MDNews - Greater Boston

PHOTO © RYAN RICHARDSON Southcoast urologists take time with all patients to ensure they receive the attention and quality of care they deserve during each visit. Dr. Carroll was one of the first urologists in this area to perform the neuromodulation and TOT procedures. "We are dedicated to vetting the most promising new procedures so we can help more patients in the area have a higher quality of life," he says. "That is the goal of our practice and our health system." Dr. Carroll notes that Southcoast Urology has started using BOTOX therapy to treat overactive bladder and urge incontinence in men and women, a use that was only recently approved by the FDA. Southcoast Urology also offers stateof-the-art urological laser surgery, including percutaneous stone removal surgery, which removes large stones through a small incision. Robotic and Laparoscopic Procedures Dennis LaRock, MD, is Co-Chief of Urology and Medical Director of the Robotic Surgery Program at Southcoast Health System. Southcoast has offered robotic surgery for about five years at Charlton Memorial Hospital and more recently at St. Luke's Hospital. Prostate surgeries have been performed robotically for some time, and kidney surgeries are now being performed robotically as well. "We can now do more partial nephrectomies laparoscopically," Dr. LaRock PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTHCOAST New Technologies Serve an Aging Population New techniques in urology are solving increasingly common problems in more efficient ways. "Women's incontinence is an incredibly common concern," says Dr. Carroll. "Probably 30 percent of women have either urge or stress incontinence, particularly after childbirth or menopause." Both of these conditions result in leakage, but they have different mechanisms and are managed differently. "For stress incontinence, I use transobturator tape (TOT) surgery, which is a minimally invasive sling procedure with a very high success rate of upwards of 95 percent," explains Dr. Carroll. "It is an outpatient procedure that takes less than 15 minutes." "For urge incontinence, I have had a lot of success with InterStim sacral neuromodulation, which affects the bladder nerve pathways to the brain, inhibiting overactive bladder and urge incontinence. It works almost like a pacemaker for the bladder. This therapy, which works in more than 75 percent of cases, can be a miracle if the condition cannot be managed with medication or if the side effects of the medication are intolerable." Prior to treatment, some patients go to the bathroom 30 to 40 times a day and wake up eight or 10 times at night. Two or three days after the procedure, they are back to a normal pattern where they void four or five times a day and are able to sleep through the night. PRACTICE'S ELDER STATESMAN SERVES AS PHYSICIAN, MENTOR AND TEACHER John Kaiser, MD, is the senior member of Southcoast Urology, having practiced urology in the Fall River area for 35 years and having been part of the Fall River practice for his entire career. Dr. Kaiser is certified by the American Board of Urology and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition to providing the highest quality of care to patients throughout the South Coast area, he acts as a mentor and teacher to the younger physicians in the practice. MDNEWS.COM I MD NEWS Greater Boston |7

• Cover