I could no longer climb all over the plane like a spider,” said Ms. Campbell. “Actually, performing simple every day routine items was a problem. I couldn’t even wipe off my kitchen table.” Ms. Campbell tried many treatments, including epidural injections for one year. She turned to Roy Vingan, M.D., of Saddle River, a neurosurgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), and discovered the Department of Neurosurgery offered two procedures that would change her life.

• XLIF®, extreme lateral interbody fusion – a new minimally disruptive procedure to provide relief to those suffering from back and/or leg pain. XLIF is a minimally invasive procedure that provides relief to patients who cannot tolerate a traditional open procedure because of the increased risks of longer anesthesia time, blood loss, hospitalization and recovery. It is also a less invasive alternative for patients who have lived with back or leg pain through years of various failed treatments including steroid injections, physical therapy, and pain medication. The XLIF procedure can be successfully completed in as little as one hour, reducing the amount of anesthesia time. It doesn’t require entry through sensitive back muscles, bones, or ligaments.

• AxiaLIF,® Axial Lumbar Interbody Fusion, System – a new lumbar fusion procedure to chronic low back pain sufferers. This minimally invasive approach, called AxiaLIF®, allows patients to be discharged from the hospital the day after surgery, and on average return to work in 15 days. This is a dramatic reduction in hospital lengths of stay, which can otherwise run three to four nights, followed by a one- to two-month recovery period before returning to work. AxiaLIF can be performed on an outpatient basis, with patients able to safely and comfortably return home the same day as their fusion surgery.

“Surgery isn’t the first option. Physical therapies, medications, and epidural injections are the initial treatments suggested. When those alternatives don’t provide the desired results spinal fusion can be considered,” explained Dr. Vingan. “This surgical procedure offers a safe and effective, less invasive alternative to traditional or open spine surgery.”

“People shouldn’t box themselves in by dismissing new procedures. I did my research and met with Dr. Vingan. He spent more than an hour going over my questions and wish list,” said Ms. Campbell. “My last solo flight was in October of 2006. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in pain with limited abilities. I wanted an improved quality of life. Too many people spend too much time in pain management when there are alternatives. The surgery was right for me.”

There are blue skies for Ms. Campbell and she’s hoping to get into the air again sometime soon. “Joanne did really well. Patients undergoing these procedures are often walking the same day. The approach being less invasive reduces operative related recovery time and patients are able to begin physical therapy a lot sooner than they would after traditional back surgery,” said Dr. Vingan. “This approach provides greater access to the spine, better visualization during surgery, less tissue disruption and blood loss, and, of course, faster patient recovery. The best part is that patients are no longer suffering from back and leg pain.”

HealthGrades® named HUMC one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for the second consecutive year. This designation recognizes hospitals that have demonstrated superior clinical quality over a seven-year time period, based upon an analysis of more than 75 million Medicare patient records from 1999-2005. These hospitals have achieved better survival rates and lower complication rates across dozens of medical procedures and diagnoses, from cardiac care to orthopedic surgery, consistently ranking among the top five percent in the nation for overall clinical outcomes. HUMC is the only healthcare facility in New Jersey, New York, and New England to be named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals. Only one percent of the nation’s hospitals can make this claim.

Paramus Post

Peritoneal surface disease (PSD) appearing from the spread of colon cancer has not traditionally been considered treatable with surgery because of the difficulty of finding and removing all of the cancer, and has been treated with chemotherapy only, leaving those patients with a decreased prognosis and little hope for survival. The study prompts reconsideration of surgical treatment options in these patients and warrants further study into patient selection in this area, according to the lead researcher, Perry Shen, M.D.

The focus of the study was PSD, the development of colorectal cancer on the peritoneum, which is the lining of the abdominal wall. Researchers wanted to know if survival rates similar to those of patients who undergo liver surgery for metastatic colorectal cancer could be achieved by performing surgery to treat patients for PSD from colorectal cancer.

Shen, an associate professor of surgical oncology, and colleagues compared the outcomes of surgical removal of liver metastases from colorectal cancer, which is accepted as the treatment of choice, to the surgical removal of PSD from colorectal cancer. The PSD removal was combined with intra-abdominal heated chemotherapy. They found that patients who were able to undergo complete removal of all PSD, combined with heated chemotherapy inside the abdomen, had no significant difference in survival rates than liver metastases patients who underwent surgical removal. This showed that surgical removal is a viable possibility for some patients with PSD where it had not been considered a good option before.

“Peritoneal involvement has been considered inoperable because it is not a well-defined anatomic area and the lack of accurate imaging makes operative planning uncertain,” said Shen, a fellow in the American College of Surgeons. “What we have found is though this technique is not a treatment option for everyone with PSD, it can produce long-term survival in select patients and should be considered as part of a multidisciplinary approach.”

Nearly 50,000 people will die this year from colorectal cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. An estimated 150,000 new cases will have been diagnosed in 2008.

“This type of occurrence of colorectal cancer is typically considered incurable … but in some cases, we now know we can extend the survival rate,” Shen said. “We are trying to change current paradigms in oncology. Physicians should refer these patients to a center that has surgeons with this experience who can deal with peritoneal involvement.”

Co-researchers included Kurt Thai, B.S., John H. Stewart, M.D., Russell Howerton, M.D., Edward A. Levine, M.D., and biostatistician Gregory B. Russell, M.S., all of Wake Forest University School of Medicine; and Brian W. Loggie, M.D., of Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.

Science Daily

In the segments, Dr. Cohen’s patients share their plastic surgery experience with other women who may be contemplating breast surgery. In September, 2008, Dr. Cohen’s breast augmentation and breast lift patients were featured on WMAR’s ABC2 “Housecalls,” airing at the conclusion of the show called “The Doctors,” produced by Dr. Phil Productions. Patient safety is the primary concern of the surgeons and staff at the Cosmetic Surgery Center of Maryland. A state-of-the-art, certified surgery center and board certified anesthesiologists provide patients with the finest medical care and services.

For more information on breast augmentation, Baltimore, breast lift, breast reduction, tummy tuck, face lifts and liposuction in the Maryland region, please visit Cosmetic Surgery Center of Maryland online at www.cscmd.com.

About the Cosmetic Surgery Center of Maryland:
The Cosmetic Surgery Center of Maryland is a full-service plastic surgery practice in Towson, Md. offering surgical and non-surgical procedures for women and men. Board-certified, Baltimore cosmetic surgeons, Dr. Michael Cohen and Dr. Larry Lickstein, are among the most respected plastic surgeons in the region. Dr. Cohen is most notably recognized for breast surgery while Dr. Lickstein specializes in surgery for the face. In 2008, Dr. Patrick Byrne of Johns Hopkins Medicine joined the practice to perform Baltimore rhinoplasty procedures.

The fully certified surgical center includes a highly-credentialed medical staff and board-certified anesthesiologists. Be Lifestyle, one of the regions only true medspas, offers a full array of skin care, injectables, laser treatments, microdermabrasion and more under the supervision of the practice’s physicians.

PRWeb.com

He’s coming off a solid season that included career highs with 10 goals, 26 assists and 36 points in 82 games. The Sabres have assigned 10 players to the team’s new AHL affiliate in Portland. The Sabres open the regular season October 9th against Montreal.

BUFFALO, N.Y.
Associated Press – September 30, 2008 11:45 AM ET