Expert Insights: Physician Views & News

On Saturday, October 13, 2018 The Christ Hospital is hosting the First Annual Midwest Structural Heart & Valve Symposium.Satya Shreenivas, MD, interventional cardiologist at the Christ Hospital Health Network, shares details of the symposium, including the wide variety of catheter based therapies, and how it will be a powerful all-day experience designed specifically for physicians, residence, advanced practice clinicians and nurse coordinators.

Nearly 30 percent of all women will develop a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime, but many don't seek help. They may be too uncomfortable talking about their symptoms, think it's just a normal part of aging, assume these kinds of problems can't be corrected, or just aren't sure what kind of specialist to see.At The Christ Hospital, we specialize in treating these disorders and have specialists in female bladder and bowel dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, female sexual dysfunction, chronic pelvic pain and other disorders of the pelvic floor, as well as a dedicated Pelvic Floor Center and a physician training program that offers comprehensive training in all areas of urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery.Dr. Mickey Karram discusses treatment options for pelvic floor disorders available at The Christ Hospital Pelvic Floor Center.

The Christ Hospital Health Network now offers improved treatment for men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer.Brian Mannion, MD, discusses the benefits to the patient when Space OAR Hydrogel is used, what the procedure is like, who is a good candidate for it and when to refer to the specialists at The Christ Hospital Health Network.

At the Christ Hospital Health Network, we offer a complete range of orthopaedic services for the treatment of sports medicine and active lifestyle injuries for adolescents and adults. One such service is PRP,(Platelet-Rich Plasma) injections.PRP plays a key role in the process of wound and soft tissue healing – helping with injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints.Jennifer Chung, MD, joins the show to discuss the many benefits of PRP and when to refer to specialist.

The Christ Hospital Joint & Spine Center has rapidly become known as a national destination for the most advanced joint & spine care available. Orthopedic surgeon Marc C. Schneider, M.D., discusses using a new technology to offer patients guided personalized surgery for their total shoulder replacements. ExactechGPS® is the latest advancement in technology that provides surgeons with real-time visual guidance and alignment data in total shoulder surgery. The technology’s preoperative planning tool allows surgeons to plan their cases in advance of the surgery through a virtual simulation. Surgeons can then execute their plan in real time during the surgery based on a 3-D anatomical model of the patient’s shoulder, making adjustments as needed.

The Christ Hospital is recognized for exceptional treatment of aortic aneurysms, a major cause of death and disability in the U.S. Geoff Answini, MD, discusses the latest advances in treatment options available at The Christ Hospital for Aortic Aneurysm, and when to refer to a specialist.

When PAD advances to the extreme stage, the lower limbs become susceptible to Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). JD Corl,MD, discusses Peripheral Artery Disease and Critical Limb Ischemia, and when to refer to a specialist.

Resistant hypertension is a common problem faced by both primary care clinicians and specialists. John Szawaluk, MD, discusses treatment protocols and when a specialist referral is necessary. Resistant hypertension occurs in approximately 20-30 percent of individuals with high blood pressure and is a common problem faced by both primary care clinicians and specialists. John Szawaluk, MD, discusses treatment protocols and when a specialist referral is necessary.

Dr. Eugene Chung discusses treatment options for heart failure and when to refer to a specialist.

Dr. Michael Karram joins the show to discuss minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at The Christ Hospital Health Network.

Dr. John Roberts discusses disc disorders, treatment options available at The Christ Hospital Health Network and when to refer to a specialist.

Dr. Mark Magner shares updates in neurosurgery, newer treatment modalities; such as combined use of surgery and radiosurgery for brain tumors, as well as minimally invasive cranial treatments for intracerebral hemorrhages and artificial disc replacement in cervical spine.

Once treatment for cancer ends where does that leave you? You may celebrate, take time to reflect or may be full of relief. For many it can be all of these things and a time to start living life to its fullest. However, for some issues like fatigue, anxiety, weight changes, lymphedema and neuropathy can be troubling and may require further support. Additionally, many people face financial distress brought on by the cost of their treatment or loss of income during treatment. For those reasons, the Christ Hospital Health Network provides cancer survivors support, resources and guidance on managing life after their treatment ends. These opportunities may include individualized survivorship plans, peer support and education programs.In this very important segment, Jaimie Robinson, MSW, LISW-S discusses the cancer survivorship program at The Christ Hospital Health Network and the many resources available for cancer patients and their families.

Chronic total coronary blockage is the number one reason patients are treated with bypass surgery instead of stents and the number one reason why complete revascularization cannot be performed using balloons or stents. New technologies and techniques have recently been developed to accomplish this goal, and they can make the difference between a patient undergoing open heart bypass surgery and less invasive treatment with stents. In this segment, Dr. Robert Riley, interventional cardiologist, discusses chronic total occlusion and when to refer to a specialist.

At The Christ Hospital, our careful approach to every detail of surgical care translates into exceptional outcomes for our patients. The Christ Hospital is consistently recognized as one of the top surgical hospitals in the United States. ​Our robotic-assisted surgery team is specially trained in robotic-assisted surgical techniques. The da Vinci® Surgical System is a minimally invasive option for adult patients facing abdominal hernia surgery.Here to speak with us today about robotic hernia repair is Dr. Jonathan Schilling. He is a practicing general and laparoscopic surgeon with The Christ Hospital Health Network.

Cardiac CT angiography ( CTA) can be very useful in the evaluation of patients who have a strong family history of early-onset heart disease to determine if their coronary arteries are blocked or narrowed by the buildup of plaque or to rule out abnormal coronary artery anatomy.  Calcium scoring can help better assess their risk of heart disease and can help tailor medical therapy.Listen in as Robert Pelberg, MD., explains these diagnostic procedures and when to refer to a specialist.

A recent innovation offers a compelling new treatment for some women with the most common form of breast cancer.Interoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) is a recently approved treatment for invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), which, according to nonprofit breastcancer.org, accounts for about 80 percent of all breast cancers. By applying radiation directly to the tumor area during surgery, IORT can eliminate up to three to six weeks of radiation therapy, though follow-up care and checkups are still involved.In this segment, Jennifer Manders, MD., discusses IORT for breast cancer patients and when to refer to a specialist.

The Christ Hospital Health Network is proud to welcome Rod Flynn, MD. Dr. Flynn is a surgical oncologist and brings extensive experience and a new treatment focus to The Christ Hospital Health Network-Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), a highly concentrated, heated chemotherapy treatment that is delivered directly to the abdomen during surgery.In this segment, we meet Dr. Flynn as he explains the HIPEC treatment and why it is so beneficial for certain cancer patients.

A Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, sometimes called a Physiatrist, specializes in decreasing pain and enhancing physical function that has been affected due to disorders of the musculoskeletal system and nerves. Listen as Dr. Rachel Heberling discusses the important role of a PM&R physician to be able to observe the total body, not just one issue and how they are able to treat their patients with non-surgical treatment options for many types of pain.

The Christ Hospital Physicians recently had more than 90 percent of its Primary Care practices selected to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) initiative, a partnership between payor partners from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), state Medicaid agencies, commercial health plans, self-insured businesses, and primary care providers. Listen in as Joe Bateman, MD explains how TCHP is leveraging the CMS investment to develop a pcp infrastructure to transition to a new model of care and succeed in the changing environment.

The Christ Hospital Health Network offers patients the most experienced cardiac rhythm program in Greater Cincinnati. Our physicians are deeply involved in research and have performed many of the world's "first" cardiac rhythm procedures. Patients benefit from access to the latest treatment and approaches to successfully treat rhythm disorders, or arrhythmias.In this segment, Dr. Dan Beyerbach, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist with The Christ Hospital Health Network, comes on the show with an update on advanced cardiac catheter ablation techniques.

Nearly 30 percent of all women will develop a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime, but many don't seek help. They may be too uncomfortable talking about their symptoms, think it's just a normal part of aging, assume these kinds of problems can't be corrected, or just aren't sure what kind of specialist to see.In this segment, Dr. Aparna Shah discusses a minimally invasive approach to vaginal procedures using the Pellevé® radiofrequency system in our pelvic floor center.

With the advancement of technology, we have seen incredible changes in the way patients and providers are able to manage healthcare. With faster internet connections, smartphones and changing insurance standards, more health providers are turning to electronics to help them communicate with patients and other providers. In this segment, Dr. Santosh Menon discusses telemedicine and the advancements that set The Christ Hospital Health Network apart as our providers can better manage heart failure patients using telemedicine technology.

The ACTIS™ Total Hip System is a unique way for physicians performing hip replacement using the anterior approach to have better outcomes and it has shown to be more beneficial for patients.In this segment, M. Scott True, MD discusses the The ACTIS™ Total Hip System for improved implant stability and patient satisfaction.

Every year, nearly five million Americans learn they have heart valve disease. Awareness and early detection can save lives, so knowing the symptoms of the disease is important. At The Christ Hospital Health Network, we offer our patients the latest in aortic and mitral valve disease treatments not available elsewhere in our region. Our compassionate, highly trained aortic valve disease experts are improving our patients' quality and length of life. In this segment Mario Castillo-Sang, MD discusses aortic and mitral valve replacement and when to refer to a specialist.

The anterior approach to hip arthroscopy (replacement) is an innovative alternative to traditional hip replacement in which the incision to access the joint is made on the front of the leg rather than the back or side of the leg.By using this approach, surgeons are able to access the hip joint by gently spreading the muscles, leaving them relatively undisturbed whereas. In a traditional joint replacement, these muscles would be cut in order to access the joint.In this segment, Dr. Jacob Gunzenhaeuser discusses anterior hip replacement and when to refer to a specialist.

Many hand surgeons are moving away from traditional surgery to an approach that utilizes wide-awake local anesthesia.In this segment, Dr.Naoh Shaftel, explains hand/wrist surgery utilizing a local anesthesia for certain procedures. The patient is wide awake during the surgery and can fully cooperate with the physician during the procedure. The patient may be able to drive themselves to and from their surgery and there are limited side effects compared to general anesthesia. In addition, patients may be able to cut down on pain pills needed after surgery as patients might have pain relief just hours after surgery.