Rounding at Rush

Physiatry Care and Cancer Rehabilitation in the RUSH Cancer Center with Obada Obaisi, MD

Whether cancer patients are newly diagnosed, currently receiving treatment or having completed treatment, the role of a physiatrist is to optimize their function and quality of life. While physiatry has grown in its incorporation in cancer care nationwide, RUSH is one of a small number of hospitals offering dedicated physical medicine and rehabilitation care for its cancer patients.

Obada Obaisi, MD, is an assistant professor in the RUSH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is the director of cancer rehabilitation at RUSH University Medical Center.

“My role [as a physiatrist] is to maintain or restore function, minimize symptom burden, maximize independence and ultimately improve quality of life for cancer survivors. Cancer rehabilitation involves a large, multidisciplinary team that includes myself, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, dieticians and psychologists. I often tell patients I'm their quarterback for their function, so I can help identify which of these services the patient may need and coordinate with them based on their impairments.”

CME Link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/488832/

Critical Limb Ischemia Management and Limb Salvage with Kumar Madassery, MD

Critical limb ischemia is the end stage of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). With early detection and intervention of PAD, RUSH providers can prevent critical limb ischemia and major amputation for patients. RUSH is one of the only academic medical centers in Chicago and the Midwest to perform complex revascularization to restore blood flow and salvage limbs.

Kumar Madassery, MD, is the director of the Peripheral Vascular Interventions and Critical Limb Ischemia Program in the RUSH University System for Health. He is also an associate professor of Vascular Interventional Radiology and is the director of the Advanced Vascular Interventional Radiology Fellowship at RUSH.

“One providers specialize in treating patients with peripheral arterial disease that has progressed where they need some type of surgical or endovascular intervention. Over the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen an exponential growth of revascularization strategies and techniques that have helped to save patients from amputation.”

CME Link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/488817/ 

RUSH’s Advanced Diagnostic and Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer with Edward Cherullo, MD

Clinicians in the RUSH Department of Urology are some of the country’s leading laparoscopic and robotic surgeons who offer patients the most advanced diagnostic capabilities for diagnosing urologic cancers, including prostate cancer. Once a timely, accurate diagnosis has been made, RUSH urologists create tailored treatment plans that leverage leading-edge treatments to improve patient outcomes and their quality of life.

Edward Cherullo, MD, is a urologist and the chief of the Department of Urology at RUSH University Medical Center. Under his leadership, Dr. Cherullo has expanded the Department’s efforts to provide comprehensive subspeciality care that incorporates the latest minimally invasive technologies. As a result, the Department of Urology is a regional and national leader of urologic care and is currently ranked No. 14 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

“Prostate cancer is a very infiltrative cancer, which can be invisible on CT scan and even standard MRI. The advanced diagnostic technologies we use allow us to see the prostate gland in detail, including some of its metabolic activity and the cancer with 85 to 90% accuracy, which is good. That accuracy helps us make more accurate decisions regarding treatment.”

CME link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/487011/

The DRAGON Trials: Next Generation Liver Cancer Care with Erik Schadde, MD

The DRAGON 1 and 2 trials are large, multicenter, international trials that are evaluating the use of combined portal and hepatic vein, or double vein, embolization, to treat advanced liver cancer and metastases. Double vein embolization has the potential to become a new standard of care that could provide patients with life-extending and even life-saving treatment.

Erik Schadde, MD, FACS, FEBS (HPB), a transplant surgeon at RUSH University Medical Center, spearheaded the creation of the trial and has been at the center of some crucial discoveries in the use of double vein embolization.

“Sometimes liver tumors are so big or there are so many that you have very little liver left in the body if you want to remove them. In the past, those tumors haven’t been resectable. But we’ve actually found that you can grow the liver, so even very small liver remnants can now serve as a future liver remnant. Double embolization is an exciting new method that’s allowing us to do that.”

CME Link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/486727

Breast Cancer Treatment and Surgical Reconstruction at RUSH with Rosalinda Alvarado, MD, and Deana Shenaq, MD

RUSH University System for Health has a high-volume program for breast cancer treatment and reconstruction, incorporating a multidisciplinary approach that involves our plastic surgery, surgical oncology and medical oncology teams. This approach ensures our patients are treated with a coordinated, individualized care plan. RUSH also performs a wide range of leading-edge implant and flap breast reconstruction procedures after mastectomy or lumpectomy.

Rosalinda Alvarado, MD, is a breast surgeon experienced in breast conserving surgery, mastectomy including nipple-sparing mastectomy, oncoplastic surgery, sentinel node biopsy and breast cancer prevention and risk reduction.

Deana Shenaq, MD, specializes in both implant-based and autologous reconstruction after breast cancer and in microvascular techniques for lymphedema treatment, including lymph node transfer and lymphovenous bypass procedures.

“It’s very important that Dr. Alvarado does what she needs to do to get the cancer out safely and have a negative margin,” says Dr. Shenaq. “My main goal is not only to prevent recurrence, but also to do the reconstruction in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.”

CME link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/486749

Comprehensive Stroke Care at RUSH with Rima Dafer, MD

The RUSH University System for Health is nationally recognized for its delivery of timely, effective stroke care and expertise in treating some of the most complex stroke cases. Within the past year, three multidisciplinary subspecialty clinics were opened at RUSH to provide an even greater level of specialty stroke care for patients.

Rima Dafer, MD, is a vascular neurologist and the director of the Comprehensive Outpatient Cerebrovascular Diseases Clinic at RUSH University Medical Center. She has been a principal investigator on numerous clinical trials in acute stroke intervention and secondary stroke prevention. Her clinical interests center around stroke occurrence in young adults and the association of stroke and atrial fibrillation.

“Our stroke-cardiology and stroke-neurosurgery clinics provide patients with a personalized individualized care plan tailored to their unique needs depending on their condition. And our stroke prevention clinic plays such an important role in helping patients understand very simple risk factors that aid in primary stroke prevention.”

 

CME link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/486244

The RUSH Acoustic Neuroma Program with Mark Wiet, MD

Led by Mark Wiet, MD, the RUSH Acoustic Neuroma Program offers personalized specialty care for patients with acoustic neuroma, a benign and often slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear and the brain. The program brings together specialists in neurotology, neurosurgery, radiation oncology, neuro-oncology, neuroradiology, audiology and physical therapy, who have extensive expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of this rare condition.

Dr. Wiet is the head of the section of otology, neurotology and lateral skull base surgery at RUSH University Medical Center. Board certified in otolaryngology and neurotology, he specializes in the comprehensive management of acoustic neuroma and lateral skull base tumors, pediatric and adult implantable hearing devices, including cochlear implants and bone anchor hearing aids and pediatric and adult general otology. 

“We offer all of the broad treatment options for acoustic neuroma--observation, radiation and surgery--and because of that, we offer an unbiased opinion of care. We have a full complement of providers all working together to help patients achieve their best possible outcome.”

 

 CME link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/486241/

Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Treatments at RUSH with R. Webster Crowley, MD

As the no. 3 ranked neurology and neurosurgery program in the country, RUSH University Medical Center is at the forefront of providing leading edge care and participating in pathfinding neuro-interventional research. At the center of this work is R. Webster Crowley, MD, who discusses Rush’s use of the CorPath robotic system, Woven EndoBridge Embolization System and the RIST catheter.

He is the chief of the Section of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery, as well as the surgical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center. He is also the director of the Endovascular Neurosurgery Fellowship and his research interests include stroke, aneurysm treatment, pseudotumor cerebri and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

“We were one of the first programs to use the CorPath endovascular robot, which is used to diagnose cerebral angiograms, but has the potential for broader interventional uses with aneurysm and stroke treatment in the future. Rush also performed the first surgery in the world using the RIST catheter, which helps neurosurgeons access cerebral aneurysms with a better safety profile. Our neuro interventional program allows us to expand the ways that patients have access to the latest minimally invasive care.”

 

CME Credit link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/485661 

RUSH’s Multidisciplinary Approach in Treating Polyvascular Disease with Faisal Hasan, MD

Polyvascular disease is the presence of atherosclerosis in more than one arterial bed. While it is not a new phenomenon, polyvascular disease has been brought to the forefront in recent years through the expansion of clinical and research endeavors that include non coronary atherosclerosis, specifically lower extremity peripheral artery disease and cerebrovascular disease. The relevance of polyvascular disease is centered on its associated heightened risk for cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.

Faisal Hasan, MD, FACC, FSCAI, is the Clinical Division Chief of Cardiology at RUSH University Medical Center and the Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Service Line at RUSH. Dr. Hasan is also an associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, at Rush Medical College whose recent work has focused on investigating outcomes in patients who present with myocardial infarction and have coexisting polyvascular disease.

“[In treating polyvascular disease], the patient is at the center of the care management team and all care providers, regardless of their subspecialty, come together and unify to treat these complex patients. We have noticed that this kind of collaborative approach leads to improved coordination of care leading to better patient outcomes.”

CME credit link: https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/485203

RUSH’s Use of 3-D Printed Models and Hybrid Cold Plasma in Orthopedic Oncology with Steven Gitelis, MD

The RUSH Cancer Center has a deep commitment to accelerating innovations that bring cutting edge research to the bedside. Two examples of those innovations that Steven Gitelis, MD, and RUSH have an active role in developing are 3-D printed models, which can help to preserve healthy tissue when treating benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors, and hybrid cold plasma, which can help stop the recurrence of cancer after surgery.

Steven Gitelis, MD, is a highly regarded expert in the area of orthopedic oncology and limb reconstruction and currently serves as the Director of Musculoskeletal Oncology at the RUSH Cancer Center and the Director of the RUSH Center for Limb Preservation. He has been repeatedly voted as one of Chicago’s best doctors by Chicago Magazine and one of America’s top doctors by Castle Connolly. 

“Any patient who has bone cancer where you’re trying to do limb salvage and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible, they are all good candidates for 3-D printed technology. The laboratory efficacy is well established in modeling, but we’re all anxious to see the clinical outcomes and prove that these patients have better function, which is my hope and expectation.”

CME credit link:
https://cmetracker.net/RUSH/Publisher?page=pubOpenSub#/event/485026