Surgical Fellowship, 2001-2002

Larissa Temple accepted a position on the Colorectal Service at MSKCC in 2002. Since then, she has received an additional fellowship in colorectal surgery. Although her practice involves surgical treatment of tumors of the colon, rectum and anus, her main research focus continues to be on patient-centered outcomes and quality of care. The MSKCC Bowel Function Instrument, which she developed to assess bowel function after rectal cancer surgery, is considered the gold standard in the field, and is being used in major prospective studies in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, and Japan. Currently she is leading a study to prospectively evaluate functional changes and their impact on quality of life in patients following rectal cancer surgery at MSKCC. She is developing an educational tool outlining functional changes, and is in the process of assessing its role in the preoperative setting. Dr. Temple also studies quality of care in rectal cancer surgery, utilizing large databases to evaluate treatment patterns in the United States. She serves nationally on initiatives of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons representing surgical issues to government-funded organizations, including the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, the National Quality Forum, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Since her fellowship, Larissa has moved from Manhattan’s Upper East Side to Brooklyn. She is married to a native New Yorker and they have two children: Katherine and Henry. Although she has everything well under control in the operating room, she still finds juggling two kids to be quite challenging. However, Larissa and her husband enjoy this aspect of life—which she describes as exhilarating but very humbling.