MDNews - San Antonio

+++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++ AROUND TOWN +++ +++ Wound care services are especially important in the South Central Texas region, where diabetes is prevalent. Diabetes can cause a number of health complications, including neuropathy, that make it harder for wounds to heal. "I'm pleased to see CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System's commitment to expanding services in the Westover Hills community," says Robert Franklin, Chief Operations Officer, Wound Care Specialists. "By offering comprehensive wound care and hyperbaric treatment services, we can improve outcomes for patients with extreme cases of diabetes, saving limbs and enhancing their quality of life." Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medi- cal treatment that involves administering 100% oxygen to patients in an environ- ment of increased atmospheric pressure, known as a hyperbaric chamber. This pro- cess increases the oxygen levels in both blood and tissue to promote healing. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital– Westover Hills is the third hospital in the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System to offer this service, join- ing its sister Medical Center and New Braunfels facilities. SAN ANTONIO TEAM PIONEERS SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES FOR KIDNEY TRANSPLANT CANDIDATES WITH INCOMPATIBLE LIVING DONORS For kidney failure patients with living donors who are not a match, kidney paired donation offers an alternative with outstanding results, concludes a study published in the August 2012 issue of the American Journal of Transplantation. Physicians at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital published the article, "Single-Center Kidney Paired Donation: 26 | San Antonio MD NEWS ■ MDNEWS.COM The Methodist San Antonio Experience," based on the results of a three-year study on kidney transplant candidates who had willing donors but were unable to donate due to cross-match or blood- type incompatibility. By using sophisti- cated computer software, the team pro- vided matches to 134 patients between 2008 and 2011. The San Antonio team has provided more kidney paired donation (KPD) transplants than any other single center in the nation. The program has been especially ef- fective in helping patients who statisti- cally would not be a match with 80% to 100% of the population because of the antibodies in their blood; previous kidney transplants and pregnancy can bring about a complicated string of antibodies that can result in organ rejection. Of the sensitized patients in the San Antonio study, more than 40% were highly sensi- tized, with 61% of them women and 32% having had a previous transplant. "We hope the successful process documented in our study will spur other transplant centers to develop a database, increase the number of kidney paired donations and thus remove people from the ever-growing national wait list of more than 90,000 people," says Adam Bingaman, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and director of the living donor program, Texas Transplant Institute at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. "It has been estimated that as many as 2,000 additional people could receive live donor transplants each year if KPD were more widely used." Kashla Sephus, 30, of San Antonio was one of these patients with an antibody level of 100% because of a previous kidney transplant and blood transfusions. The comprehensive database found her a match, as it has for 174 people to date. "Without Dr. Bingaman, I would still be on the list," Sephus says. "I have several patients who never would have received a first, second or third transplant if it weren't for the program at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. These patients would still be on dialysis, waiting years for a transplant," says Melissa Isbell, M.D., a San Antonio nephrologist. "The patients who immediately come to mind were young, from 28 to 52. They have all returned to work now and can enjoy life without the burden of dialysis." If you have a patient in need of a kidney transplant and think he or she might be a candidate for the Methodist Living Donor Program, call (210) 575-GIVE (4483) or toll-free at (800) 888-0402. Anyone who would like to be evaluated to donate a kidney to someone in need may also contact the program at these numbers. ■ ADVERTISERS' INDEX Alteza ................................................................9 API ProAssurance .......................................19 Bjorn's .............................Inside Front Cover Cancer Care Centers of South Texas ....19 Cyber Fraud Discussion ............................ 15 DOCUmation...............................Back Cover Health Collaborative ................................... 11 Paesanos .......................................................24 Sol Schwartz & Associates, P.C. ............ 23 Strasburger Price Oppenheimer Blend .............................. 13 STRIC .............................................................. 23 SWBC ...............................Inside Back Cover Texas Health Steps .......................................5 Travis Commercial Real Estate Services ............................. 11 University Health System ......................... 17 UT Health Science Center ........................ 13

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