FOCUS TOPICS ONCOLOGY GENETICS OCTOBER 2015 / $5
Serving a 24 County Area, Including Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery & Tuscaloosa
On Rounds Ministering Through Medicine and Beyond As a family medicine doctor, Alisha Thompson Congress, DO, believes she’s got the best of all worlds in terms of her practice. With patients ranging in age from four months to 97 years old, her job involves a wide variety of people and experiences, and no two days are alike. And she’s convinced she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be. ... page 3
New Amniotic Allograft Storage Breakthrough Enriches Healing Potential By Steve Spencer
Each day, physicians discover more about the power of regenerative medicine, a game-changing specialty that uses biologics to regenerate human cells or tissues to help heal damaged organs. One biologic solution that is effective for wound and tissue healing is an amniotic allograft. In this case, a woman having a C-section can donate her placenta from which the amniotic membrane is derived. The amniotic membrane is rich in stem cells, proteins, and growth factors that are important to healing. In order for the amniotic al(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Treating Patients, Not Just a Disease Major medical centers around the country are beginning to embrace patient therapies that focus on the whole person, not just on disease. In 2010, the American Hospital Association stated that 42 percent of U.S. hospitals offered complementary therapies, and that number continues to grow ... page 5
Katie Mowry (left) and Howard Walthall hold Nutech’s storage solution for amniotic allografts.
New Device Can Replace Blood Thinners for Many Atrial Fibrillation Patients By Ann B. DeBellis
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The Watchman is implanted into the left atrial appendage.
A new treatment option for atrial fibrillation (AF) has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). The device, called the Watchman, offers these patients an alternative to taking blood thinners to prevent stroke. Alabama has the second-highest rate of death from stroke, and AF patients’ risk is five times higher, according to Jose Osorio, MD of Alabama Cardiovascular Group. The Watchman device, approved by the FDA in April, offers a safe and effective option for reducing that risk. “Until about five years ago, the only option we had to treat these patients was Coumadin,” Osorio says. “Then the first of a new class (CONTINUED ON PAGE 12)
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