CentraState - Healthy Directions

day. It got to the point last summer that she could barely talk on the telephone without feeling the urge to nod off. Conquering Kidney Cancer D espite getting plenty of rest, Anne Weiss found herself becoming increasingly tired throughout the Nivedta Sharma, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician Unable to go about her daily routine due to fatigue, last August the 72-year-old Jackson resident visited her primary care physician Nivedta Sharma, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician on staff at CentraState Medical Center, seeking some relief. She underwent a blood test that indicated her hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen) was extremely low. A low hemoglobin level (anemia) is a sign that the body isn’t producing adequate amounts of red blood cells or that it is losing blood. Fatigue is a common symptom of anemia. Aileen Chen, MD, board-certifed hematologist/oncologist At that point, Dr. Sharma referred Anne for further evaluation to board-certified hematologist/oncologist Aileen Chen, MD, with Monmouth Middlesex Hematology-Oncology and on the medical staff at CentraState. Dr. Chen took a bone marrow sample, which suggested Anne had myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition causing ineffective production of bone marrow blood cells. The doctor initiated the standard treatment for that diagnosis—medication injections to stimulate the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. When Anne did not show continued improvement on the medication, Dr. Chen considered other possible reasons for her symptoms and scheduled Anne for a computed tomography (CT) scan of her chest and abdomen at CentraState. The CT scan revealed a large, invasive tumor in Anne’s left kidney. www.centrastate.com Dr. Chen referred Anne to William Kohlberg, MD, board-certified urologic surgeon on the medical staff at CentraState, for surgery to remove the kidney with the cancerous tumor. Dr. Kohlberg recommended that prior to surgery, Anne undergo renal embolization in CentraState’s William Kohlberg, MD, board-certified urologic surgeon Endovascular Lab to shrink the size of the tumor. This minimally invasive procedure entailed the insertion into the renal artery of several thin wire coils that were compacted to block blood flow and form a clot, depriving the kidney and the tumor of life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients carried in the blood. The embolization was performed by board-certified interventional radiologist Kenneth Tomkovich, MD, on the medical staff at CentraState, and board- certified surgeon Charles Dinerstein, MD, chair of CentraState’s Department of Surgery. “Anne’s tumor had damaged so much of the kidney that the entire organ had to be removed. Because of the size, a large incision and open surgery would have been necessary to remove it,” says Dr. Kohlberg. “Drs. Tomkovich and Dinerstein were able to cut off the blood supply. Within a day of the procedure, the kidney had shrunk sufficiently that we were able to remove it laparoscopically through a small incision.” Dr. Kohlberg was assisted by board- certified surgeon Kenneth Pozner, MD, on the medical staff at CentraState. ONE-OF-A-KIND CARE Since the surgery, Anne is back to her usual self. Instead of feeling fatigued, she’s been shopping, talking on the telephone to friends and family, and going about other activities of daily life with renewed energy. Board-certifi ed surgeon Charles Dinerstein, MD (standing), and board-certifi ed interventional radiolo- gist Kenneth Tomkovich, MD, review video images from the renal embolization procedure they performed that enabled Anne Weiss to undergo surgery to treat kidney cancer using minimally invasive techniques. July/August 2011 5 “I can’t say enough about the medical staff at CentraState, especially Dr. Chen and Dr. Kohlberg,” says Anne. “They were truly amazing to me during a very difficult time.” “At CentraState, we have full access to the latest techniques for treating urologic conditions [diseases of the kidney, urinary tract, and male reproductive system],” says Dr. Kohlberg. “We also have a wonderful team of endovascular specialists with the ability to perform the latest minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.” For more information about surgical services or to find a surgeon on the medical staff at CentraState, visit www.centrastate.com/surgery or call (866) CENTRA7 (866-236-8727). HD

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