PD Resident Cybil Sierra Stingl Featured in Grey's Anatomy Storyline Inspired by Free Flap Monitoring Innovation

Dr. Cybil Sierra Stingl, a resident in her professional development year at Stanford Plastic Surgery, was recently featured in an episode of Grey's Anatomy after her work on a wearable free flap monitoring device inspired a storyline in the show’s 22nd season.

The invention is a wearable free flap monitor that uses light to measure changes in heme concentration in soft tissue. The device is designed to detect complications in free flap reconstruction earlier and more objectively than visual examination, with improved specificity and sensitivity compared to existing monitoring methods, particularly in patients with darker skin tones.

“The idea first came to me when I was a med student working in the NICU because they use transcutaneous monitors to determine bilirubin levels on the neonates which works regardless of skin pigmentation and I thought why can't we do this for other porphyrin containing compounds in the setting of reconstructive surgery,” said Stingl.

She began developing the first prototype at home with help from her fiancé and brother, who are a software engineer and electrical engineer, respectively. What started as a family project evolved into an early proof-of-concept device.

According to Stingl, national data shows Black patients face a 2.3- to 3-fold higher risk of flap loss compared to white patients, and no ideal flap monitoring solution currently exists on the market. She also hopes the technology could expand reconstructive surgery access in rural settings where hospitals may not have specialized monitoring units or nursing teams trained specifically for free flap evaluation.

Stingl became involved with Grey's Anatomy after applying to work with the show during her professional development year. She was accepted and contributed medical insight in the writers’ room throughout Season 22.

“I have been the voice in the writer's room behind a lot of the medicine in season 22 of the show,” Stingl said.

The storyline centered around her innovation was developed in collaboration with the show’s writers, including episode writer Julie Wong. Stingl worked closely with the production team throughout the process, from reviewing script drafts to consulting with set designers and attending filming.

“Yes I was very involved in shaping the episode,” she said. “From talking with the writers through script drafts, working with set designers on the poster and display, to being there during filming. You can catch me in the background of the scene!”

Stingl said seeing the story represented on screen was a surreal experience.

“I used to watch the show in college,” she said. “It was already really surreal to see the stories of patients I've worked with being represented on the screen through season 22.”

The project remains in its early stages, and Stingl said the team is currently looking for a post doc to help with engineering and is exploring in-vivo studies as part of the next phase of development.

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