MedStar Health DocTalk

Caring for aging seniors can be challenging for patients, their caregivers, as well as medical providers. These seniors can have multiple complex medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, incontinence, and memory loss. The Center for Successful Aging can help, according to George Hennawi, MD, physician executive for Geriatrics and Senior Services, chair of Geriatrics, and senior medical director for the Center for Successful Aging. This outpatient practice with two locations, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital and MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, has a team of geriatric experts that work with patients and their caregivers using a national model of care called The 4Ms: what Matters, medications, mentation (mental activity or memory), and mobility. They partner with primary care physicians to consult or treat aging seniors to help keep them at home with improved health and safety.

For details, visit MedStarHealth.org/SuccessfulAging.

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer that starts in the deep layers of the skin in the cells that produce pigment. It is aggressive and potentially life-threatening. So, it’s important that it be identified early when it is most treatable. In this podcast, Dr. Edward McCarron, a surgical oncologist and specialist in the treatment of the disease, talks about what melanoma is, how it is treated, and how to prevent it by knowing the ABCDEs of melanoma.

For interviews with Dr. McCarron, or for more information about this podcast, contact Regional Media Relations Director, debra.schindler@medstar.net.

If you’re an active person with hip pain, you may have hip impingement or a labrum tear. These conditions can be repaired with a minimally invasive, highly specialized procedure: hip arthroscopy. But what exactly is it? MedStar Health sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Kenneth Tepper and DocTalk host Mike Schuh discuss this surgical repair. Learn more about the hip ball and socket, how cartilage wear and tear differs from arthritis, and when you should see a specialist so that you can keep moving.

Dr. Tepper sees patients in Pikesville, Hunt Valley, and Westminster, Maryland, and is a national expert on hip arthroscopy. He is also the medical director for athletics at Stevenson University and on the medical staff for the USA Men's U-21 lacrosse team.

For interviews with Dr. Tepper, or for more information about this podcast, contact Regional Media Relations Director, debra.schindler@medstar.net.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic heart condition and can affect as many as one in 500, yet it’s one we don’t hear about very often. This inherited heart condition can affect anyone regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity.

Dr Sandeep Jani, director of the HCM clinic at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, explains more about this condition and how its symptoms (or lack thereof) can vary greatly from person to person. He identifies the diagnostic tests to definitively determine if a patient has HCM, who should get tested if a family member has HCM, the various treatment options (depending on severity), and how patients can live this condition. We talk with him in this podcast about the unique needs of patients with HCM and the importance of ongoing care management.

Dr. Jani sees patients at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.

For interviews with Dr. Jani, or for more information about this podcast, contact Regional Media Relations Director, debra.schindler@medstar.net.

They say that time heals all wounds. But does it? For some people getting a wound to heal suffer months without change. Why? What are the risks of that, and what is happening in technology and wound care to get patients healed and back to their lives? To answer those questions and more about healing wounds, we are talking with Dr. David Zachary Martin, regional medical director of the MedStar Health Wound Healing Institute in Baltimore.

For more information, call the wound care teams at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital at 443-444-4275 or MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center at 443-777-6360.

Hypertension – also known as high blood pressure--contributes to a variety of cardiovascular conditions. In fact, having hypertension doubles the risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke. Hypertension is often referred to as "THE SILENT KILLER," partly because many people have an elevated blood pressure and may not even know it because they feel fine and have no symptoms. Dr. Raymond Young breaks down the guidelines for optimal blood pressure and what constitutes elevated blood pressure and stages of hypertension. He also shares important information about modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, treatment options, lifestyle changes that everyone should make, and when you may want to see a cardiologist. Dr. Young sees patients at MedStar Good Samaritan and MedStar Union Memorial Hospitals.

Due, in large part, to advances in treatment, more men are surviving prostate cancer than ever before. Through the use of state-of-the-art technologies, such as CyberKnife, which makes it possible to deliver targeted radiation directly to the tumor—painlessly and without an incision—many patients are experiencing better outcomes with fewer side effects than other treatment options. Dr. David J. Perry, MD, chief of Radiation Oncology at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center and medical director of the hospital's CyberKnife program shares information about this advancement in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Deciding to pursue a surgical solution for weight loss is not a decision you make lightly.
Weight loss surgery can change your life. It's not just about losing weight. It's about regaining your health. It's a chance to say goodbye to high cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, and joint problems, so you can have a better quality of life in the future. Dr. Christopher You talks about the team approach that MedStar Health takes with Bariatric surgery and some of the valuable education and resources available about weight loss and healthy living that can benefit your entire family.