PATIENT CARE
an epidural catheter in their backs for pain control. Pain must be managed because patients need to be able to take deep breaths and cough to lower their risk of getting pneumonia – something they won’t do as well if they are hurting. Because VATS is minimally invasive, no epidural catheter is needed and pain is greatly minimized. Surgeons also use nerve blocks to provide long-acting pain control in the nerves that run along the ribs. “When I see my patients back in the clinic a couple of weeks after surgery, they’re usually taking little to no pain medicine and they’ve resumed doing most of the things they want to do. It’s really gratifying,” Reinersman said. Reinersman considers VATS for any patient with lung cancer, but the best candidates are those with Stage 1 or 2 cancer, he said. VATS is also preferable for patients who have borderline lung function because the procedure is easier for them to tolerate than an open surgery. In Shaw’s case, she has never been a smoker. About 20 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer are non-smokers, Reinersman said. “That shows the importance of lung cancer screening and early diagnosis and treatment,” he said. “It’s not a death sentence. If we can catch it early, we can get them through it. We’ve done hundreds of VATS surgeries here.”
Many surgeons will use VATS for simple surgical procedures in the chest, but Reinersman and Deb are experts in its use for removing lung cancer, a more technically complicated surgery. The surgeons also are unique because they focus solely on surgeries of the chest and esophagus, whereas many cardiothoracic surgeons focus mostly on the heart. OU Medicine is also the only institution in Oklahoma that submits its lung cancer surgery data to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database, where it can be viewed by the public. OU Medicine’s two-star rating is equivalent to that of larger institutions like Mayo Clinic and M.D. Anderson.
Pediatric Surgeon Performs Lifesaving Surgery on Infant With Urological Condition Edmond residents Juan and Bibiana Rodriguez were excited to welcome their first child into the world and, after a normal pregnancy, their beautiful boy Simon was born. But only 12 days later, Simon began running a high fever and the Rodriguez family started a journey of surgery and medical care that was crucial to their son’s future. Initially, doctors thought Simon simply had a urinary tract infection, but it soon became apparent that something more was taking place. OU College of Medicine pediatric urologist Adam Rensing, M.D., diagnosed Simon with posterior urethral valves, a condition in which extra flaps of tissue, or valves, block the flow of urine so that it cannot leave the body in a normal way. The condition is serious because the baby’s bladder and kidneys can be damaged, sometimes to the point of renal failure. Posterior urethral valves is a congenital condition that is usually diagnosed during a prenatal ultrasound. However, for the Rodriguez family, the condition was not spotted during the pregnancy. Because the problem was diagnosed early, though, Rensing performed the surgery quickly. The procedure involves using a scope and a small blade to cut the tissue away so that the urine can flow and the bladder can empty more normally. Rensing compared the condition to the sail on a sailboat that catches the wind.
J. Matthew Reinersman, M.D., specializes in a minimally invasive surgery for lung cancer.
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“When someone needs to pass urine out of the bladder, the valves fill up like a pair of sails and obstruct the flow of urine,” he said. “The valves are an abnormality that only serve as a blockage.”
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