Bio


I completed my training at Stanford University with an Anesthesiology residency in 2003 and Obstetrical Anesthesia fellowship in 2004. I worked in a general private practice for two years at a community hospital in Colorado and was involved in creating protocols for OB related concerns such as non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy and skin to skin contact in the OR during cesarean delivery. I then returned to academic practice and worked for eight years at the University of Colorado and the Colorado Institute for Maternal and Fetal Health. I have collaborated extensively with the Stanford Anesthesia Informatics and Media Lab to create innovative educational tools. These include a major anesthesiology textbook, the Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, and a comprehensive online learning program for anesthesiology residents called Learnly. I've been the OB anesthesia fellowship director at both the University of Colorado and Stanford University. I truly love guiding fellows from interested residents to consultants in OB anesthesia. My research interests include medical education and topics related to the Obstetrical Anesthesiology workforce.

Clinical Focus


  • Anesthesia
  • Obstetrical Anesthesiology, Medical Education

Academic Appointments


  • Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

Administrative Appointments


  • Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Director, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University (2015 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Obstetric Anesthesiology Representative, Leadership Council, Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology (2019 - Present)
  • Anesthesia Diversity Council Member, Stanford University Department of Anesthesiology (2020 - Present)
  • Education Committee Member, Society of Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology (2017 - Present)
  • Fellowship Committee Member, Society of Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology (2016 - Present)

Professional Education


  • Fellowship: Stanford University School of Medicine (2004) CA
  • Residency: Stanford University School of Medicine (2003) CA
  • Medical Education: St Louis University School of Medicine (1999) MO
  • Board Certification: American Board of Anesthesiology, Anesthesia (2004)
  • Internship: St Joseph Hospital Denver (2000) CO

Projects


  • Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology

    Point of care textbook of anesthesiology. Co-editor in Chief

    Location

    Stanford University

  • Learnly Online Education Program

    Online anesthesiology education program developed with the Stanford AIM Lab, consisting of a daily learning curriculum.

    Location

    Stanford, CA

2023-24 Courses


All Publications


  • Obstetric Anesthesia Workforce Survey: A 30-Year Update ANESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA Traynor, A. J., Aragon, M., Ghosh, D., Choi, R. S., Dingmann, C., Zung Vu Tran, Z. V., Bucklin, B. A. 2016; 122 (6): 1939-1946

    Abstract

    Obstetric Anesthesia Workforce Surveys were conducted in 1981, 1992, and 2001, and the 10-year update was conducted in 2012. Anesthesia providers from US hospitals were surveyed to identify the methods used to provide obstetric anesthesia. Our primary hypothesis was that the provision of obstetric anesthesia services has changed in the past 10 years.A sample of hospitals was generated based on the number of births per year and US census region. Strata were defined as follows: I ≥ 1500 annual births (n = 341), II ≥ 500 to 1499 annual births (n = 438), and III < 500 annual births (n = 414). Contact email information for the anesthesia provider in charge of obstetric services was obtained by phone call. Electronic questionnaires were sent through email.Administration of neuraxial (referred to as "regional" in previous surveys) labor analgesia was available 24 hours per day in all stratum I hospitals responding to the survey. Respondents across all strata reported high rates of in-house coverage, with 86.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 82.7%-90%) of stratum I providers reporting that they provided in-house anesthesiology services for obstetrics. The use of patient-controlled epidural analgesia in stratum I hospitals was reported to be 35% in 2001 and 77.6% (95% CI = 73.2%-82.1%) in this survey. Independent Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists were reported to provide obstetric anesthesia services in 68% (95% CI = 57.9%-77.0%) of stratum III hospitals. Although 76% (95% CI = 71.2%-80.3%) of responding stratum I hospitals allow postpartum tubal ligations, 14% report inadequate staffing to provide anesthesia either always or at off-hours.Since 2001, there have been significant changes in how responding hospitals provide obstetric anesthesia care and staff the labor and delivery ward. Obstetric anesthesia surveys, updated every 10 years, continue to provide information about changes in obstetric anesthesia practice.

    View details for DOI 10.1213/ANE.0000000000001204

    View details for Web of Science ID 000376463000033

    View details for PubMedID 27088993

  • Experimental heat pain for detecting pregnancy-induced analgesia in humans ANESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA Carvalho, B., Angst, M. S., Fuller, A. J., Lin, E., Mathusamy, A. D., Riley, E. T. 2006; 103 (5): 1283-1287

    Abstract

    Animal studies suggest that increased circulating estrogen and progesterone, and activation of the endorphin system cause prenancy-induced antinociceptive effects. Human studies have provided inconsistent results and have often lacked a nonpregnant control group. In this study, we compared sensitivity to experimental heat and cold pain in pregnant and nonpregnant women. Nineteen healthy nonpregnant female volunteers and 20 pregnant women at term were enrolled. Pain threshold and tolerance were examined using experimental heat-induced pain and cold pressor pain models. Subjects were evaluated pre- and 1-2 days post-delivery (pregnant), or on consecutive days (nonpregnant). Heat pain tolerance was significantly increased in the pregnant women during pre and postdelivery when compared with nonpregnant controls (50.0 +/- 1.0 vs 49.0 +/- 1.2 and 50.1 +/- 0.7 vs 49.2 +/- 1.2 degrees C; mean +/- sd). However, pain induced by the cold pressor test was endured for a similar amount of time by both study groups. Pregnancy-induced analgesic effects at term can be detected in a model of experimental heat pain. These effects persist during the first 24-48 h after delivery. Experimental heat pain is a suitable modality for further characterizing the phenomenon of pregnancy-induced analgesia in humans.

    View details for DOI 10.1213/01.ane.0000239224.48719.28

    View details for PubMedID 17056970

  • Valdecoxib for postoperative pain management after cesarean delivery: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study 37th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Obstetric-Anesthesia-and-Perinatology Carvalho, B., Chu, L., Fuller, A., Cohen, S. E., Riley, E. T. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2006: 664–70

    Abstract

    Although nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) improve postoperative pain relief after cesarean delivery, they carry potential side effects (e.g., bleeding). Perioperative cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors show similar analgesic efficacy to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in many surgical models but have not been studied after cesarean delivery. We designed this randomized double-blind study to determine the analgesic efficacy and opioid-sparing effects of valdecoxib after cesarean delivery. Healthy patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia were randomized to receive oral valdecoxib 20 mg or placebo every 12 h for 72 h postoperatively. As a result of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors safety concerns that became apparent during this study, the study was terminated early after evaluating 48 patients. We found no differences in total analgesic consumption between the valdecoxib and placebo groups (121 +/- 70 versus 143 +/- 77 morphine mg-equivalents, respectively; P = 0.26). Pain at rest and during activity were similar between the groups despite adequate post hoc power to have detected a clinically significant difference. There were also no differences in IV morphine requirements, time to first analgesic request, patient satisfaction, side effects, breast-feeding success, or functional activity. Postoperative pain was generally well controlled. Adding valdecoxib after cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia with intrathecal morphine is not supported at this time.

    View details for DOI 10.1213/01.ane.0000229702.42426.a6

    View details for PubMedID 16931678

  • Epidural anesthesia for elective cesarean delivery with intraoperative arterial occlusion balloon catheter placement 36th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Obstetric-Anesthesia-and-Perinatology Fuller, A. J., Carvalho, B., Brummel, C., Riley, E. T. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2006: 585–87

    Abstract

    Obstetric hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal mortality. We describe the anesthetic management of elective cesarean delivery in patients at high risk for hemorrhage. The utility and limitations of intraarterial balloon catheter placement and epidural anesthesia are described.

    View details for DOI 10.1213/01.ane.0000189551.61937.ea

    View details for Web of Science ID 000234912900049

    View details for PubMedID 16428566