From
Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky
ACS Icons in Surgery | Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
With Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky
Part of
Cancer 13 items
Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Talk to your (or your child's) care team about your situation.
Video
Dr. Ramy Shaaban - Best of the Best in Pediatric Surgery 2025
Dr. Todd Ponsky · 9 min · Published Mar 2025
Video
Off the grid: how I got off the grid & you can too | Lee Ponsky | TEDxCLE
Dr. Lee Ponsky · 20 min · Published Jul 2015
Video
Dr. Timothy B. Lautz - Best of the Best in Pediatric Surgery 2025
Dr. Todd Ponsky · 10 min · Published Mar 2025
Video
Female Fertility Cryopreservation Outcomes in Childhood Cancer: A Systematic Review
56 s · Published Dec 2024
Video
Best of the Best Gen Surg - Limited Health Literacy is Associated with Reduced Adherence to ERP Components. - Dr. Shao
9 min · Published Sep 2022
Video
Machine Learning Applications in Healthcare - Transforming Healthcare, Episode 8, Part 2
Published Sep 2022
Podcast
The invention of the PEG tube with Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky
Jeffrey Ponsky · 33 min · Published Jul 2026
Podcast
Update Course Rewind: Pediatric Biliary Stones - Preventing Gallstone Pancreatitis 2024
Jeffrey Ponsky · 3 min · Published Aug 2025
Video
SAGES Stories Episode 11 – Jeff Ponsky, MD
Jeffrey Ponsky · 61 min · Published Jun 2024
Video
From Idea to Ubiquity - the PEG Journey
Jeffrey Ponsky · Published Nov 2023
Podcast
Innovations in Surgery: PEG Tube
Jeffrey Ponsky · Published Aug 2023
Podcast
SAGES Stories: Dr. Jeffrey Ponsky on surgical endoscopy and the PEG tube legacy
Jeffrey Ponsky · 61 min · Published Aug 2022
What the experts said
In the mid-1970s, gastroenterologists at Mount Sinai Hospital could not routinely reach the cecum during colonoscopy because long scopes had not yet been invented.
Basil Morrison in England was marking the tips of polyps with India ink to track polyp behavior over time.
In 1975, Ponsky injected pelican India ink at the base of polypectomy sites so surgeons could identify the location if pathology returned malignant. The injection needle cost $160 from Olympus.
Endoscopic marking of colonic lesions with India ink remains useful in the laparoscopic era when surgeons cannot palpate the colon.
The first endoscope Ponsky owned (purchased late 1974) was kept in his car trunk and cleaned with green soap before use.
While scoping pediatric patients with Michael Gauer, Ponsky observed transillumination of the abdominal wall and finger indentation visible through the endoscope, which led to development of the PEG procedure.
Jacques Perrisat presented a video on laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a SAGES meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in 1989, igniting widespread adoption.
After Perrisat's 1989 demonstration, Ponsky's Mount Sinai laboratory conducted train-the-trainers courses for surgeons at major hospitals.
The American Board of Surgery invited SAGES to nominate three candidates for a board director position representing minimally invasive surgery; Ponsky was selected and later became chairman.
As American Board of Surgery chairman, Ponsky contributed to developing minimally invasive surgery curricula, board examination questions, and endoscopy training requirements for surgical residents.
Ponsky trained 35 endoscopic surgery fellows, many of whom became SAGES presidents and leaders in the American Board of Surgery.
In 1998, Ponsky welcomed a fellow (spk_4) to Cleveland Clinic staff, aligning their clinic and operative schedules so Ponsky was 30 feet away for clinical or intraoperative questions.
Ponsky's surgical philosophy: the endoscope is a vehicle (like a car or bus) that transports surgeons to operative sites for procedures such as POEM, POP, Zenker's repair, and NOTES, not merely a tool for mucosal inspection.
Ponsky's impact on surgical endoscopy has been foundational through academic advancement of technology and technique, mentorship, and leadership in professional organizations (ASGE, SAGES) to unite gastroenterology and surgery for patient benefit.
Dr. Ponsky served as director and chair of the American Board of Surgery, president of both ASGE and SAGES, and vice president of the American Surgical Association and SSAT.