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- Women's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogFor many years, Alice Thompson wasn’t able to empty her bladder completely when she urinated. Over time, her symptoms grew worse until the 72-year old woman from Upper Marlboro was barely able to urinate at all. “It was getting quite painful,” she says. “I always felt like I had to go, and I couldn’t go.” Alice suffered from bladder retention. The nerves that control her bladder were not receiving the signal from her brain that her bladder was full. Doctors at the Women’s Center for Pelvic Health implanted a small device in her lower back that stimulates the sacral nerves. “I think of it as a pace maker for my bladder,” Alice says. “Now, I’m able to go to the bathroom and void completely.” Since having the InterStim Therapy device, Alice has also been able to reduce the amount of medicine she takes for other conditions. “My kidneys are functioning better, and it’s made a huge difference in my life.”
- Women's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAt 68, Marguerite Morris had been afraid to leave her house. For about nine months she had searched for a solution to her loss of bladder control. She finally found the Women’s Center for Pelvic Health where doctors were able to treat her over active bladder. Marguerite received weekly percutaneous tibular nerve stimulation treatment in which a mild electrical signal is sent to the nerves that control the bladder. The procedure was simple and painless, requiring an electrode attached to her ankle and a pad on her toe. Marguerite said she felt a slight tingling in her foot, but the thirty-minute treatments in the doctor’s office were painless. After three months Marguerite was able to return to a normal life. “I can go to the store or go shopping and not worry about it,” she says. “I feel more normal again.”
- Women's Health, Heart Care, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThere seemed to be nothing special about Saturday, June 16, 2012, when Annapolis High School art teacher Ana Duhon and her mother went out shopping for a Father’s Day gift. Until Ana passed out. When her mother couldn’t awaken her 35-year-old daughter, she called 911. Ana’s heart had suddenly gone into ventricular fibrillation, a quivering rhythm in which no blood is pumped from the heart. Her brain was starving for oxygen, she was in cardiac arrest and without immediate treatment she would die. Paramedics performed CPR and shocked her heart, but her rhythm remained erratic. When she arrived at AAMC, her heart was pumping only approximately 15 percent of the blood it normally should. Interventional cardiologist Scott Katzen, MD, ruled out a coronary blockage—something he could have fixed immediately in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. He knew he needed to do something fast. “We decided to perform therapeutic hypothermia in which we cool the body down to slow the metabolism,” said Dr. Katzen. “Studies show that when proper circulation returns to the body, recovery can be improved if you can slow the metabolism of the brain and all the organs.” Intensivist Sjoerd Beck, MD, cooled Ana’s body temperature with a specialized cooling blanket available at AAMC until doctors were able to return her heart rhythm to normal. As doctors gradually re-warmed Ana’s core temperature, her body was able to recover, and her life is returning to normal. It’s still unclear why Ana’s heart failed, but fortunately, the cardiac care and therapeutic hypothermia she received saved her heart, her brain and all of her vital organs. “I feel lucky to be here,” Ana said. “To spend time with my four-year-old son, to be raising him, and to be able to teach again.” Watch a video to learn more about Ana’s story.
- Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogBy the time Joan MacLean met AAMC neurosurgeon Gary Dix, MD, she had been relying on a wheel chair for two years. The 74-year-old Annapolis resident has severe degenerative disc disease of the spine. She had already gone through a number of spinal fusions to stabilize her back, but as the disease progressed, her condition became debilitating. “The pain and weakness in my back and legs got so bad I couldn’t walk,” she says. “More than a block, and I just couldn’t do it.” Joan had developed sacroiliitis, an instability of the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis where the sacrum and the iliac bones meet. This joint is supposed be immobile, but Joan’s had been moving ever so slightly causing inflammation and severe pain. In the past, her only option for relief would have been another major back surgery. Doctors would have had to make a large incision, remove bone and tissue from the joint space. Then, after filling the space with graft material they would have had to install metal screws to immobilize the bones. Fortunately for Joan, Dr. Dix was able to offer her a minimally invasive, cutting edge procedure that very few hospitals in the country offer. The iFuse implant system relies on small titanium dowels inserted into the joint space to prevent the bones from moving. There is no need to cut into the bone, and there are no screws. “Once the joint is immobilized,” Dr. Dix says, “bone grows across the joint space which helps to further stabilize it and prevent painful motion.” The entire procedure is done through a small incision in the back. Last April, Joan had the iFuse procedure on her left side and it turned her life around. “It was the best thing I could have done,” she says. “We went on a cruise in January, and I walked ten miles around the ship.” This February, she repeated the procedure on the other side. “I couldn’t wait to get this done.” She says. “I’m so glad they do this here.” AAMC remains one of only a handful of hospitals in the area with the technology and experienced medical staff to offer this innovative procedure.
- News & Press Releases, Women's Health, Pediatrics, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe first thing most people learn about parenthood is that plans have to be flexible. So it was fitting that the new Hackerman-Patz House would open four days early to provide a young family the temporary home they needed when their little girl was born premature. Lucinda Avis was running errands near her home in Solomons, Maryland when she went into labor. She was two months early. Though she had closer options, she drove the hour and a half to AAMC because she wanted the quality medical care she knew the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) could provide. But an hour and a half is a long way from home. Her new daughter Audrey was born healthy, but she required medical support until gaining her strength. For her husband and 20-month-old son, this could have meant a lengthy stay in a hotel room or a daily drive back and forth from Solomons to visit Lucinda and the baby. But the Hackerman-Patz House offered them a better option. A home away from home, the Hackerman-Patz House provides affordable accommodations to patients and their families right on the AAMC campus. “It’s a huge benefit that we can all be here together,” says Lucinda. “I can sleep with my family and be right here near the hospital.” The 20 rooms share a common sitting room, kitchenette and playroom, so families have space to relax and recuperate. “My husband was here yesterday for four hours with our toddler,” she says, “and they didn’t have to just stay in our room all day, because there’s all this other space.” When Lucinda arrived at AAMC, The Hackerman-Patz House was still days away from opening. But she and her family needed to be together, and to be close to little Audrey. So staff opened their doors and welcomed the Avis’s. “I really feel like they’ve gone above and beyond what they needed to do. It’s just been more than what was expected.” With the help of the Hackerman-Patz House, Lucinda and her family were able to focus on welcoming their new daughter and celebrating her arrival.