“Vajazzle” with care: As new beauty trends drift down there, do we understand the risks?

  By Moderator | March 22, 2013 - 2:47 am |
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Dr. Tristi Muir

Dr. Tristi Muir

The human body is amazing! And people are tempted to continue to try to improve upon it. Arms, legs and abs (our favorite!) are worked on for hours in the gym. Hair takes on different shapes and colors. “Body art” has been the rage for the past decade–tattooing is common from head to toe, piercing and gauging has extended from ears to multiple locations on the body and across genders. Women have embraced decorating their bodies for centuries. It has just become more “all inclusive” as of late. Pubic hair is dyed, styled, shaved, plucked and waxed. The vulva (the anatomic word for the area generally covered by pubic hair) can be decorated or “vajazzled.” Recently, the vulva and vagina have become the focus of new cosmetic surgical procedures.

While make-up, manicures and pedicures are part of the routine for many women, there’s a new trend in town: vajazzling. The Urban Dictionary defines vajazzling as “to decorate your vag with jewels, thus bedazzling your vagina.” (more…)

Prevention is best medicine against kidney disease

  By Moderator | March 19, 2013 - 1:11 am |
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Earlier this month, we at UTMB Health joined others around the globe in celebrating World Kidney Day. Our kidneys are crucial and a hardworking organs. Here are a few tips to help keep yours in top form:

What is CKD?
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition where the kidneys are damaged and lose the ability to keep you healthy. As kidney disease gets worse, body waste can build up in your blood and make you feel sick by creating a host of health problems. Problems caused by CKD typically happen slowly over a long period of time.

What causes CKD?
The two main causes of CKD are diabetes and high blood pressure.

What are the symptoms of CKD?
Most people do not have symptoms until their kidney disease is fairly advanced. Lack of energy, poor appetite and nausea are some of the common symptoms of advanced CKD.

Five things you can do to keep your kidneys healthy:

  • Exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet
  • Have an annual physical exam especially after age 40
  • If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, make sure you follow your doctor’s instructions
  • Avoid regular use of medications that may harm your kidneys
  • Ask your primary care physician if it is necessary to see a kidney doctor

Dr. Pradeep V. Kadambi is a nephrologist and associate professor and medical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He serves patients at UTMB Health’s Multispecialty Center, in League City.

Women’s hearts, women’s health

  By Kristen | March 8, 2013 - 7:27 pm | , ,
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Dr. Victor Sierpina

Dr. Victor Sierpina

In case you missed it, February was Women’s Heart Health Month, perfectly fitting with Valentine’s Day in the middle of the month. It isn’t too late to wear a red dress to support awareness of heart disease in women.

The pink ribbon of breast cancer awareness is easily recognized and well known, but the red dress of heart disease is not. Yet, roughly 10 times more women die from heart disease annually as do from breast cancer. Since the mid 1980s, more women have been dying annually of heart disease than men.

Part of the problem here is focus and part is history. Breast cancer is enormously emotional, frightening, and potentially disfiguring. The good news is that it is more and more curable with good screening, early detection, treatment and follow-up. Also, many of the same lifestyle choices to reduce breast cancer risk also reduce heart disease risk.

An important issue is that heart disease symptoms in women are often subtle and less obvious than in men. The common triad of chest pain brought on by exercise and relieved by rest, which is a common, presenting sign of heart problems is not always so clear-cut in women. Because women’s heart disease tends to occur in smaller vessels and is more diffuse symptoms can present more generically. These include fatigue, shortness of breath, indigestion, nausea, faintness, upper back, neck or shoulder pain.

Let me give you the example of Lila, a lovely woman in my practice now in her mid 60s, who is now on the transplant list for a new heart. She seemed to be at low risk for heart disease. She was a nonsmoker, thin, active, with well-controlled blood pressure, blood sugars and cholesterol. She had also breast-fed her several children lowering her risk of breast cancer. (more…)

High tech prostate imaging, biopsy and treatment: UTMB now offering MRI-guided prostate evaluation and therapy

  By emwalser | February 27, 2013 - 7:58 pm | ,
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RadiologySER

Cross sectional MRI view of prostate gland with needle guide in the rectum preparing for biopsy

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Large opening MRI scanner where we perform prostate diagnosis, biopsy and treatment. No radiation used for any of these procedures!

UTMB is proud to introduce a complete MRI solution for analysis, planning, biopsy and possible non-surgical ablative treatment of prostate cancer. The advanced imaging capabilities and biopsy tools allow state-of-art imaging and intervention for men experiencing persistently elevated PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels suspicious for prostate cancer.

This new paradigm for evaluating and treating men with prostate cancer is a cooperative effort of the UTMB radiology and urology departments. The diagnostic MRI requires no special preparation and no rectal instruments and is highly sensitive and specific for focal cancers in the prostate gland. The prostate biopsy, done at a different setting, involves MRI-guidance and tissue sampling of areas of the prostate gland considered suspicious by the previous diagnostic MRI.

While many men will require radiation or surgical treatment, some focal prostate cancers can be watched with follow up MRI’s and some can even be ablated using laser or freezing technology– both treatments which fortunately have a very low risk of causing impotence or urinary problems.

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Dr. Eric Walser– Interventional Radiology

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Dr. Joseph Sonstein – Urology

 

Patients interested in this technology can learn more by contacting Dr. Walser and Dr. Joseph Sonstein via http://radiology.utmb.edu/ir or by email to the urology department josonste@utmb.edu or radiology department emwalser@utmb.edu

Making diabetes care less costly

  By Moderator | February 19, 2013 - 7:51 pm | , ,
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Dr. Victor Sierpina

Dr. Victor Sierpina

Some good news came out recently for those with type 2, non-insulin dependent diabetics that will lower the burden and costs of your care. If your hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) level is under 8 and you are on oral medications, you don’t need to monitor your glucose daily beyond the first 6 months of starting therapy. This is also true of those on medical nutrition therapy. A review of multiple studies by the Cochrane Collaboration found that monitoring home blood sugars 4-7 times a week in such patients does not reduce the HbA1C more than less frequent self-monitoring of 1-2 times a week.

This is good news since the cost of glucose strips and the discomfort and inconvenience of daily finger sticks has long been a nuisance to patients. Diabetes is a costly disease already in terms of human suffering from serious issues such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, and circulatory problems sometimes requiring amputation. It is also expensive to manage diabetes due to the costs of medications, monitoring, doctor visits, testing supplies, special shoes, and hospitalizations.

So at least, this one component of perhaps reducing your monitoring frequency should make your life easier.  Consult with your doctor about this change in recommendations to make sure it is appropriate in your case. (more…)

Socialization is good for your heart’s health

  By Moderator | February 19, 2013 - 7:37 pm |
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Drs. Ken Fujise and Naveed Adoni

Drs. Ken Fujise and Naveed Adoni

This past Valentine’s Day, we hope you thanked your loved ones for the company and good cheer they provide. A lonely heart can result in a sick heart, as multiple studies have shown.

There is strong evidence that loneliness and social isolation are associated with adverse heart health. Loneliness and social isolation are comparable to smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and lack of physical activity as risk factors for chronic heart disease and heart disease mortality.

Among otherwise healthy individuals, those with fewer social interactions and smaller social networks have been shown to have increased risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality. Cardiovascular events include heart attacks which usually manifest with chest pain, but it is very important to note that heart attacks in women can present differently with symptoms other than chest pain, including shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, extreme fatigue or pain or pressure in the upper back, lower chest or upper abdomen. (more…)

Chocolate, Love, and Health

  By Moderator | February 12, 2013 - 8:50 pm | ,
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by Dr. Victor Sierpina

by Dr. Victor Sierpina

Maybe the reason chocolate is associated with Valentine’s Day is that it is associated with the release of phenylethylamine (PEA), a chemical released when we are falling in love. Chocolate also is known to affect pleasure receptors in our brain by stimulating endorphins. The theobromines in chocolate act like a mild dose of caffeine and are a brain stimulant. Of course, the carbs, sugar, and fat content of the typical chocolate bar all give us a burst of pleasure as well.

What you might not know is that dark chocolate, defined as chocolate with at least a 70% cacao (pronounced Ka-Kow) content, is a true health food. It is rich in anti-oxidants and packs three or more times the antioxidant strength of such antioxidant powerhouses as blueberries, green tea, and red wine. Though chocolate has a lot of saturated fats, they do not raise cholesterol since they are primarily oleic acid, which is like olive oil, and stearic acid, which is converted by the body to healthy mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Chocolate contains abundant minerals and vitamins and perhaps its long considered benefits in alleviating premenstrual symptoms have more to do with the amount of magnesium and iron in chocolate than its effects on the brain. Polyphenols and other flavonoids in chocolate protect blood vessels against cholesterol, are low glycemic, and help control insulin secretion. Emerging science shows compounds in chocolate can help reduce cancer risk, improve immunity, and increase memory. (more…)

Dr. Robot? Powerful new tool is just that, a tool

  By Moderator | February 8, 2013 - 11:34 pm |
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Dr. Dan Beckles

Dr. Dan Beckles

A recent article published by CNN/Fortune does a great job explaining the “rise of machines” in the nation’s operating suites.  Here at UTMB , our surgeons have been performing robotic assisted surgeries since 2000 (and other minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopic surgery for much longer). During the past decade, the scope and number of surgical procedures that can be addressed using the robotic platform has increased dramatically. 

UTMB features a state-of-the-art da Vinci Si Surgical System, not unlike the unit featured in the article. This new robotic surgery system has allowed us to expand the scope of our robotic surgeries and expertise even further. Enhancements such as high definition 3D video, fluorescence imaging for vascular structures, and enhanced safety features allow us to perform advanced procedures while maximizing patient safety and decreasing recovery time. However, as evidenced in the story, this great technology and everything it enables, only extends the capabilities of the surgeon and the OR Team.  There is no replacement for skill and experience, and the dynamic nature of the OR requires that your health care team be nimble and prepared to offer whatever therapy or approach best fits your condition. It’s with this  philosophy that we approach robotic surgery, all in order to offer  our patients the best possible outcome.    

Advances in surgery usually attempt to ameliorate surgery’s essential nature: cutting someone to cure him. The less severe the tissue damage, the faster the patient heals — less time in recovery, less money spent recovering from the wounds. In health care this is known as “lowering the downstream costs,” and it is what is driving hospitals to invest $2 million a pop for surgical machines.

Read full  article: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/15/robotic-surgeons/

Libido Understood

  By Moderator | February 5, 2013 - 6:04 pm |
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Drs. Tristi Muir and Catherine Hansen

Drs. Tristi Muir and
Catherine Hansen

Meet Susan, a 56-year-old professional who’s finally come to terms with her hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia and made peace with her mood swings. At a visit to our clinic, she declares, “My libido has completely disappeared.”

Susan’s not joking and she’s not alone. Every day, women at all stages of life get up enough nerve to book an appointment. Some drag along a faltering, speculative, yet willing partner, while others arrive cautiously unaccompanied. For each, there is a different answer to the hide-and-seek game of where is my libido, but there are some underlying principles to consider. Sexual desire, once thought to be spontaneous, unplanned and at-the-ready, is now understood to be far more complex and multifaceted, especially for women and even more so for menopausal women. (more…)