The patient presented to the emergency department at Norton Audubon Hospital. He had been found at home, down in the bathroom. Incident details: May 3, 2021 47-year-old male arrived at Norton Audubon Hospital, 12:27 a.m. Norton Neuroscience Institute physicians: Vascular neurologist Mohammad S. Alsorogi, M.D. Endovascular neurosurgeon Tom L. Yao, M.D. Presenting complaint The patient…
Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, has opened its Fontan Clinic to provide follow-up care to children and adults who have undergone the third of a three-surgery series to treat a congenital single ventricle anomaly. The clinic is a passion for Joshua Kurtz, M.D., a pediatric interventional cardiologist at Norton…
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hybrid ablation as a treatment for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (A-fib), the most severe form of the condition affecting about 45% of A-fib patients. Hybrid ablation treats A-fib in procedures that combine endocardial radiofrequency ablation with epicardial ablation. The ablations create lesions that interrupt the faulty electrical…
When a newborn metabolic screen shows the possibility of an inherited genetic disorder in an infant in the western half of Kentucky, counselors at Norton Children’s Genetics Center, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, explain to families the results and what to expect next. Counselors at the University of Kentucky handle the eastern half…
Vicki L. Owczarzak, M.D., is a pediatric otolaryngologist at Norton Children’s ENT & Audiology, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, and an assistant professor at the medical school. Dr. Owczarzak also sees patients at the Norton Children’s Aerodigestive Disorders Clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic that pulls together board-certified, fellowship-trained physicians, therapists, nurses and other health…
In babies with single-ventricle anomalies, triggering their oral feeding motor skills in the first hours or days of life before their first surgery may reduce dependence on feeding tubes and lead to better outcomes. “Preoperative oral feeding may be a modifiable risk factor that can decrease time of postoperative feeding tube dependence,” Joshua Kurtz, M.D.,…
Children on Medicaid in Kentucky who experience asthma may have had a tougher time managing their symptoms following a payer-initiated formulary change that led to the use of a different inhaler device, according to a recent study. A formulary change undertaken in August 2016 by a Medicaid payer in Kentucky eliminated coverage of beclomethasone dipropionate,…
Early onset scoliosis is very different from adolescent idiopathic scoliosis — almost the opposite in many respects, according to Joshua W. Meier, M.D., pediatric orthopedic surgeon with Norton Children’s Orthopedics of Louisville, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis doesn’t develop until after age 10 or so. “Usually, these kids that you…
“Comprehensive Approach to Management of Multiple Sclerosis: Addressing Invisible Symptoms — A Narrative Review” was published recently in the journal Neurology and Therapy. The authors, which included Bryan Davis, Psy.D., Clinical Health Psychologist with Norton Neuroscience Institute, wrote about the importance of destigmatizing multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms that may not be visible to providers. Underlying…
Bracing can significantly decrease the progression of idiopathic adolescent scoliosis and can prevent the need for surgery in teenage patients who wear the brace for 16 to 18 hours a day, according to an orthopedic surgeon at Norton Children’s Orthopedics of Louisville, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. “Bracing is appropriate if the scoliosis…
John W. McConnell, M.D., recently joined Norton Pulmonary Specialists, but he has been a leading pulmonologist in Louisville for three decades, known for his work with pulmonary hypertension. Dr. McConnell is medical director of the Norton Healthcare Pulmonary Hypertension Program, which regularly participates in clinical trials that give patients access to the latest treatments for…
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have the potential to hasten recovery from lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spine conditions, with reduced in-hospital opioid consumption and improved postoperative pain scores, according to a study published recently in Global Spine Journal. ERAS, which includes preoperative counseling, nutritional and medical optimization, standardized pain management and anesthesia, and…