaport-Kelz R, Kaiser LR, Spitz FR. Postoperative mortality after esophagectomy for cancer: Development of a pre-operative risk prediction model. Annals of Surgical Oncology 15(6):1577-1584, June 2008.
14. Paulson EC, Mitra N, Sonnad S, Armstrong K, Wirtalla C, Kelz RR, Mahmoud NN. National Cancer Institute designation predicts improved outcomes in colorectal cancer surgery. Annals of Surgery 248(4):675-686, Oct. 2008.
15. Foley PJ, Roses RE, Kelz RR, Resnick AS, Williams NN, Mullen JL, Kaiser LR, Morris JB. The state of general surgery training: A different perspective. Journal of Surgical Education 65(6):494-498, Nov. /Dec. 2008.
16. Paulson EC, Ra J, Armstrong K, Wirtalla C, Spitz F, Kelz RR. Underuse of esophagectomy as treatment for resectable esophageal cancer. Archives of Surgery 143(12):1198-1203, Dec. 2008.
17. Kelz RR, Tran TT , Hosokawa P , Henderson W , Paulson EC , Spitz F , et al. Time-of-day effects on surgical outcomes in the private sector: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2009 Oct; 209(4):434-445.e2.
18. R.E. Roses, P. Foley, E.C. Paulson, L. Pray, R.R. Kelz, N. Williams and J.B. Morris Revisiting the rotating call schedule in less than 80 hours per week. Journal of Surgical Education, Volume 66, Issue 6, Nov-Dec 2009, Page 357-360.
19. Kelz RR, Mullen J, Kaiser L, Pray, L, Shea, G, Drebin, J, Wirtalla, C, Morris, J. Prevention of Surgical Resident Attrition by a Novel Selection Strategy. Annals of Surgery 2010 Sept.:252(3):537-543.
20. Holena, DN; Hadler, R; Wirtalla, C; Carr, B; Morris, JB; Kelz, RR. Teaching status: The impact on emergency and elective surgical care in the US.(conditionally accepted, Annals of Surgery).
21. Mittal MK, Morris JB, Kelz RR. Germ Simulation: A Novel Approach for Raising Medical Students Awareness Toward Asepsis. Simulation in Healthcare: The Journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare: 2011 April, 6(2): 65-70
22. Reinke CE, Drebin J, Kreider S, Kean C, Resnick A, Raper S, Kelz RR. “Timing of Pre-operative Pharmacoprophylaxis for Pancreatic Surgery Patients: A Venous Thromboembolism Reduction Initiative”. Ann Surg Oncol. 2012 Jan;19(1):19-25.
23. Shah PK, Shah KK, Karakousis GC, Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Fraker DL. “Regional Recurrence after Lymphadenectomy for Clinically Evident Lymph Node Metastases from Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Cohort Study.” Ann Surg Oncol. 2012 May; 19(5):1453-9.
24. Holena D, Mills A,, Carr B, Wirtalla C, Sarani, B, Kim P, Braslow B, Kelz RR. “Transfer Status: A Risk Factor for Mortality in Patients with Necrotizing Fasciitis“ Surgery. 2011 Sep; 150(3):363-70.
25. Reinke CE, Hadler RA, Karakousis GC, Fraker DL, Kelz RR. “Does the Presence of Thyroid Cancer Increase the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy?” Surgery. Dec 2011; 150(6): 1275-1285.
26. Silber JH, Rosenbaum PR, Kelz RR, Reinke CE, Neuman MD, Ross RN, Even-Shoshan O, David G, Saynisch PA, Kyle FA, Bratzler DW, Fleisher LA. “Medical and Financial Risks Associated with Surgery in the Elderly Obese.” Ann Surg. 2012 May 4. [Epub ahead of print]
27. Zubizarreta JR, Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Silber JH, Rosenbaum PR. “Matching for Several Sparse Nominal Variables in a Case-control Study of Readmission Following Surgery.” The American Statistician. November 2011, 65(4): 229-238.
28. Yang RL, Freeman K, Reinke CE, Fraker DL, Karakousis G, Kelz RR, Doyle A. “Tertiary Hyperparathyroidism in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Characteristics of Patients Selected for Different Treatment Strategies” Transplantation. 2012 Jun 14. [Epub ahead of print]
29. Yang R, Reinke CE, Mittal M, Kean C, Diaz E, Fishman N, Morris JB, Kelz RR. “The Surgery Clerkship: An Opportunity for Preclinical Credentialing in Urinary Catheterization” Am J Surg. 2012 May 14. [Epub ahead of print]
30. Mollo B, Reinke CE, Nelson C, Holena D, Kann B, Williams NN, Bleier J, Kelz RR. “The Simulated Ward: Ideal for Training Clinical Clerks in an Era of Patient Safety.” J Surg Res. 2012 Apr 12. [Epub ahead of print]
31. Okusanya O, Reinke CE, Kornfield ZN, Morris JB, Sarani B, Williams NN, Kelz RR. “The effect and Durability of a Pre-graduation Boot Camp on the Confidence of Senior Medical Students Entering Surgical Residencies.” J Surg Educ. 2012 Jul; 69(4):536-43.
32. Massey PR, Sakran JV, Mills AM, Sarani B, Aufhauser DD, Sims CA, Pascual JL, Kelz RR, and Holena DN. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in necrotizing soft tissue infections.” J Surg Res. 2012 Mar 28. [Epub ahead of print]
33. Reinke CE, Karakousis GC, Hadler RA, Drebin JA, Fraker DL, Kelz RR. “Incidence in Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Malignancy by Tumor Type: An Analysis of ACS NSQIP Data 2005-2010.” Surgery. Manuscript accepted for publication. May 2012.
34. Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Pray, L, Williams NN, Bleier J, Murayama K, Morris JB. “Trimming the fat: Optimizing Overall Educational Value by Defining Factors Associated with Overall Educational Value and Service to Education Ratio.” Journal of Surgical Education. Manuscript accepted for publication. May 2012.
35. Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Zubizarreta JR, Mi L, Saynisch P, Kyle FA, Even-Shoshan O, Fleisher LA, Silber JH. “Obesity and Readmission in Elderly Surgical Patients.” Surgery. Manuscript accepted for publication. May 2012. NIHMS401256
36. Kelz RR, Reinke CE, Zubizarreta JR, Wang M, Saynisch P, Even-Shoshan O, Reese PP, Fleisher LA, Silber JH. “Acute Kidney Injury, Renal Function, and the Elderly Obese Surgical Patient: A Matched Case-Control Study.” Annals of Surgery, Manuscript Accepted for publication July 2012.
37. Yang RL, Newman AS, Reinke CE, Lin IC, Karakousis GC, Czerniecki BJ, Wu LC, Kelz RR. “Racial Disparities in Immediate Breast Reconstruction following Mastectomy: The Impact of State and Federal Health Policy Changes.” Annals of Surgical Oncology. Accepted for publication July 2012.
38. Yang RL, Kelz RR, Doyle A. “Tertiary Hyperparathyroidism – Choosing an Appropriate Treatment – An Enigma.” Transplantation. Accepted for publication August 2012.
39. Kelz RR, Reinke CE, Cofer JB, Ashley SW, Hebert JC, Ko C. APDS Panel Session IV: Intersection of Surgical Outcomes and Medical Education. Journal of Surgical Education. Accepted for publication August 2012.
40. Mills AM, Holena DN, Kallan MJ, Carr BG, Reinke CE, Kelz RR. “The Effect of Insurance Status on Patients Admitted for Acute Diverticulitis” Colorectal Disease. Accepted for publication August 2012.
41. Showalter SL, Kelz RR, Mahmoud NN. “Effect of Technique on Postoperative Perineal Wound Infections in Abdominoperineal Resection” Accepted for publication Am J Surg October 2012.
42. Reinke CE, Showalter SL, Mahmoud NN, Kelz RR. “Comparison of Anastomotic Leak Rate after Colorectal Surgery in Different Databases” Diseases of the Colon and Rectum. Accepted for publication October 2012.
    

1. Begos D, Rapaport R. Cytomegalovirus infection masquerading as an ulcerative colitis flare-up: Case report and review of the literature. Yale Journal Biology Medicine 69(4):323-328, July/ Aug. 1996.

1. Kelz RR. Interpretation of intra-operative PTH changes in patients with multi-glandular primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). AAES, Phoenix, AZ, June 2007.
2. Kelz RR. Postoperative mortality after esophagectomy for cancer: Development of a preoperative risk prediction model. Poster presentation, Annual Meeting Society of Surgical Oncology, Chicago, IL, Mar. 2008.
3. Kelz RR. The dual nature of papillary microcarcinoma: Benign versus aggressive clinical behavior. Poster Presentation, 2008 Philadelphia Academy of Surgery and New York Surgical Society Conjoint Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, May 2008.
4. Hindin, D, Kelz RR. Return to the round theater: Surgical education via live video broadcast. Poster Presentation, 2008 Philadelphia Academy of Surgery and New York Surgical Society Conjoint Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, May 2008.
5. Okusanya, OT, Dumon, K, Mittal, M, Kelz, RR, et al. October 2008 “Establishment of resident laparoscopic virtual reality skills proficiency” American College of Surgeons, Surgical Forum, San Francisco, CA
6. R.E. Roses, P. Foley, E.C. Paulson, L. Pray, R.R. Kelz, N. Williams and J.B. Morris Revisiting the rotating call schedule in less than 80 hours per week Journal of Surgical Education, Volume 66, Issue 2, March-April 2009, Page 68.
7. T. Hedrick, C. Wirtalla, R. Kelz, N. Mahmoud “Obesity Significantly Worsens Perioperative Outcomes In Rectal Cancer Surgery” The American society for colorectal surgeons, Annual Meeting Minneapolis, Minnesota May 15–19, 2010.
8. Holena D,  Mills A,, Carr B, Wirtalla C, Sarani, B, Kim P, Braslow B, Kelz, RR. “Transfer Status: A Risk Factor for Mortality in Patients with Necrotizing Fasciitis.” Association of Academic Surgeons, Academic Surgical Congress, Huntington Beach, CA January 2011.
9. Shah KK, Shah PK, Karakousis GC, Kelz RR, Fraker DL. “Reoperative Parathyroid Procedures in the Era of Minimally Invasive Parathyroidectomy (MIP)” Society of Surgical Oncology’s 64th Annual Cancer Symposium, March 2-5, 2011 San Antonio, TX.
10. Reinke CE, Drebin J, Kreider S, Kean C, Resnick A, Raper S, Kelz RR.  “Timing of Pre-operative Pharmacoprophylaxis for Pancreatic Surgery Patients:  A Venous Thromboembolism Reduction Initiative” Society of Surgical Oncology’s Annual Cancer Symposium.  San Antonio, TX.  March 2011.
11. Shah PK, Shah KK, Karakousis GC, Kelz RR, Fraker DL. “Reliability of Cytologic Analysis for Identifying Tall Cell Variant in Papillary Thyroid Cancer” AAES April 2011 Houston TX.
12. Reinke CE, Hadler RA, Karakousis GC, Fraker DL, Kelz RR.  “Does the Presence of Thyroid Cancer Increase the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy?”  Oral presentation, American Association of Endocrine Surgeons.  Houston, TX.  April 2011.
13. Showalter S, Kelz RR, Mahmoud N. “Affect of Technique on Postoperative Perineal Wound Infections in Abdominoperineal Resection” American Society of Colorectal Surgeons.  Vancouver, Canada May 2011.
14. Mills AM, Holena DN, Kallan MJ, Carr BG, Reinke CE, Kelz RR.  “The Effect of Insurance Status on Patients Admitted for Acute Diverticulitis”.  Society of Academic Emergency Medicine.  Boston, MA.  June 2011.
15. Yang, R, Reinke CE, Mittal M, Kean C, Diaz E, Fishman N, Morris JB, Kelz RR.  The Surgery Clerkship: An Opportunity for Preclinical Credentialing in Urinary Catheterization.  Poster presentation, American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.  October 2011.
16. Okusanya OT, Reinke CE, Kornfield ZN, Morris JB, Sarani B, Williams NW, Kelz RR.  Where Simulation Ends and Training Begins: The Effect and Durability of a Pre-graduation Prep Course for Medical Students Entering Surgical Training.  Oral presentation.  American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.  October 2011.
17. Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Zubizarreta JR, Mi L, Saynish P, Kyle F, Even-Shoshan O, Rosenbaum PR, Fleisher LA, Silber JH.  Surgical Readmissions in the Obese Elderly Patient.  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
18. Reinke CE, Karakousis GC, Hadler RA, Drebin JA, Fraker DL, Kelz RR.  Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism as an Outpatient in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Malignancy: An Analysis of ACS NSQIP Data 2005-2008.  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
19. Reinke CE, Karakousis GC, Hadler RA, Drebin JA, Fraker DL, Kelz RR.  Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Malignancy: An Analysis of ACS NSQIP Data 2005-2008.  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
20. Reinke CE, Nelson C, Holena DN, Kann B, Williams N, Bleier J, Kelz RR.  A Novel Floor Management Simulation Course for Medical Students:  Providing Experience and Feedback in a Safe Environment.  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
21. Holena DN, Sakran JV, Reinke CE, Grabo DJ, Mills AM, Sarani B, Sims CA, Pascual JL, Kelz RR.  Emergency General Surgery: Does an Individual Surgeon’s Volume of Cases Matter?  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
22. Holena DN, Reinke CE, Carr BG, Mills AM, Kelz RR.  Risk Factors for Interhospital Transfer After Emergency Abdominal Surgery.  Oral presentation, Academic Surgical Congress.  Las Vegas, NV.  February 2012.
23. Reinke CE, Kelz RR, Pray L, Williams N, Bleier J, Murayama K, Morris JB.  Trimming the Fat: Optimizing Overall Educational Value by Defining Factors Associated with Overall Educational Value and Service to Education Ratio.  Oral presentation, Association of Program Directors in Surgery.  March 2012, San Diego, CA.
24. Yang, R, Kelz RR, Reinke CE, Karakousis G, Czerniecki B, Newman A, Lin IC, Wu L.  The impact of the Federal and State Policy Changes on the Likelihood of Immediate Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy.  Poster presentation, Society of Surgical Oncology’s Annual Cancer Symposium.  March 2012.
25. Yang, R, Lin C, Newman A, Reinke CE, Karakousis G, Czerniecki B, Wu L, Kelz RR.  State and Federal Health Policy and its Effects on Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Reconstruction.  Poster presentation, Society of Surgical Oncology’s Annual Cancer Symposium.  March 2012.
26. Yang R, Reinke CE, Newman A, Lin C, Karakousis G, Czerniecki B, Wu L, Kelz RR.  Patient-centered care: Do all teaching hospitals provide greater access to immedicate breast reconstruction?  Poster presentation, The American Society of Breast Surgeons, May 2012, Pheonix, AZ.
27. Macnow A, Kelz RR, Corcoran A. Weaving Aging Education into the Surgery Clerkship:  An opportunity to Increase Future Physician Awareness of Unique Issues in Surgical Care for the Elderly. Poster presentation.  Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society.  May 2012 Seattle, WA.
28. Reinke CE, Showalter S, Mahmoud NN, Kelz RR.  Anastomotic leak and databases: Improving Quality by Identifying Factors that Improve Predictive Value. Poster presentation.  American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Annual Meeting.  June 2012, San Antonio, TX.
29. Anderson J, Kelz RR, …Fishman, NO.  A Quality Improvement Approach to Improving Sepsis Mortality.  Rapid Fire Oral Presentation.  UHC Annual Conference. September 2012.  Orlando, FL.
30. Yang R, Reinke CE, Graves HL, Karakousis G, Czerniecki B, Kelz RR.  Factors associated with undergoing mastectomy at a teaching institution within the state of Pennsylvania.  Poster presentation, The European Society of Surgical Oncology, June 2012, Barcelona, Spain.

1. Karakousis G, Kelz RR, Fraker DL. Thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands. Chap. 30 in Kaiser LR (ed.): Surgery Review, Second Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005, 458-479.
2. Kelz RR. University of Pennsylvania: Media watch. Lancet Oncology 6(10):749, Oct. 2005.
3. Kelz RR, Fraker DL. Factors that predispose to thyroid neoplasia. In Clark OH, Du QY, Siperstein A (eds.): Textbook of Endocrine Surgery, Second Edition. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2005, 240-247.
4. Kelz RR, Morris J. Biliary tract surgery. Chap. 14 in Ginsberg G (ed.): The Clinician’s Guide to Pancreaticobiliary Disorders. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Inc., 2006, 297-310.
5. Kelz RR, Morris JB. Patient safety and surgical training: An unhealthy relationship? [commentary] Annals of Surgery 249(6):877-878, June 2009.
6. Hadler, R and Kelz, R. Diagnosis and Management of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding. Chapter 69 in Deutschman C (ed.): Evidence-based practice of critical care. ELSEVIER 2010.