Centennial Medical Center in the News

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• Endoscopic vein harvesting- January 10th, 2005 WSMV-TV-Dr. Ben Barton, Cardiothoracic surgeon
  Many patients are surprised to learn that a bypass operation may actually include two surgical procedures. Primarily, the by-pass surgery involves using a healthy blood vessel to "bypass" a damaged or blocked artery in the heart. The second procedure is the actual removal of a healthy blood vessel, typically the saphenous vein in the patient's leg, which will be used to construct the bypass. Recent advances in technology have made it possible to perform this second procedure in a new way, through endoscopic small incision surgery. Rather than make a large incision in the leg of a patient, surgeons now make one to three small, one inch long incisions in the patient's leg. Because this new procedure results in less muscle and tissue damage when harvesting the vein graft, this procedure may eliminate many of the complications associated with the former technique.
• Safer Sleep System in the Operating Room-Nashville Business Journal on February 8th, 2005-Anesthesiologist Dr. Dyer Rodes
  The Safer Sleep® system is designed to assist the anesthetists with the safe administration of drugs and collation of an integrated patient record during an anaesthetic procedure.  Centennial Medical Center is the first hospital in the U.S. to test this new system. The drug safety elements include the bar-coded drug labels, pre-filled syringes and flag labels as well as specifically designed trays to organize the drugs and provide visual check of the drugs administered. The drug barcode label can be swiped with a barcode reader and software produces a visual and auditory reminder of the drug about to be administered. The drug information is integrated with information collected from the anaesthetic monitor along other information input by the anesthetists. This provides an integrated time-related patient record of the patient during the anesthesia.
• eMar Technology-Barcodes save time and lives-Nashville City Paper on February 28th, 2005
  People are used to having the barcodes on their grocery items scanned at the supermarket.  But now the benefits could literally be lifesaving.  Centennial Medical Center is using barcode technology called Electronic Medication Administration Record (e-MAR) to keep track of patient information.  The barcodes located on a patient’s wrist band provide the same instant availability of information to hospital staff like the identity of the patient, the prescribed medications, the dosage amount, the time to be dispensed, and the way to be dispensed.
• Centennial offers School at Work program- Nashville Business Journal and the Tennessean-April 22nd, 2005
  Centennial Medical Center has joined other HCA hospitals in offering School at Work, a federally funded program to help people who want careers in health care but lack training and can’t go back to school because of jobs or caring for children.  Once participants get their high school equivalency certificate, they can sign up for another federally funded program through the hospital that offers not only scholarships but also money for child care and transportation to employees studying for health-care jobs.
• Female Urinary Incontinence- WSMV-TV, February 2nd, 2005 and  September in the Nashville Medical News and on Comcast Cable
  17 million men and women experience some form of urinary incontinence.  Urinary incontinence is the inability to control the release of urine.  It is not a disease, but a symptom of many conditions like childbirth or aging.  Unfortunately, only 1 in 12 persons with urinary incontinence seeks help.  Centennial Medical Center offers many new treatments that are effective.
• Does lack of sleep make you fat?- Thursday, April 28, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  Health reporter Terri Merryman interviewed Pattie Letson, a technician at Centennial’s Sleep Disorder Center about her connection with sleep apnea and obesity.  At a height of 5’5”, she weighed 259 pounds.  Adding to the problem, Patti hadn’t slept in years because she suffered from sleep apnea.  Patti knew she wasn’t the only woman suffering from lack of sleep.  In fact, only 37% of women recently surveyed said they get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.  Once Patti sought help for her sleep apnea, her cravings for rich food disappeared.  Dr. David Jarvis was also interview and expressed his wait and see theory.  “I’ll remain skeptical until there’s a little more data.”  Authors of the sleep/weight studies say even 20 more minutes of sleep a night can result in a lower body mass index.
• Metabolic Syndrome—Monday, May 2nd, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  Centennial Medical Center Endocrinologist Dr. Michael Carlson explained that Metabolic Syndrome isn’t a disease, but is a cluster of disorders of your body’s metabolism—including high blood pressure, high insulin levels, excess body weight and abnormal cholesterol levels—that make you more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease or stroke.
• New Treatment Option for Prostate Cancer—Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  Centennial Medical Center Radiologist Dr. James Gray performed the Southeast’s first new treatment for prostate cancer last month—the radioactive isotope Cesium-131 LDR (low dose radiation) brachytherapy seed.  The treatment has a significantly higher dose rate than current treatments, allowing for the delivery of more radiation in a shorter period of time to maximize its effectiveness and allow patients to return to normal activities sooner.  When placed inside or near a tumor, Cesium-131 seeds deliver radiation directly to cancer cells while reducing or eliminating damage to surrounding tissue.
• How Old Are Your Ovaries?- Friday, May 6th, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  Ovarian age predicts fertility potential.  According to Centennial Medical Center Fertility Expert Dr. George Hill, three tests, one with three measurements, reveal the answer.  Length, height, and width, while using a formula, computers the volume of the ovary.  The calculations are performed using an ultrasound image.  Looking at the same picture, follicles (the stalk shaped structures that hold eggs) are counted.
• Laparoscopic Surgery for Esophageal Cancer-Nashville Medical News, May 2005 Edition
  Drs. William H. Polk and John R. Roberts are the only surgeons in the Southeast who are performing laparoscopic surgery for esophageal cancer.  Although it’s not as common as other types of cancer, over 10,000 Americans are diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus each year!
• Lung Cancer-Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  The recent announcement of ABC-TV New Anchor Peter Jennings’ lung cancer diagnosis has increased public interest in the effectiveness of screening tests to detect and reduce mortality from lung cancer.  Dr. Anthony Greco of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute spoke about what smokers and former smokers should do if they are concerned they might develop lung cancer.  Dr. Greco’s lung cancer patient, Jackie Newby, was also interviewed on her involvement in the “first to man” drug trials being conducted by the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in hopes that these drugs can prolong and improve her life.
• Hybrid Hearts-Tennessean, Tuesday, May 10, 2005
  Centennial Medical Center Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Louis Brunsting and Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Douglas Waldo were featured as being the leaders in hybrid revascularization procedures for Tennessee and Southeast. During a hybrid revascularization procedure, surgeons perform a bypass operation and angioplasty during the same or in separate operations.  This procedure is usually performed without a heart-lung machine.  Conventional and minimally invasive approaches, like robotics, can be used to reach the heart.  The benefits to the patient include less pain, recovery time and scarring.
• Bariatric Baby-Monday, May 16th, 2005 on WSMV-TV Channel 4
  After years of trying—and failing—to get pregnant, 28-year-old Sarah Allgood Eads of Clarksville blamed her weight as one of the reasons for her not becoming pregnant.  At 5'8" and 300 pounds, Sarah knew that her extra 100 pounds not only dropped her chances of conceiving, but made it more likely she would have a high-risk pregnancy if she did.  Thanks to bariatric surgery, performed by Dr. Hugh Houston at the Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity, Sarah and her husband Bobby are now the proud parents of a little girl named Abby!  According to Dr. Houston, obesity can be a major cause on why some women cannot get pregnant.  Bariatric surgery not only provides individuals the ability to live a healthier life, but some women find it helps with their infertility problems as well.
• Transurethral Microwave Therapy for enlarged prostate- June 14th & 15th, WSMV-TV-Urologist Dr. Ernest Ross Smith Jr.
  Over 50% of men over the age of 60 suffer from an enlarged prostate.  Symptoms include difficult, frequent or urgent urination.  Centennial Medical Center now offers a successful treatment for this condition called Transurethral Microwave Therapy in which a small catheter is inserted through the urethra to reduce the amount of enlarged prostate tissue with microwave therapy.
• "Lizard Spit" drug helps Type II diabetics- June 2005 - WKRN-TV-Endocrinologist Dr. Michael Carlson
  Byetta is a new drug for Type II diabetics that are derived from a chemical found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a venomous lizard.  For years, scientists were fascinated by the lizard's need to only eat a few times a year and still survive.  The drug comes in a pre-filled pen-injector device.
• Liposelection dissolves unwanted fat-July 28th, 2005-WKRN-TV Channel 2-Plastic Surgeon-Dr. Nicholas Sieveking
  Liposelection ® is a new type of technology that breaks up and removes fatty tissue from the body.  Liposelection uses ultrasound energy to break up fat while leaving surrounding tissue-such as nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue-relatively intact.  Without damage to this tissue, patients experience little pain and achieve much smoother results than with traditional liposelection.
• Uterus Saver-Novasure® Ablation Therapy-WKRN-TV Channel 2-July, 2005-Dr. Erin Yu-OBGYN
  The NovaSure Impedance Controlled Endometrial Ablation System is a medical device approved to reduce or eliminate excessive menstrual bleeding due to benign causes in pre-menopausal women who have completed childbearing. The NovaSure System uses precisely controlled amounts of impedance controlled radio frequency energy to remove the endometrial lining of the uterus. On average, the duration of energy delivery is less than 90 seconds.