w i n t e r 2 0 1 0

Connection

Don’t be sidelined! Our sports medicine

team delivers

Help for slow- healing wounds

Women: Live life! SrMC can

keep you dry

Brown-bag it for better health

a puBLication of soutHsiDe regionaL meDicaL center

www.srmconline.com

By Yorckay c. ishizawar, m.D. general surgery

Have you ever worried about a sore that wouldn’t go away or marveled at your body’s power to repair a scar?

Healing after illness or injury is a complex process, and chronic diseases or conditions can compromise your body’s restorative capabilities. Wounds not only diminish one’s quality of life but also raise the risk of infection and complications. For this reason, wound care is critical to disease management and surgical recovery.

About 5 million Americans suffer from non- or slow-healing chronic wounds, which are most often found in older adults, bedridden patients and individuals who suffer from common circulation and skin diseases such as diabe-tes or peripheral artery disease (PAD). One-third of people with diabetes have lower-extremity wounds or PAD, which increase the likelihood of foot problems and amputation. Other conditions that can lead to slow-healing wounds include traumatic injury, complications after surgery, congestive heart failure, lymphedema and compromised immune systems.

tHe WounD HeaLing centerMany hospitals have specialists trained in advanced thera-pies that help speed healing and rebuild skin integrity. At Southside Regional Medical Center’s (SRMC) Wound Healing Center, physicians have experience with chronic wounds such as diabetic skin sores, pressure sores, per-sistent skin irritations, vessel disease wounds, surgery wound breakdown, traumatic wounds, burns, venous insufficiency, radiation injuries, spinal injury wounds and

Healing woundsSRMC lends a helping hand

winter 2010 �70srm

other non-healing wounds. Many of these wounds become problematic due to limited blood flow in the area.

Wound care treatment plans include transcutaneous oxygen pressure measurement, supportive compressed dressing changes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and wound debridément (removal of dead or damaged tissue). These treatments differ from the standard patient care after surgery or during chronic disease treatment because they involve specialized therapies administered with other medical or surgical treatments for the skin condition. They may include special dressings or wraps, bioengineered tis-sue substitutes or hyperbaric oxygen therapy to invigorate oxygen-starved tissues.

A patient’s physician generally refers a patient to a wound care team or treatment center where specialists evaluate the wound and review the patient’s health and medical history. The team then develops a custom treat-ment program and remains part of the patient’s medical treatment with the primary care physician.

Once the wound is healed, follow-up care and treat-ment for the condition that originally caused the wound are important.

About the author

Yorckay c. ishizawar, m.D., wound care specialist and medical director for the srmc Wound Healing center, is a

general surgeon with southside surgical specialists, located at 211 temple ave. in colonial Heights.

Start healing!

improve your life by calling the srmc Wound Healing

center at (804) 765-5445 or visiting our Web site at

www.srmconline.com or the american Diabetes association

at www.diabetes.org.

recreational activities leads to better health and physical fitness.” The SRMC program also places certified athletic trainers on area high school and college campuses to augment the school’s athletic staff. Working directly with student athletes, the trainer provides specific instruction about how to improve performance and technique, while avoiding injuries. Under the partnership, SRMC trainers and physicians are available to school coaching staff and athletes’ parents to explain sports-related injuries and treatment options. Should physical therapy/rehabilitation be needed, Southside Rehabilitative Services, located in Colonial Heights and Petersburg, can provide personalized treatment to help the athlete regain strength and endurance.

HoW Do We Do it?Using advanced diagnostic tools and minimally invasive sur-gical techniques, the SRMC sports medicine team provides performance evaluations, surgery, rehab and on-the-field support for competitive sports. “Each of us completed a fel-lowship in sports medicine to enable us to best serve our patient athletes,” says orthopaedic surgeon Mark Kavanagh, M.D., of Southside Orthopaedic Specialists. “Treating an ankle injury for an older patient who has taken a fall is totally different from treating a football player who has suffered a nasty injury on the field. The treatment is different, the rehab is different and the recovery can be quite different.”

SRMC’s sports medicine team would like to see fewer injuries suffered by athletes at any competitive level. “By providing the community with patient education and out-reach programs, we feel we can contribute to the reduction of serious injury,” says SRMC’s Josie McMahon, licensed

athletic trainer at Virginia State University (VSU). “Whether you play for your school or an organized com-munity league or just want to improve your individual workout performance, SRMC’s sports medicine program would like to play a role in getting you back in the game when injuries occur.”

Sports medicine team offers unique approach

each year, millions of athletes are injured as a result of a sports-related activity. Keeping athletes and “weekend warriors” healthy and active is the goal of Southside Regional Medical Center’s

(SRMC) new sports medicine program. Launched in September for athletes of all ages and skill levels, the comprehensive program specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of sports-related injuries for children, teens and adults.

WHY We stanD outSRMC’s sports medicine program includes six specially trained orthopaedic surgeons who understand the unique challenges of healing sports-related injuries. Just as impor-tant, they know the importance of achieving optimum performance.

“We’re excited about offering this program to the community,” says Vivek Sharma, M.D., of Colonial Orthopaedics. “We believe participation in sports and

Attention, athletes and weekend warriors!

Licensed athletic trainer Jason Doctor (right) performs a Vms electrical stimulation on Vsu athlete Leonard Johnson.

winter 20106 70srm

Licensed athletic trainer Josie mcmahon provides stretching exercises for Vsu football player alfred ngauja.

s

By the time you receive

this issue of Health

Connection, we’ll be

well into the flu sea-

son. With the information we

received this past fall from the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention and the Virginia

Department of Health, commu-

nities across the country have

braced for what could be the

most challenging flu season in

years. Given this scenario, I hope you and your

family took advantage of both the seasonal flu

shot and the H1N1 (“swine” flu) vaccine.

for aLL atHLetes

A few months ago, Southside Regional Medical

Center launched a sports medicine program

for athletes of all ages. This wonderful program

provides both the expertise of orthopaedic

specialists and licensed certified athletic

trainers to area schools. If you’re associated

with a sports program in your community

and would like to tap into the wealth of experi-

ence that our sports medicine team members

bring to the area, please don’t hesitate to call

them. Read more about the program on these

two pages.

Have a wonderful, healthy winter season.

Sincerely,

Dave FikseChief Executive OfficerSouthside Regional Medical Center

Keeping you healthy

a message from tHe ceo

Dave fiksechief executive officer

winter 2010 770srm

Stay off the sidelines!

to stay active with srmc’s sports medicine team or to

make an appointment with our orthopaedic surgeons,

call colonial orthopaedics at (804) 526-5888 or southside

orthopaedic specialists at (804) 504-4650.

KaranVir praKasH, m.D.

colonial orthopaedics1�1 Jennick Drive colonial Heights(804) 526-5888

Jesse sanDLin, m.D.

southside orthopaedic specialists4�6 clairmont court, suite 104 colonial Heights(804) 504-4650

timotHY marqueen, m.D.

colonial orthopaedics1�1 Jennick Drive colonial Heights(804) 526-5888

manJit DHiLLon, m.D.

colonial orthopaedics1�1 Jennick Drive colonial Heights(804) 526-5888

ViVeK sHarma, m.D.

colonial orthopaedics1�1 Jennick Drive colonial Heights(804) 526-5888

meet our team

marK KaVanagH, m.D.

southside orthopaedic specialists4�6 clairmont court, suite 104 colonial Heights(804) 504-4650

winter 201010 70srm

according to experts, at least half of the estimated 13 million sufferers of incontinence—the involuntary loss of urine—

suffer in silence because they’re too embarrassed to get help. Yet most of the time, incontinence can be improved, if not cured, with proper treatment.

“Women shouldn’t be embar-rassed to talk to their physician about this issue,” says Southside Regional Medical Center (SRMC) urologist Peter Han, M.D. “It’s a common problem—one that I see almost daily in my practice—and it can be easily diagnosed and treated.” The diagno-sis can be as simple as a urinary tract infection or as complex as mixed uri-nary incontinence, which has many symptoms, causes and treatments.

WHat are tHe causes?Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common type of bladder control problem in women. It’s characterized by uncontrollable leakage of urine with increased

take control

alan Bigley, m.D., and peter Han, m.D., offer a vari-

ety of options for treating incontinence in women.

Both physicians are board certified and their practice,

southside urology associates, is conveniently located at

4�0 clairmont court, suite 214, in colonial Heights. if you

suffer from this common problem, help is just a phone call

away. for more information or to make an appointment,

call (804) 520-5580 today!

At least half of the estimated 13 million sufferers of incontinence suffer in silence

because they’re too embarrassed to get help.

Don’t suffer in silenceGet help with bladder control

abdominal pressure. SUI is triggered by everyday occur-rences that place stress on the bladder, such as sneez-ing, coughing, laughing and lifting. SUI is the most common type of incontinence and accounts for well over half of all cases of women’s incontinence. Aging, medical conditions, infections, medications, obesity, pregnancy and childbirth are all common causes of SUI.

WHat are tHe treatment options?The key to treatment is identifying the specific type of incontinence that a woman is experiencing through an in-depth medical interview and thorough physical exam. Fortunately, both nonsurgical and minimally invasive sur-gical treatment options are available at SRMC. Testing can determine exactly what’s causing the leakage and what treatment plan is right for you. Treatments may include medication, physical therapy or minimally invasive out-patient surgery.

peter Han, m.D. urologist

alan Bigley, m.D. urologist

Health Connection is published as a community service of Southside Regional Medical Center. There is no fee to subscribe.

The information contained in this publication is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have medical concerns, please consult your health care provider.

Copyright © 2010 Southside Regional Medical Center

WInTeR 2010

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLebanon Junction, KY

Permit 19

www.srmconline.com

Southside regional Medical Center200 Medical Park Blvd.Petersburg, VA 23805

70srm

Printed With Soy Ink