A Special Advertising Publication of The State Media Advertising Department and Lexington Medical Center
A Lifetime of Care at Lexington Medical Center
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019
Katie and Jordan Laney of Blythewood sit with their twin sons Grayson and Cooper inside Lexington Medical Center’s Special Care Nursery
Every Day is a Birth Day Teacher’s Baby Story Receives High Marks
It was anything but a normal day of school for Katie Laney, a second grade teacher at Bethel-Hanberry Elementary in Blythewood. Katie was seven-and-a-half months pregnant with twins. One morning in May, the unexpected happened right outside her classroom.
“M
y water broke. I couldn’t believe it. I was frantic — a nervous wreck,” she said. Katie was only 34 weeks pregnant. Her babies weren’t supposed to arrive until July. “It was so early that it really scared me. I wasn’t ready. Nothing was ready at home.” With her students anxiously peering through the classroom door to see what was happening, the school principal whisked Katie to the nurse’s office in a wheelchair. Katie’s husband Jordan arrived and drove her to Lexington Medical Center. Inside Labor and Delivery at the hospital’s new patient care tower, a team of clinicians monitored the babies’ heartbeats and performed an ultrasound. “I thought, ‘Are they OK? Is everything going to be OK?’” she said. “I just wanted them to be healthy and perfect.”
After a long labor, Darci Putnam, a certified nurse midwife with Lexington Women’s Care, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice, delivered Katie’s twins. Baby Grayson came into the world at 4:56 p.m. on Friday, May 31, weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces. His brother Cooper followed at 6:37 p.m., 5 pounds, 1 ounce. “They put each of them on my stomach for a split second — they cried and I felt comforted.” But then the nurses rushed the babies to the Special Care Nursery. As preemies, the twins needed extra attention. Katie got a long look at her sons for the first time when she arrived in the Special Care Nursery later that evening. She still tears up talking about it. “I was emotional seeing them because they were hooked up to all kinds of wires,” she said. That’s when Lexington Medical Center’s Special Care Nursery nurses offered reassurance. “They took time to explain what each wire was for,” she said. “They took time to get to know me, Jordan and our family. Not only did they take care of our babies, they took care of us as well.” The nurses explained that before the twins could go home, they needed to show they could breathe on their own, regulate their temperature and tolerate all of their feedings. It was a waiting game. Katie and her husband spent all day every day in the Special Care Nursery. The 20-bed unit has all private rooms, which is a new model of care for Lexington Medical Center. Katie said it made a big difference. “I couldn’t imagine sharing a room in such a sensitive situation or seeing other families coming and going,” she said. “The private rooms also helped us connect with our nurses even more.”
Baby Grayson in the Special Care Nursery
Katie and Jordan Laney with their twins in the Special Care Nursery
When Katie was discharged from the hospital, the twins had to stay. “It was so hard leaving every night, but I knew the boys were cared for by nurses who loved them and would be there for them,” she said. “That made it easier for us.” Day by day, Grayson and Cooper made progress. One by one, the wires went away. Cards from Katie’s students filled the room. After more than two weeks, the babies came home from the hospital on June 17. Today, they continue to grow and thrive. Katie and her family remain grateful for the care they received at Lexington Medical Center. “I can’t sing the hospital’s praises enough.”
To find a physician who delivers babies at Lexington Medical Center, visit LexMed.com/OBGYN.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Traveling Across the Country for Brain Surgery
Hold it! Treating Urinary Incontinence
New Treatment Ends Acid Reflux Disease
Lexington Medical Center’s Baby Mosaic
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SPECIAL INSERT
This special section features news, information and feature stories on the services available at Lexington Medical Center for women in all stages of life.
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WOMEN’S Health
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019
43 Years Later, Helping with Childbirth Still “More a Gift than a Job” A snapshot of Pam Padula, RNC, from 1986 reveals a smiling young nurse in scrubs showing off a newborn. Several decades and thousands of babies later, Pam still radiates joy with every new birth she witnesses at Lexington Medical Center.
1986
2019
Pam Padula, RNC, working inside Lexington Medical Center’s Labor and Delivery units in 1986 and 2019
“I
t’s more of a gift to be present at a birth than a job,” said Pam, who has delivered more babies than any other nurse at Lexington Medical Center. “People remember their birth experience their whole lives.” She recently received a note from a patient who thanked her for her experience and enthusiasm. “They can still see my excitement after doing this job for so many years.” Pam first came to work at Lexington Medical Center in 1976 as a nurse technician in the postpartum unit. A short while later, her husband’s job moved the family to Greenwood, where she worked in a hospital maternity unit there. When Pam and her family returned to Lexington in 1983, she was excited to land a job in Lexington Medical Center’s Labor and Delivery department. “I was an Army brat and moved a lot growing up, but this community feels like home,” she said. “I bonded with the original group of nurses who were here when I started. We had a close relationship with the physicians, too, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.” Pam has been an eyewitness to many changes in childbirth over the years. Back in 1983, Lexington Medical Center was a community hospital with
“I’m known for accurately predicting when a baby just two rooms for women in labor. When labor will come,” she said. She predicted a recent delivery progressed, patients were wheeled into the hospital’s would occur at 1:00 p.m. The actual time of delivery was only delivery room. 1:01 p.m. “It was only because we had to Despite this small wait for the doctor,” she quipped. setting, Lexington Pam’s years of dedication to Medical Center broke ground as the first expectant families have earned her Did Pam help to deliver your hospital in South accolades. In 2002, she received the baby? Tell us about your birth Carolina to allow prestigious Palmetto Gold award for husbands in the delivery excellence in nursing. story on our hospital Facebook room. These days, she encounters several page under the post about Pam. Pam recalled the generations of her patients in Labor Lamaze movement in and Delivery. She met a grandmother the 1980s brought a new who recognized Pam as the nurse who trend - natural childbirth. delivered her daughter, and now her Instead of delivering babies under a pain-alleviating daughter’s child. sedative, mothers embraced natural methods. “One time I was working with a new nurse at a “No one wanted pain medicine,” she said. “But it delivery and I said, ‘I’ve probably been birthing babies since before you were born.’ She didn’t believe it, but got a lot quieter in Labor and Delivery a few years later then she said she was born at Lexington Medical Center, in the late 1980s when we introduced the epidural.” so we went through the logs and, sure enough, Over the years, Pam has developed some distinct capabilities. I delivered her.”
Oh, Baby!
Lexington Medical Center Doula Participates in Nearly 1,600 Births A mother never forgets the first time she holds her baby — how the tiny body feels in her arms, the sound of her baby’s cry, the tears of happiness and relief. A mom also remembers who was there on that life-changing day. They’re memories that don’t fade away.
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s a doula with Lexington Medical Center, Dianne Pound has participated in the births of more than 1,570 babies. “To know that I am part of a family’s everlasting memory is amazing and humbling,” said Dianne. “I have supported more than 1,570 families — that’s enough to fill a school!” A doula (pronounced doo-lah) is a birth coach who offers mothers comfort and reassurance during labor and delivery. In addition to understanding the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of women in labor, doulas facilitate communication between parents-to-be, help prepare birth plans and provide information about birth and delivery options. Postpartum doulas offer education, support and assistance to the new family once they return home. Lexington Medical Center currently has 21 doulas who provide labor and delivery and postpartum services. “Doulas meet wonderful families and are a part of one of the most important
Dianne Pound celebrated her 1,500 birth with Tiera and Phil Rollins, and baby Emma Sydney.
days in a family’s life,” said Dianne. “We have a strong sisterhood of doulas here at Lexington Medical Center. We’re all here to help expectant mothers have the best birth memories possible.” The role of a doula during a birth is a special one. On any given day, Dianne may provide a massage, or suggest that a mother-to-be move from her bed to a rocking chair or exercise ball.
“We learn to read a woman’s emotions and anticipate her needs.” Lexington Medical Center began its doula program in 1994. At that time, it was the first of its kind in the Southeast. Dianne started working at the hospital as a doula in May 1998 — more than 20 years ago. A lot has changed for expectant families at Lexington Medical Center since then.
With more than 3,300 babies welcomed each year by Lexington Medical Center’s team of obstetricians, certified nurse midwives, nursing staff and doulas, the hospital’s new Labor and Delivery unit is a welcome and medically advanced addition, complete with a nursery, a dedicated Mother/ Baby unit for postpartum patients, six antepartum rooms for patients needing extensive long-term monitoring, and a 20-bed Special Care Nursery with private rooms. “We have also made ongoing improvements to provide the best care to our patients and their newborns, including skin-to-skin contact after any birth, delayed bathing for 24 hours, Halo® sleep sacks and parent education concerning back sleeping,” said Dianne. Because of support from the hospital’s Foundation and its donors, Lexington Medical Center offers its doula services free to all expectant mothers delivering at the hospital. Doula services are available to these patients in order of their arrival at the hospital.
WOMEN’S Health
A Special Advertising Publication of The State Media Advertising Department and Lexington Medical Center
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Going the Distance
Woman Travels Across the Country for Brain Surgery at Lexington Medical Center
In January of 2019, Amelia flew nearly 3,000 miles for brain surgery with Dr. Jonathan A. Engh at Lexington Medical Center.
What would make a young woman travel all the way from Vancouver, Washington, to West Columbia, South Carolina, for brain surgery? Amelia Bussell decided that Jonathan A. Engh, MD, of Lexington Brain and Spine Institute, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice, was the best doctor in the country to save her life. The 27-year-old woman came to that conclusion after months of research and consultations with numerous neurosurgeons.
“I
Of all of the brain tumors diagnosed in the United States, was 16 years old when I had a drop attack, which can be a symptom of a colloid cyst,” Amelia said. less than 2 percent are colloid cysts. Compared with other “I lost consciousness for about 30 seconds, and, surgeons, Dr. Engh has extensive expertise with them. when I came to, I had stroke-like symptoms.” “I have a love-hate relationship with this surgery,” The next day, doctors performed a brain scan and Dr. Engh said. “It’s stressful surgery, but the patients can diagnosed Amelia with a colloid cyst, a rare, benign tumor do very well; in fact, they can be cured.” typically found near the center of the brain. There is no That’s exactly what Amelia wanted. medicine or radiation for it. The only treatment is to “If it meant traveling across the United States, I was remove it through surgery. going to do it,” Amelia said. At first, doctors In January of 2019, Amelia flew nearly “I think it’s important to research recommended simply 3,000 miles to West Columbia for brain monitoring the colloid cyst. your doctor and ask critical surgery with Dr. Engh. But over the years, Amelia’s questions. If you want the best She found the Lexington Medical symptoms worsened because outcomes, you need to seek out Center staff to be friendly and comforting the cyst was growing. throughout the entire process. “I remember and go to the best doctor who is an “I started to have vision going into the operating room and Dr. Engh expert in what you need to problems, balance issues, more was talking to me,” she said. “I woke up and have done.” — Amelia Bussell headaches and migraines, and felt great despite having brain surgery.” worsening fatigue.” The operation was a success. Dr. Engh was Several neurosurgeons dismissed her case as not as able to remove the entire colloid cyst. Amelia important as a cancerous brain tumor. Some had never seen was cured. Today, she has more energy and clarity of mind, or treated a colloid cyst. and is able to pick life back up and enjoy it. A forensic scientist, Amelia wanted to be able to return “I think it’s important to research your doctor and ask to work and enjoy a good quality of life, so she started critical questions. If you want the best outcomes, you need researching neurosurgeons and joined a support group on to seek out and go to the best doctor who is an expert in Facebook for people with colloid cysts. That’s when she what you need to have done.” learned about Dr. Engh at Lexington Medical Center. “I’ve done probably 100 colloid cyst removals during To learn more about Amelia’s story, visit my career,” Dr. Engh said. “That’s a lot, considering how LexMed.com/Amelia uncommon they are. And I’ve monitored even more.”
Above, l-r: Dr. Engh and Amelia at Lexington Brain and Spine Institute Amelia and her mother Teresa before brain surgery at Lexington Medical Center
Jonathan A. Engh, MD
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
Lexington Medical Park 3 222 East Medical Lane, Suite 200 West Columbia, SC 29169 (803) 935-8410 LexingtonBrainandSpine.com
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WOMEN’S Health
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019
Finding the Right Beat Pacemaker puts Blythewood Woman Back in the Cycling Seat Sharon Sherbourne knew something wasn’t right. An avid cyclist and runner, she was training for a long-distance race when her legs felt heavy and her heart rate remained low even when she was exercising vigorously.
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he 67 year old had begun an exercise routine about 15 years earlier, while she helped implement wellness programs as vice president of human resources at a Blythewood manufacturing plant. “I knew I had to walk the walk, so I started doing aerobics. A friend from church got me involved in the running community, so I started training for a 5K, and that morphed into doing an 8K.” She eventually completed four full 26-mile marathons, along with numerous half-marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks. About 10 years ago, she added long-distance cycling to her workouts, but recently, she found herself out of breath climbing a flight of stairs. She made an appointment to see a doctor. “My first cardiologist told me I was simply getting older and I probably didn’t need to be doing all that stuff,” Sharon said. “But I knew it was more than that. You know your own body.” Then she was referred to William W. Brabham, MD, FHRS, an electrophysiologist with Lexington Cardiology, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice. Dr. Brabham specializes in the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms. He scheduled a treadmill stress test for Sharon. “As her workload increased on the treadmill, her heart rate peaked in the 70s to 80s, which is very unusual for her age. At 67, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for her heart rate to reach the 150s to 160s, especially with the level of activity that she typically would participate in,” Dr. Brabham said. He diagnosed her problem as chronotropic incompetence, which is the inability of the heart to increase its rate to a level that matches a person’s activity level, combined with AV block, a condition where the signals from the top chambers of the heart don’t make it to the bottom chambers. “It appeared most likely a result of age-related changes in the conduction system of the heart,” he said. “Just the way the rest of your body ages, the conduction system in your heart can age to varying degrees.” He recommended a pacemaker, a device that monitors heart rate and stimulates the heart if it drops below a preprogrammed rate. A dual-chamber pacemaker, the type Sharon has, also restores the connection between the top and bottom chambers of the heart. Sharon’s pacemaker was implanted in March; by late June, she was training for a 100-mile bike ride. “I feel fantastic. It had gotten to the point where, when I was walking up stairs at the house, I’d get to the top and I’d be completely out of breath. So I had my pacemaker implant on March 7; I came home March 8 and the very first thing I did was walk up the stairs to see if it had made a difference. It had.” For Sharon, a mother of two, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of one, the experience drove home the importance of listening to her body and going the extra mile for answers. “Age should not be the marker for anything. Your physical fitness level, what you enjoy doing, what you’re used to doing — that should be what drives your behavior and drives your medical practitioner’s response,” she said. “I felt Dr. Brabham really understood that and worked with me to make all of it happen.”
Sharon Sherbourne enjoys riding her bike at Doko Meadows Park in Blythewood.
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
William W. Brabham, MD, FHRS
Lexington Medical Park 1 2728 Sunset Blvd., Suite 300 West Columbia, SC 29169 (803) 744-4940
Northeast Columbia 90 Summit Centre Drive Columbia, SC 29229 (803) 744-4900
LMCLexingtonCardiology.com
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WOMEN’S Health
A Special Advertising Publication of The State Media Advertising Department and Lexington Medical Center
5
No Laughing Matter
Lexington Medical Center Offers Services for Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Pain
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s women, we’ve all had it happen at one time or another — a sneeze or a cough that causes a “little leak.” But it’s no laughing matter when it causes an embarrassing moment every time. Fortunately, Lexington Medical Center offers a program that can help resolve that problem. The Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Pain program at Lexington Medical Center helps women find relief from the stress of dealing with urinary incontinence and pelvic pain. Several things cause incontinence including childbirth, surgery and changes in a woman’s body that come from aging. “The muscles of the pelvic floor can weaken,” said Tori Gude, director of Physical Rehabilitation Services at Lexington Medical Center. “That can cause lower back pain and issues with the bladder leaking. It is always ever-present on your mind, making you feel uncomfortable and can become quite an inconvenience.” The good news is there are a variety of techniques that patients can learn to help alleviate the problem. “In our program, we teach ‘Kegel’ exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor, including ways to make sure you’re exercising the appropriate muscle and how to do the exercise correctly. We also teach women the correct posture to use when lifting, such as picking up small children, as well as providing information on things that can irritate your bladder such as caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and spicy foods,” said Tori. The Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Pain program at Lexington Medical Center also teaches relaxation techniques and stretches that can provide relief. “After a patient learns the basic exercises, then we begin to work on using these exercises at times when
a leak might happen, such as right before you feel a sneeze coming on or before you pick up a heavy object.” If patients are dedicated to following the program, Tori says many women can find their symptoms much improved after just a few sessions. “Most of our patients see us once a week for as few as four weeks up to eight weeks. Some patients are satisfied with the results they achieve; others may still seek a surgical alternative, but the exercises they learn will help them with their recovery,” she said. Incontinence or a leaky bladder can cause women to change and sometimes altogether stop activities they enjoy, so the most satisfying aspect of the program is the ability to give patients their lives back.
“Because so many women believe there’s nothing they can do, it’s rewarding to know that we help them realize there are solutions other than just dealing with incontinence or having surgery,” said Tori. “You don’t have to live with it.” For more information about the Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Pain program at Lexington Medical Center, call (803) 791-2397.
Interested in this program? Talk with your health care provider about a referral.
ASK THE LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER CLINICIAN
Hold it! Treating Urinary Incontinence Abigail Scheuer Smith, MD, provides comprehensive gynecologic care for women of all ages at Vista Women’s Healthcare, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice. Q: What is urinary incontinence?
Medications
A: Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. It can range from leaking a few drops of urine to complete emptying of the bladder. Based on different symptoms, incontinence is generally divided into the main types: stress incontinence; urge incontinence; and mixed incontinence.
Medications that help control muscle spasms or unwanted bladder contractions can help prevent leakage associated with urgency incontinence. They relieve the symptoms of urgency and frequency. Side effects may include dry mouth, dry eyes, and constipation. Myrbetriq® is a medication that relaxes the bladder muscle and allows the bladder to store more urine. It can treat increased urgency and frequency, as well as urgency incontinence.
Q: What are the differences between stress, urge and mixed incontinence? A: Stress urinary incontinence occurs with increases in intra-abdominal pressure (e.g., leaking urine when coughing, laughing or sneezing). • Urgency incontinence is a sudden strong urge to urinate that is difficult to stop. Women with this type of incontinence may have difficulty getting to the bathroom or leaking on the way to the bathroom. It is often described as a “got to go, got to go” feeling. Overactive bladder is defined as symptoms of increased urgency and increased frequency that may or may not be associated with actual leakage. • Mixed incontinence combines symptoms of stress and urgency urinary incontinence.
Q: What treatment options are available? A: Lifestyle Changes In overweight women, losing even a small amount of weight may decrease urine leakage. Managing fluid intake, including alcohol and caffeine, may also be helpful. Kegel exercises help strengthen pelvic muscles, including the muscles around the opening of the urethra, vagina and rectum. It may take four to six weeks to notice an improvement in incontinence symptoms. Bladder training can help women learn how to control the urge to empty their bladders and increase the time between urinating to more normal intervals. After a few weeks of training, some people will notice less frequent leaking.
Surgical Management Women with symptoms of stress incontinence who do not have relief with initial treatment should be evaluated for surgical therapy. For those who need more rapid and definitive treatment and are willing to accept the risks of surgery, the mid-urethral sling offers higher success rates than conservative therapy.
• Nerve Stimulation ~ Percutaneous stimulation of the tibial nerve is one type of stimulation that may benefit someone with overactive bladder or urgency incontinence. With this therapy, an acupuncture-like needle is placed on the inside of the ankle, and electrical stimulation is administered for 30 minutes. The sessions occur once a week for 12 weeks followed by maintenance therapy of approximately once a month. ~ Sacral nerve modulation or InterStim® is a minimally invasive stimulation option for the treatment of overactive bladder and urgency incontinence. It restores bladder function by gently stimulating the sacral nerves. With this therapy, patients experience fewer trips to the bathroom and fewer accidents.
A sling is a small piece of material around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. There are different types of slings, but they all support the urethra to help keep it from leaking urine. Patients generally go home the same day they have this minimally invasive surgery. The sling has very high safety and effectiveness rates for treatment of stress incontinence.
Advanced Therapy
Abigail Scheuer Smith, MD
When medications fail or are not an option for incontinence or overactive bladder, other treatment options include: • Injections ~ Injecting Botox® into the bladder muscle helps stop unwanted contractions. The effects generally last three to nine months. Possible side effects include urinary tract infection and urinary retention, which is the inability to empty the bladder and requires it to be drained with a catheter for days to weeks.
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
700 Gervais Street, Suite 300 Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 254-3230 VistaWomens.com
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WOMEN’S Health
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019
Why 3-D Mammography? The Difference is Clear
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tissue one millimeter at a time, making he Lexington Medical Center Foundation is in the last year tiny details visible earlier and easier. of its three-year, $3 million Lexington Medical Center was the Campaign for Clarity to upfit all first facility in the Midlands to offer this current mammography equipment in technology. Studies in the Journal of Lexington Medical Center’s network of The American Medical Association have care to 3-D technology. This upgrade shown that 3-D mammography increases is part of the hospital’s comprehensive breast cancer detection and reduces false program for the diagnosis of breast positives and unnecessary callbacks for cancer. To date, the Lexington Medical patients with dense breast tissue. Center Foundation has upgraded With the generous support of the six of the hospital’s eight digital Lexington Medical Center Foundation, mammography units. the hospital now has 3-D mammography “Lexington Medical Center is excited at all of its imaging locations, including to offer this leading-edge technology for its mobile mammography unit that breast cancer screening throughout our delivers the same exceptional care found community,” said in Lexington Medical Beth Siroty-Smith, Center’s facilities to rural Three-dimensional MD, director of communities. images of the breast and Women’s Imaging “This technology allow doctors to view for Lexington is already having a Radiology tissue one millimeter significant impact Associates, a on the health of our at a time, making tiny Lexington Medical details visible earlier community,” said Center physician Barbara Willm, and easier. practice. “3-D vice president of mammography Community Relations reduces difficulties in identifying and Development at Lexington abnormalities in women with denser Medical Center. “Our ultimate goal breast tissue and results in increased is to save lives, and until we can find a cancer detection,” she said. cure for breast cancer, we can make early 3-D mammography, also known detection our top priority.” as digital breast tomosynthesis, uses a Importantly, women who have low-dose X-ray to create multiple images questions about whether they should within seconds that are similar to the have a 3-D mammogram should talk to “slices” of images in a CT scan. This their doctor. Doctors recommend 3-D breast cancer screening tool creates a mammography for women having their group of three-dimensional images of first screening mammogram or those who have dense breast tissue. the breast and allows doctors to view
Lexington Medical Cancer Center is nationally recognized for its commitment to oncology care, including its: • 5-Day Detection to Diagnosis program. • designation as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiology. • accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). • accreditation with Commendation by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. • clinical trials through its affiliation with Duke Health.
3-D Mammograms Offer Clear Advantages • Detects lesions as small as 2mm • Has the ability to detect 40 percent more cancers than 2-D mammograms • Reduces callbacks by 15 percent • Offers 29 percent improvement in overall cancer detection rates • Reduces false positives up to 40 percent • Allows radiologists to see masses and distortions associated with cancers significantly more clearly than conventional 2-D • Reduces the need for additional imaging in order to better visualize tissue up to 40 percent, compared to 2-D mammography • Takes less time, which helps to improve patient comfort and lessens the risk of motion
ASK THE LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER CLINICIAN
Understanding Preeclampsia Paul C. Browne, MD, FACOG, is a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Lexington Maternal Fetal Medicine, a new Lexington Medical Center physician practice. A maternal fetal medicine specialist is a doctor who helps take care of women having a complicated or high-risk pregnancy, which can include problems such as pre-term labor, bleeding or high blood pressure. Being pregnant with twins is also considered a high risk. Paul C. Browne, MD, FACOG
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
Lexington Medical Park 3 222 East Medical Lane, Suite 300 West Columbia, SC 29169 (803) 739-3570 LexingtonMaternal.com
Q: What is preeclampsia? A: Preeclampsia is a temporary form of high blood pressure that occurs in pregnancy. It happens when chemicals in the unborn baby’s placenta create inflammation in blood vessels. When the condition becomes severe, patients can experience dangerously high blood pressure, liver inflammation, difficulty forming blood clots, seizures and poor fetal growth. Preeclampsia increases the risk of premature birth and caesarean section. It can also increase the risk of low amniotic fluid volume and stillbirth. While you can’t prevent preeclampsia, medical studies suggest that taking two baby aspirin each
SAVE THE D TE
day may lower the risk of preeclampsia in women at high risk for the condition. Limiting weight gain during pregnancy may also reduce a woman’s risk of preeclampsia.
Q: In addition to preeclampsia, what other factors may lead to pre-term birth? A: The biggest risk for a pre-term delivery is having had a prior pre-term delivery. Other factors include teen pregnancies, twins and triplets, and abnormalities of the uterus and cervix. The best interventions to prevent these problems are frequent visits with your women’s health care provider to review warning signs and to receive important exams and testing.
October 22, 2019
5:00 TO 8:30 P.M. • COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER
Each year, Women’s Night Out highlights October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The evening opens with a health and wellness exhibit that includes meet-and-greet opportunities with physicians, information on breast cancer risks and screening recommendations. Attendees also enjoy a silent auction, dinner and a cancer survivor fashion show. Presented by Lexington Radiology Associates
Proceeds from the event benefit the Campaign for Clarity through the Crystal Smith Breast Cancer Fund.
Tickets on sale August 26 • LMCFoundation.com
WOMEN’S Health
A Special Advertising Publication of The State Media Advertising Department and Lexington Medical Center
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10,093 Babies and Counting When James E. Estes, MD, FACOG, delivered his first baby as a medical student in 1988, he memorialized the event in a small notebook. He jotted down a note when he delivered the next baby, too. And the next.
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ore than 10,000 babies later, deliveries remain so precious that Dr. Estes memorializes each one with a note. These days, he keeps the entries in his iPhone. Dr. Estes is an OB/GYN at Lexington Women’s Care, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice. To date, he has delivered 10,093 babies, and almost all of them have been at Lexington Medical Center. “It’s very humbling to think about holding that much life in my hands. It’s the best decision I could have made for a career,” Dr. Estes said. “To find something you’re passionate about doing and to still feel the same way after all this time is a blessing.” The path to obstetrics wasn’t always clear to Dr. Estes. A native of West Columbia, he went to medical school expecting to specialize in pediatric surgery. But as a third-year medical student, he discovered he liked all of the specialty rotations. Choosing just one was going to be hard. A short time later, he started his clinical rotation in obstetrics. After the first day’s lecture, he took the initial on-call assignment in labor and delivery. “The residents who were supposed to be supervising me were crazy busy,” he said. “I was watching all of the craziness when a nurse called to me and said, ‘Come on.’ A patient was having her fourth baby. I got in there expecting to observe a resident do a delivery, but it was just the patient, the nurse and me. She told me, ‘Don’t worry.’ And it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.” That was Dr. Estes’ first delivery, and the specialty continued to deliver excitement and interest. “It was like a light coming on. Everything I had enjoyed with the other rotations are also parts of obstetrics — there’s psychiatry, surgery, adolescent A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice medicine and pediatric care. Anything I’d ever enjoyed in Lexington Medical Park 3 the other specialties, I found 222 East Medical Lane, Suite 300 right there.” West Columbia, SC 29169 An OB/GYN practice is (803) 936-8100 about more than delivering babies. Dr. Estes sees patients LexingtonWomensCare.com in the same family across
Dr. James Estes is at home inside Lexington Medical Center’s Labor and Delivery department.
generations, sometimes delivering a baby from a woman whose own mother was a patient years ago. “The best part of this work is getting to know people over the course of their lives,” he said. “There’s emotional investment when you spend time with an elderly patient who needs a listening ear or counsel a family coping with the loss of a child.” Dr. Estes says the hard times are a challenge, but also a privilege. Even after 10,000 deliveries, the excitement shows in Dr. Estes’ face as he describes the work. “The emotion has never been routine. It might be my 10,000th delivery, but one of the few the patient will ever experience. I watch people go through childbirth and see their whole world change in so many ways. “I ask parents, ‘Did you ever imagine you could love someone so much?’ And the answer is always ‘No.’”
ASK THE LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER CLINICIAN
It’s Not Your Mother’s Hysterectomy Samantha S. Morton, MD, FACOG, provides comprehensive obstetric and gynecologic care for women of all ages at Carolina Women’s Physicians, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice. and a six- to eight-week recovery. It involves longer anesthesia time and an increased risk for abdominal infections and blood loss.
Q: What is a hysterectomy? A: A hysterectomy is a procedure in which the uterus or womb is removed surgically. This procedure is generally recommended when problems arise such as abnormal bleeding that causes concurrent anemia and/ or pelvic pain.
Q: Are there alternatives to a hysterectomy?
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
Samantha S. Morton,
Lexington Medical Park 2 146 East Hospital Drive, Suite 240 West Columbia, SC 29169
The less-invasive techniques for hysterectomy include vaginal and laparoscopic approaches. With a vaginal hysterectomy, the entire procedure is performed through the vagina and requires no abdominal incisions. The patient has less pain and often leaves the hospital faster, returning to work in four to six weeks. This procedure, however, does not allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal cavity, and he or she may not be able to evaluate the fallopian tubes or ovaries.
A: Patients should always consider MD, FACOG 7045 St. Andrews Road nonsurgical alternatives prior to surgery and Columbia, SC 29212 discuss them with their physician. Generally, (803) 936-7590 • CarolinaWomensPhysicians.com hormonal cycle control with a traditional birth control pill or ring, or progesteroneonly methods, such as the Levonorgestrel injection of Etonogestrel implant, are Laparoscopic hysterectomy is the newest and most technically challenging primary options. A progesterone-containing intrauterine device is also a primary approach. It involves one to three small incisions on the abdomen. Each incision option for abnormal uterine bleeding. There are other conservative medical is less than 1cm. This procedure does allow the surgeon to evaluate the other options available for specific problems, such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids, abdominal organs, including the fallopian tubes and ovaries. It is often less that may avoid or delay the need for surgical hysterectomy. painful and can be considered an outpatient procedure, requiring no hospital Sometimes less-invasive surgical options may be effective. Outpatient procedures such as dilation and curettage, commonly referred to as a D&C, allow the patient to maintain fertility. An endometrial ablation can be added to this procedure to scar the cavity inside the uterus, so the endometrium is unable to rebuild, which would decrease or stop the bleeding completely without removing the uterus.
stay. Patients typically return to work in two to four weeks.
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Q: What will happen if I have a hysterectomy before I go through menopause? A: A hysterectomy only includes removal of the uterus. Menopause is caused by the normal decrease in ovarian function related to a woman’s age. Surgeons no longer recommend removal of the ovaries automatically when removing the uterus, though this procedure may be recommended in specific cases. Overall, a hysterectomy has little effect on the normal progression of menopause.
Q: What are the benefits and risks of vaginal, abdominal and laparoscopic hysterectomies?
PR ESEN TED B Y
A: The problem that requires a hysterectomy and the surgeon’s preference and experience with each technique determine the type of hysterectomy performed. Abdominal hysterectomy is the oldest and most common hysterectomy worldwide. This technique is very invasive and generally requires several days in the hospital
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WOMEN’S Health
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019
Patti Williams inside Lexington Medical Center
Feeling the Burn?
New Treatment Ends Acid Reflux Disease Patti Williams woke up in the middle of the night and thought she was having a heart attack. “I had pain in my chest, back, jaw, neck and down my left arm,” she said. “It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. And I was terrified.” Patti’s husband took her from their home in Gilbert to the Emergency department at Lexington Medical Center. Doctors performed a series of tests that ruled out cardiac problems. But they saw something else on an ultrasound that caught their attention. Patti had a hiatal hernia, which occurs when the upper part of the stomach bulges through the diaphragm. A hiatal hernia may cause acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), where stomach acid backs up into the esophagus. In some cases, that can cause the type of pain Patti felt. Patti went to see James D. Givens, MD, FACS, at Riverside Surgical Group, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice. Patti told Dr. Givens she’d been experiencing acid reflux symptoms for
LINX is a small, flexible band of magnetic beads that is implanted around the esophageal valve. about two years. She noticed that when she ate certain things — including onions and fried foods — she would experience indigestion, heartburn and even a nagging cough. Sometimes, it would get so bad that she broke out in a sweat and felt nauseated. She treated it with medications, but it always came back. “Medications can suppress acid reflux symptoms, but they don’t take away the core of the problem. Acid reflux continues to damage your esophagus,” Dr. Givens said. “The only way Patti was going to get relief was with surgery.”
Dr. Givens told Patti about a new surgical option called LINX®. During this laparoscopic procedure, doctors implant a small, flexible band of magnetic beads around the esophageal valve. The string of beads opens and closes to allow patients to swallow food and liquids, but it doesn’t allow contents back up into the esophagus. The magnetic attraction between the titanium-coated beads keeps the valve closed to prevent reflux. “LINX is the most important change in anti-reflux surgery in the last 70 years,” Dr. Givens said. The procedure takes about an hour. Patients can go home within a day and are typically back to work and their regular routine in a week. According to Dr. Givens, someone who needs to take acid reflux medications every day to ease their symptoms should consider a surgical option such as LINX. Patti underwent the procedure in February. During the operation, Dr. Givens also repaired her hiatal hernia. After the surgery, Patti noticed clear differences and felt better. “I don’t have to take medication anymore for acid reflux,” she said. “Before the surgery, if I didn’t take medicine, I’d have bad indigestion and chest pain. That doesn’t happen anymore.”
James D. Givens, MD, FACS
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
Lexington Medical Park 2 146 East Hospital Drive Suite 430 West Columbia, SC 29169 (803) 791-2828 RiversideSurgical.com
For more information on surgical solutions for acid reflux disease, visit RiversideSurgical.com.
ASK THE LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER CLINICIAN
Urinary Tract Infections and Overactive Bladder
Common Urology Problems David H. Lamb, MD, FACS, is a urologist at Lexington Urology, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice that provides comprehensive urologic care and advanced treatment for urologic conditions. David H. Lamb, MD, FACS
Q: What are the most common problems you see in female patients?
A Lexington Medical Center Physician Practice
Lexington Medical Park 3 222 East Medical Lane, Suite 101 West Columbia, SC 29169 (803) 739-3660 LexingtonUrology.com
A: I see two urologic problems on a daily basis. The first is recurrent urinary tract infections. They occur when bacteria is not cleared from the bladder regularly. Any activity with the potential to introduce bacteria into the bladder is a risk factor, including sex. Treatments include antibiotics or preventive therapy. UTIs that recur often may require low-dose nightly or post-intercourse antibiotics if the infections are associated with sex. And cranberry juice can decrease adherence of bacteria inside the bladder. The second problem is overactive bladder, which is an urgent and frequent need to urinate. I think of it as the bladder in control of the person instead of the person in control of the bladder. It can be debilitating, but it’s treatable. Urologists look for infections, introduce behavioral and physical therapy to improve bladder control and use bladder relaxation medicine and even a Botox® injection to decrease unwanted muscle activity. There are effective strategies to treat these problems, and there is no need to suffer in silence.