Jane Lyon, MD will retire on June 30, 2024, after over 20 years as a pediatric radiologist. Dr. Lyon reflected on her impressive career and shared her proudest moments; from completing training as a single mom to helping separate rare ischiopagus conjoined twins.
In answering the following questions, Dr. Lyon shared reflections on her career as well as advice for young radiologists.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in radiology? Was there a specific moment that sparked your interest?
For me, deciding on radiology was a circuitous route!
I went to medical school thinking I would go into primary care, but I really loved my surgery rotation, doing procedures and working with my hands. However, I was a single mother in medical school. Surgery residency started too early in the morning for me to obtain childcare. So, I thought radiology residency, and specifically interventional radiology, would be a great way to still get to do procedures and take my daughter to school!
During residency, however, I was really drawn to my pediatric radiology attending and the fascinating pathology seen in congenital diseases. I loved all of the varied modalities I could utilize to help care for kids along with still being able to do some hands-on procedures and interact with patients.
What initially drew you to UW–Madison?
Why UW? I was drawn to UW–Madison because I grew up in Madison and knew of its upstanding reputation, and I was honored to be able to work here. I came full circle, so to speak, as in high school I used to volunteer in the Pediatric Playroom of the UW Hospital when Peds was on the 4th floor of the hospital!
What are some of the significant changes you’ve seen in radiology during your career?
We didn’t even have PACS in my residency, so in fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that was a major change from hanging films and sorting through film jackets. And of course, the quality of the images we look at now is magnificently improved over “the olden days!” Now there are so many even more exciting changes happening in AI!
Looking back at your career, what are some of your proudest moments?
One that comes to mind is working on a team to separate conjoined twins who shared a pelvis along with associated portions of the genitourinary and gastrointestinal systems. I was proud to play a vital role in interpreting the imaging from the first fetal MRI to post-separation. It was a challenging, but very rewarding experience to work with a very large team of specialists to successfully separate the conjoined twins at Driscoll Children’s Hospital where I previously practiced in South Texas.
While that was a unique experience, I suppose I am most proud of the smaller day-to-day feats, like doing my best to make patients and parents comfortable as they endured procedures and studies that can be so scary to children. And it was always satisfying to cure intussusceptions with therapeutic reductions, even in the middle of the night! The families were so grateful their child didn’t have to go to surgery.
I am also proud that I was able to successfully navigate being a single mom while in training. My goal was to teach my daughter (she started first grade when I started medical school) that even though you find yourself in situations you don’t expect to be in, with hard work and perseverance you can reach your dreams! I’m happy to report she’s reaching hers now and my younger daughter, who was born during residency, is also doing amazingly well and has an exciting future ahead of her! I’m a very proud mom!
What are you looking forward to in your retirement?
For now, in retirement, I am looking forward to playing a lot of pickleball (if you haven’t tried it, you should!) and getting my body back into shape after years of sitting! I’ll also enjoy spending more time with my girls. I’ve already started to enjoy exploring out West in my little tear-drop trailer which I keep in Northern California near my oldest daughter. I also want to find volunteer opportunities to help women overcome obstacles.
What advice would you give to young radiologists?
Even though we are often behind the scenes as radiologists, we play such a vital role in patient care. It can be very hard to see and process the disease and trauma we see in our patients, even if it is just on imaging. We need to recognize the impact it has on our well-being. No one understands this quite like our colleagues. I really enjoyed working with the radiologists at UW, especially in my little pediatric radiology section. I’d also like to thank the young radiologists for carrying on the torch and urge them to consider a career in pediatric radiology.