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…
A new cystic fibrosis treatment is now available for children ages 6 to 11. The drug Trikafta was previously prescribed only to children 12 and older. In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved Trikafta (a three-drug combination of elexacaftor, ivacaftor and tezacaftor) after clinical trials with younger patients showed the treatment generally had the…
Victoria A. Statler, M.D., M.S., offers specialized care in a relatively new field: pediatric transplant infectious diseases. Dr. Statler, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, educates children undergoing solid organ and stem cell transplants and their caregivers on ways to avoid potentially dangerous infections….
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