Health & Wellness
Taking the Lead
photo courtesy: SKIN SURGERY CENTRE
Leading Care from Leading Doctors
IT’S BEEN A TRYING YEAR for doctors and patients alike, with the pandemic still in full swing at the beginning of 2022. By year’s end the medical landscape reflected the triple whammy of flu, COVID, and RSV, a respiratory virus particularly problematic in children. In spite of adversity, doctors in the New Orleans area marched on, giving excellent care, and providing patients with the latest and greatest innovations in their respective specialties. Our readers, once again, weighed in with their picks for the best of the best in 24 different subspecialties. Following is a small sampling of the more than 120 doctors who made the list and discussed their thoughts on the current state of medicine with Inside New Orleans magazine. P
Above: Keith LeBlanc, Jr., MD, Dermatological Mohs Surgeon. Right: Irum Qureshi, MD, Allergist and Immunologist. 20
Detective work is the name of the game for doubleboard certified allergist and immunologist Dr. Irum Qureshi, whose practice is centered in Covington. Beyond treating her patients for everything from asthma to chronic coughs, her modus operandi is to dig beyond the symptoms to find the underlying causes of any malady. “Rather than putting asthma patients, for example, on steroid inhalers for the rest of their lives, I try to go beyond the obvious to get to the real culprit which is causing the problematic symptoms,” explained Qureshi. “So, if I’m targeting an allergen, my job is to delineate whether it’s a chemical entity, a food allergen,
I n side N e w O rl e an s
photo: MILESTONE PORTRAIT ART AND DESIGN
by Leslie Cardé
an environmental toxin, or other causes of the troubling symptoms in my patients.” Whether asthma is caused by dust mites or pollen, or an irritant like perfume, tracking the problem down to its source is what Qureshi believes is the only way to improve a patient’s quality of life. Qureshi says that employing biologics, which come from living organisms, is oftentimes the best way to treat her patient’s issues. They target the cells and pathways responsible. They are indicated for many problems, she says, particularly in patients who have been on medications but are still experiencing symptoms; or for those who have had surgery, for example, to remove nasal polyps that keep coming back.