Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1040060
NATIVE WICHITAN SIMON PAT TON, MD, RECENTLY JOINED VIA CHRISTI CLINIC, PROVIDING SERVICES IN A REL ATIVELY NE W FEMALE-FOCUSED FIELD OF MEDICINE. D R . PAT T O N I S b oa r d- c er t i f ie d i n t h e s u b s p e c i a l t y o f f e m a l e p e l v i c medicine a nd reconstr uctive surger y, a l s o k now n a s u r og y ne c olog y. T he A merica n Boa rd of Medica l Specia lties approved the subspecia lty in 2011, a nd the f irst doctors were boa rd-cer tif ied i n 2013, a ccord i n g t o t he A mer ica n Urog y necolog ic Societ y (AUGS). L i k e o t h e r u r o g y n e c o l o g i s t s , D r. Pat t on h a s r e c eive d a dd it ion a l tra ining a nd experience in eva luating a nd treating conditions that a ffect the fema le pelv ic orga ns a nd su r rou nd- i ng muscles a nd con nective tissues. A f ter a n obstetrics/g y necolog y resi- dency at Mercy Hospita l in St . Louis from 2011-15, Dr. Pat ton completed a three-yea r fellowship in fema le pelvic medicine a nd reconstr uctive surger y at the Universit y of South Florida in Ta mpa . He joined Wichita-ba sed Via Christi Clinic in September 2018. Like ma ny physicia ns who ca re for expecta nt mothers, Dr. Patton enjoyed "ta king ca re of women at such a n excit- ing time of their life. I would tell people it 's the only time people bring ba lloons to the hospita l." B ut du r i n g h i s re sidenc y, he s aw women devastated by another condition unique to the fema le body — pelvic f loor disorders, or PFDs. He says he saw more women cr y as they visited the OB/GY N department at Mercy Hospital for condi- tions related to PFD a nd other pelv ic orga n conditions tha n when they were diagnosed with g ynecologica l ca ncers. " I t 's a q u a l i t y o f l i f e i s s u e , " Dr. Patton says. The sy mptoms of PFDs a nd pelv ic orga n conditions a re not on ly emba r- ra ssing for women, but a lso ca n lead t o ser ious hea lt h issues. T he pelv ic f loor refers to the network of muscles, liga ments a nd connective tissue that suppor t t he bowel , bla dder, ut er u s , vag ina a nd rectum. P F D s a r e r e l a t i v e l y c o m m o n , a ccord i n g to AUGS. One out of fou r Simon Patton, MD, is a female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery specialist with Via Christi Clinic. ADDS SPECIALIST IN FEMALE PELVIC MEDICINE BY AMY GEISZLER-JONES Wichita's Via Christi Clinic M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S G R E AT E R K A N S A S ■ 2 018 C O V E R F E A T U R E ❰❰❰❰❰ 0 9