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What's New September 18, 2015

Female Pelvic Medicine and Reproductive Surgery Fellows: Paholo Barboglio-Romo and Yahir Santiago-Lastra

Michigan Urology Faculty, Fellows, Residents, and PAs

2 Items, 15 Minutes

This week we hear from Paholo Barboglio-Romo and Yahir Santiago-Lastra, two of Urology’s FPMRS Fellows. Paholo and Yahir’s international backgrounds provides the stories of their respective journeys with a unique flavor (and in the case of Paholo, a literal flavor with his delicious descriptions of his favorite foods). One theme threaded throughout these two stories, and the stories of many others who come to us for tutelage, is the prestige of Michigan Urology. While this legacy certainly helps in appealing to prospective residents and fellows, the continuation of the legacy is also partially dependent on the work done by these residents and fellows. We should always count ourselves as fortunate to have such high quality students come to us, and with hard work and commitment to Michigan, this will continue for a long time. So, without further ado, here’s Paholo and Yahir.

-Eric Anderson Marketing and Communications Specialist

1. Paholo Barboglio-Romo

First of all, I want to say thank you for making me feel welcome. I am honored to be working along your side and form part of such an extraordinary team. I believe I can adapt easily and learn your traditions to become a useful team member – My Grandmother always told me that the most important value was to always have a purpose and to be useful to others. I come from a very special Mexican-Italian family; with the fortune of having lived in both continents, learned the languages, experienced the traditions, tasted the food and enjoyed every moment of this. I grew up in the North of Italy, in a small town called Cremona, in the region of Padania at the banks of the River Po. I may be biased but this area is famous for the best parmesan cheese. There are two types of parmesan cheeses, the Parmegiano Reggiano from the areas of Parma and Reggio Emilia, and the Grana Padano from the region of the Padania that encompasses Lombardy (geographic state of Cremona). They both taste fantastic and the flavor matures with the age of the cheese. Younger cheeses you can add to your pasta dish as the final touch for the rich buttery and mildly pungent taste; Grana that is aged for 2 years, has a bold flavor with many notes to appreciate – This type of cheese you can eat alone with a glass of wine of your personal choice.

Il Duomo & il Torrazzo a Cremona, Italia Cremona is the home of the best luthier of all times, Antonio Stradivari where his 300 years old “Il Cremonese 1715” violin is displayed, a piece which estimated value ascends up to 12.5 million dollars. I have been fortunate enough to taste the music of this violin in two occasions, although I am certainly not an expert, I had a sublime time. Last but not least, for those of you who like heights, Cremona’s cathedral counts with one of the tallest (343’6’’) brick towers in the world. In fact, “Il Torrazzo” is the tallest most ancient brick tower (built in 1309) and even has the largest astronomical clock. I was 10 years old when my parents asked me if I wanted to go to Mexico and without hesitating I immediately said: “si andiamo!” It took me a couple of months to realize that there was not much of choice… I remember this was a very exciting time, to come back home, to suddenly start speaking Spanish and to make new friends.

We moved to Puebla, a world heritage site and one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico. Puebla is known by its most precious Mexican Baroque architecture that could be appreciated in the down town area (“el centro”). The rich culture and important history behind the walls of this city witnessed the battle against the French on May 5th, 1861. Indeed, “Cinco de Mayo” is neither the Independence Day, nor a national holiday. This date commemorates the resistance and victory of less than 2,000 indigenous people leaded by General Zaragoza against the French invaders, the most powerful army at that time. Interestingly this date was adopted by Mexicans living in the US since the early 1900’s to celebrate a truth Mexican victory and nowadays has evolved into a celebration of Mexican heritage in many countries of the world.

The exterior of this Church is covered in Talavera – We got married here! Puebla is known for its fine ceramic and tile, called “Talavera”; the cuisine delicacies of “Chiles en Nogada” and “Mole Poblano”. There are numerous types of mole in Mexico but the most traditional and the best one is the “Mole Poblano”. This is a legendary dish that originates from the Convent of Santa Rosa in

the 16th Century. The story tells that the archbishop made a surprise visit and the nuns were worried because they were not prepared for this event and had nothing special to cook. It was by divine inspiration that they mixed near 50 ingredients, including multiple spices, different types of chili peppers, the secret ingredient of chocolate to create this very special sauce. They cooked and simmer the mole for hours and poured this over a turkey meat. The story does not describe much about the reaction of the archbishop but it simply states that this is still the best mole you can ever dream – I have to agree, the flavor is bold but refined with a not too sweet flavor towards the end, simply delicious.

Chile en Nogada Some people eat because they have to live and others live because they love eating – you guess which one is my philosophy – I guarantee you that there is uncertainty and no good quality evidence to analyze which food is best. Thus far the decision relies on individualized care. There were about three generations of Barboglio(s) who worked in the mill business before me, selecting grains to make the best flour, selling both the machinery and the software like my father,

and I simply broke the family tradition when I decided to study medicine. I moved to Mexico City to pursue my dream and graduated six years after with the goal to pursue the best possible training. I guess I still was the adventurer who wanted to travel the world, though this time it was different, medical school was hard but full of emotions. During this time I was fortunate to find my best friend and partner in crime – I would not have been able to go this far without my wife, MariPaz. My journey in the US started at University of Miami doing research in the field of female urology studying botulinum toxin therapy for both neurogenic and idiopathic bladder. It was the hurricane season of Katrina and Wilma in 2005 that welcomed us to South Beach that year. This was really frightening, and like my father used to tell me as I child, the sky will always clear after the storm. Finally the rain ceased and the sun came out again the next day. During the next three years we built up beautiful memories as newlyweds and even found the perfect dog. We actually found her in a very busy street without any type of ID on a Sunday afternoon, so we named her Dominga (Sunday in Spanish). I have to say that Miami is definitely a unique place; the city has a vibe that is always shining no matter what time, stunning at times but easy to enjoy. For us, this time in Florida was a hurricane of emotions while trying to secure a position in two very competitive residencies, but I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of it – At this point our priority was to stay together no matter where we go. I still don’t know how it exactly happened, but I remember that soon enough we were both shoveling snow in the middle of the woods of New Hampshire. There were no longer palms and I promptly learned a new meaning for the word cold. We both

matched at Dartmouth and had the most beautiful time of our lives so far. During my urology training I was attracted to the “big” cancer cases and developed a particular passion about shared decision making when applied to prostate cancer disease. However this only give me reassurance of all the reasons why I like quality of life issues, where the fix is simply complex. It was very clear in my mind that I wanted to pursue a career in neurourology and reconstruction and I owe to my wife for her total support that today I was able to achieve this. Once again, things simply worked out for us and she was able to join the staff and found a position in the Department of Dermatology at UofM soon after I match here.

Air Ballooning in the Upper Valley of NH. The transition to Ann Arbor has been very easy and I owe this to all of you and the affable atmosphere that you breath here. I am very happy to join such a prestigious place, to learn from you and along with you. I am ready to adapt to new traditions and already bought tickets for my first college football game! At the same time I promise to bring all my enthusiasm and positive attitude along with my Latin-American spice and perhaps share more stories and talk about different sports like MotoGP, Formula one, calcio (Italian soccer) or share a few family recipes.

Running with my Michigan outfit in NH, soon after I matched!

2. Yahir Santiago-Lastra

It's always refreshing to read What's New, as it allows a glimpse into the wonderful things going on in our Department. For me, Upon starting fellowship I officially became a mother working outside of the home. This has been a very hectic but immensely rewarding, frameshifting experience. My first mistake was referring to myself as a "working mother", as if to distinguish myself from other mothers who don't work. Well, as you more experienced veterans of motherhood may know, "work" can often be a respite from the tasks of motherhood. My little man Mateo is a very curious scientist, always exploring. He approaches new tasks with total drive and perseverance. He's got some grit! In this first year I've watched him tackle challenges and fail, but he picks himself up and keeps trying. Again and again. He does not quit. I don't know if all children are like that, but I suspect so. In observing him display his perseverance, I've committed myself to harnessing that grit and applying it to the way I approach my career. Herein I list a few qualities, with requisite cute baby picture, that reflect Mateo's grit and inspire me to persevere.

a. Resilience: “everything will be alright in the end, and if it is not

alright, it is not the end.” One will never observe more resilience than when trying to convince an infant to sleep in his or her own crib. Mateo's ability to keep his "core purpose" in mind (sleeping next to his parents) despite our attempt, time and again, to convince him otherwise is an impressive display of hardiness!

b. Purposeful practice. After he started walking, it was very hard

to keep Mateo in a chair, or in arms. He wants to walk all the time. He observed his father jumping, and now that is his goal. To leap! And at any time, you may observe him in a deep squat, trying to get some air time. All day long, he practices, with singular focus. Climbing furniture, eating with a spoon, and many more cute baby tasks approached with the same aplomb!

c. Courage. It's no surprise that infants are risk-takers. One

could argue that they don't know any better. But as I read once, courage is like a muscle, and the more you exercise it, the more it grows. Ignore it, and it will atrophy. Whenever I observe Mateo in a new experience, I marvel at the courage it takes to be thrust into an unknown situation (like meeting a new person, or flying on a plane for the first time, or trying new food), and not burst into tears at each new sensory experience. Humans have varying degrees of risk-aversion, but as I observe my son open his curious little eyes and try new things, I realize he must try something new and scary almost every day! That is amazing.

d. Learning to fail. Mateo fails initially at most things that he

attempts, but somehow, has an inner voice that tells him that he can do it. I'm always tempted to protect him and help him because I don't want him to be disappointed. But then I think of the immense value of knowing that failure is an inevitable part of life, and that one can persevere and succeed despite that fact!

It's a given that we expect our kids to learn from us...but the fact that my 16 month-old is my current career coach has completely blown my mind!