flushing hospital Archives - Page 8 of 15

Is Bariatric Surgery Right For You?

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Michael Hinck

Obesity is a growing public health issue in our region. According to NYC.gov, more than half of New Yorkers are overweight, and nearly a quarter qualify as obese. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, reports that an estimated 23% of the population living in Queens is obese.

These rates are concerning because people who are obese are at an increased risk for developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart disease and some cancers. However, the good news is the risks associated with many of these conditions can be significantly reduced by losing weight.

Diet and exercise are highly recommended methods of weight loss but they may not be enough to yield significant results for those who are obese. Bariatric surgery offers an extremely effective weight loss solution for people who have tried and failed to lose weight by way of diet and exercise. Additionally, it has been shown to help improve several obesity-related health conditions.

The two most popular bariatric surgeries are the sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass procedures. In the sleeve gastrectomy operation a large portion of the stomach is removed and a smaller, new stomach in the shape of a tube or “sleeve” is created. During bypass surgery, a new small stomach pouch is created, and a section of the small bowel is bypassed. These surgeries are usually done through small incisions either laparoscopically or using the da Vinci surgical robot, ensuring a minimally invasive approach. Both surgeries offer excellent long term results and positive outcomes in most patients.

With this is in mind, it is important to understand that bariatric surgery is a major operation, no matter which procedure is chosen. Bariatric surgery is not an easy way out. It is an important decision to be made under strict physician supervision and with the support of loved ones. The process is immersive and takes approximately 4-5 months of supervised dieting and being seen by multiple specialties for approval.

Although bariatric surgery is considered safe, it is very important that patients understand the risks of surgery. As with most major surgical procedures, the risks can include bleeding or other complications.

For those who would like to explore non-surgical weight loss procedures, there are options such as the FDA-approved Obalon Balloon System. This involves three air filled balloons inserted via a swallowed capsule. The patient is given no anesthesia and most people return to work the same day. The balloons stay in for six months after which they are removed via endoscopy. The procedure is generally very well tolerated with some side effects such as nausea and cramping. Studies have shown weight loss to continue beyond removal and many patients lose significant amount of weight.

When deciding which procedure is best for you, it is recommended that you receive an expert consultation with a surgeon. Your physician can assess your health which can lead to the decision on which surgery is suitable for your needs.

To ensure the highest quality care and maximize your chances of a successful weight loss procedure, it is recommended that you receive treatment at a “Bariatric Center of Excellence”, such as Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

Flushing Hospital is the only Center of Excellence in Queens. The process to reach this designation is arduous and ensures that the center and the surgeons are of the highest quality and preparedness. Surgical outcomes are measured very strictly and the capability of both the surgeons and the center must be of the highest caliber when compared nationally.

To make an appointment, please call 718-408-6977.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

What is a Goiter ?

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Andrew Rubin

A goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland which is a butterfly shaped gland that is found at the base of the neck. It is responsible for producing hormones that control metabolism that regulate the amount of calcium in the blood.

There are a few reasons a goiter may develop. The main cause of a goiter is a lack of iodine in the diet. That is why certain foods are supplemented with iodine, such as iodized salt which is commonly used. Other causes are Grave’s disease which occurs when the thyroid produces too much of its T3 and T4 hormone or an underproduction of the same hormones, known as Hashimoto’s disease.

An enlarged thyroid gland can also be caused by thyroid cancer, pregnancy, menopause, exposure to radiation, aging, and being female. Eating large amounts of certain foods such as soybeans, rutabagas, cabbage, peaches, peanuts and spinach can also cause a goiter to form.

A goiter may or may not cause symptoms, but when it does present as:

Swelling at the base of the neck
Coughing
Hoarseness
Difficulty swallowing
Problems breathing
Tightness in the throat

Diagnosing a problem with the thyroid gland can be done with an ultrasound, a blood test to check hormone levels, an antibody test, a biopsy and a thyroid scan using radioactive isotopes are injected into the blood to see if they are taken up by the gland.

Depending on its cause, a goiter may be treated with iodine supplements, medication, or may require a surgical procedure.

If you suspect that you may be having an issue with your thyroid, you should see your physician as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment with a physician at Flushing Hospital Medical Center please call 718-670-5486.

Itchy Ears

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Michael Hinck

Have you ever had an itch in your ear and gone to someone older in your family to find out why? If the answer is yes, you may have heard that itching ears mean that someone is talking about you.

With all due respect to those spreaders of old wives’ tales, there is probably a more credible medical reason why our ears itch on occasion. The hard part is figuring out which of the many possible conditions or habits is causing this reaction.

Identifying the culprit can lead to appropriate treatment for itchy ears. Here are some potential causes:

Psoriasis – Pain or itching on the skin on or around your ear might be an indication of psoriasis, a relatively common skin condition. If this is the case, you might notice a buildup of rough, dry, red patches or scales in the external area of your ear that can itch or hurt. There are a variety of treatment options including topical medications or steroids.
Skin allergies – The skin inside your ears can itch because of an allergic reaction to something that is applied in or near your ear. A new hair product may be the culprit and earrings that contain nickel have also been known to cause an allergic reaction. Be mindful whenever introducing anything new to your skin and stop using it if you believe it is the cause.
Food allergies – Similar to reactions from skin contact, some might have an allergic reaction to something they ate, causing their ears to itch. Certain fruits, vegetables, or tree nuts are the most common sources of food allergies. A doctor can test for the source of a food allergy, determine the severity and prescribe the appropriate medication.
Hay fever – This condition, also known as allergic rhinitis, occurs when individuals have allergic reactions to particles commonly found in the atmosphere. These particles range from animal fur to dust mites and pollen. Experiencing itchy ears along with watery eyes and a runny nose is not uncommon among hay fever sufferers.
Infections – Itchy ears can sometimes be a sign of an ear infection. Bacteria and viruses cause them, usually when you have a cold or the flu. One kind of infection, swimmer’s ear, can happen when water stays in your ear after you swim. To stop the itch, you’ll need to treat the infection, possibly with ear drops or antibiotics.
Improper cleaning – Placing cotton swabs into your ears can inflame your ear canal and leave you itching. Pins, paper clips, matchsticks, and your fingers can also scratch the skin inside your ears, making it easy for bacteria to enter and cause an infection. Excessive ear wax build-up can also cause your ears to itch. Your doctor can remove excessive wax using special instruments.

Regardless of the reason you are experiencing itchy ears, it is important to be mindful of any changes in your diet or environment and share that information with your doctor so he or she can prescribe the correct course of treatment. Our Department of Internal Medicine offers allergy and immunology services to help in diagnosing allergies.

To make an appointment at Flushing Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Center, please call 718-670-5486. We’ll help you to get to the bottom of your problem with itchy ears so that you can feel your best—and hear your best—from one day to the next.

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Andrew Rubin

The rotator cuff is located in the shoulder and is made up of a group of muscles and tendons that serve to keep the upper arm bone firmly attached into the shoulder socket.

Injuries to the rotator cuff are typically associated with repetitive movement that requires overhead motion of the shoulder. People who are susceptible to rotator cuff injuries are baseball pitchers, painters, tennis players, construction workers and seniors. There also may be a family history factor that can make a person susceptible to this type of injury.

Rotator cuff injuries can be divided into three categories. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons in the shoulder caused by overuse. Bursitis is an inflammation of the fluid filled sacs that are located between the bone and the tendons. Strains and tears of the rotator cuff are caused by an overstretching of the tendons that attach the muscles to the bone.

Signs and symptoms of a rotator cuff injury include:

A dull ache in the shoulder
Difficulty sleeping on the affected side
Arm weakness
Difficulty reaching behind the back
A popping sound when moving the shoulder
Limited range of shoulder motion

One way to prevent a rotator cuff injury is to do stretching exercises every day to keep the muscles and tendons in good condition.

Diagnosing a rotator cuff injury involves a thorough history and physical exam ,an x-ray to see if there is a bone problem or either an ultrasound or MRI.

Failure to treat a rotator cuff injury could eventually lead to loss of mobility in the shoulder and degeneration of the shoulder joint. Treatment of a rotator cuff injury depends on the severity and nature of the problem. Short term use of an over the counter anti-inflammatory may help the symptoms. If the problem is caused by repetitive movement over a period of time, physical therapy which includes either applying heat or ice to the area and strengthening exercises may be one way to help the symptoms. A cortisone injection to the area will help to reduce the inflammation and usually that will help reduce the discomfort too. However, if there is a tear of a tendon, surgery may be required.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with an orthopedist at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-670-5486.

Learn the Facts About Addison’s Disease

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Michael Hinck

Just above each of our kidneys lie our adrenal glands. These glands are part of our endocrine system and are responsible for producing the hormones Cortisol and Aldosterone which help us to convert food into energy, maintain our immune system, and regulate our potassium and blood pressure levels.

When the adrenal glands become damaged they can affect our ability to generate a sufficient amount of these hormones, which could lead to a rare auto-immune disorder called Addison’s disease. This condition affects one in 100,000 people and can occur in all age groups and both sexes.

While damage to your adrenal glands is the cause of over 70% of the diagnosed cases of Addison’s disease, long lasting infections, such as tuberculosis, HIV, or fungal infections can also lead to its onset. Addison’s disease may also develop after cancer cells spread from other parts of the body to the adrenal glands.

Addison’s disease symptoms usually develop slowly, often over several months, and may include:

Extreme fatigue
Weight loss and decreased appetite
Darkening of your skin (hyperpigmentation)
Low blood pressure, even fainting
Salt craving
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
Nausea, diarrhea or vomiting
Abdominal pain
Muscle or joint pains
Irritability
Depression
Body hair loss or sexual dysfunction in women

Because symptoms of Addison’s disease progress slowly, they may go unrecognized until a physically stressful event, such as another illness, surgery, or an accident, worsens symptoms quickly. When this happens, it’s called an Addisonian crisis. For one in four people with Addison’s disease, this is the first time they realize they are ill. An Addisonian crisis is considered a medical emergency because it can be fatal.

While Addison’s disease can be life threatening if not treated, those with it can live normal lives if they comply with a treatment plan that includes strict medication management.

Bone and Joint Action Week Begins Today Learn More About the Many Different Types of Bone and Joint Disorders

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Michael Hinck

Beginning on October 12^th and ending on October 20^th, the world recognizes Bone and Joint Action Week, a global, multidisciplinary initiative promoting the care of persons with bone and joint disorders. This initiative focuses on improving quality of life and advancing the understanding and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions through research, prevention, and education.

Bone and joint conditions are the most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of people. Over half of Americans suffer from some form of a musculoskeletal condition, such as back pain, arthritis, traumatic injuries, osteoporosis, spinal deformity, and childhood conditions. One in three people require medical care for these conditions.

Musculoskeletal conditions can lead to significant disability plus diminished productivity and quality of life and the prevalence of these conditions is predicted to increase greatly due to increasing life expectancy and changes in risk factors.

To help raise awareness on the many different types of bone and joint disorders, this week-long event highlights five of the most common types of bone and joint disorders and provides a specific recognition day for each. The week includes the following recognition days:

October 12 – World Arthritis Day
October 16 – World Spine Day
October 17 – World Trauma Day
October 19 – World Pediatric Bone and Joint (PB&J) Day
October 20 – World Osteoporosis Day

Flushing Hospital supports this effort to raise awareness about bone and joint diseases. For more information about Bone and Joint Action Week, visit the US Bone and Joint Initiative at https://www.usbji.org/

Baby-Led Weaning is a New Way of Feeding Your Baby – Learn More About it

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Michael Hinck

Every parent remembers when they first introduced their baby to solid foods. This momentous occasion of spoon-feeding them pureed food is considered a major milestone for babies and their parents.

Today however, more and more parents are opting to skip the applesauce and mashed sweet potatoes and instead are adopting a new feeding technique called “baby-led weaning” ( or BLW) for their babies. This alternative approach to feeding, first introduced in the UK a decade ago, involves introducing solid chunks of foods much earlier on by placing them on the baby’s high chair and letting them grasp the food and feed themselves directly. As the name implies, feeding time is led by the baby as they determine the pace and the amount of food they consume; basically, baby-led weaning puts the baby in charge.

While children all develop at different paces, advocates of baby-led weaning agree that this method of eating shouldn’t be introduced until the baby is ready. Cues to begin BLW include making sure that your baby can sit up straight unassisted, have good neck strength and be able move food to the back of their mouth with up and down jaw movements. Most babies develop these skills by the sixth month, but some babies may not fully develop them until they are nine months old.

Proponents of BLW believe that it holds many benefits, including enhancing baby’s hand-eye coordination and other fine motor skills, including using their thumb and index finger to grasp their food. They also feel that it will produce healthier eaters than spoon-fed babies because BLW eaters get to choose how much they eat as opposed to traditional feeding methods, which sometimes results in force feeding. Other advantages that BLW supporters claim to be true is that it creates a more enjoyable feeding experience for babies and less stress on their parents.

Detractors of baby-led weaning feeders point out that these babies are generally underweight as compared to spoon-fed babies because they simply do not ingest that much when they are first introduced to this way of eating due to difficulties grabbing food. BLW babies also tend to be iron-deficient because they aren’t consuming the iron-fortified cereals that spoon–fed babies typically eat. Lastly, a big concern for many parents is the increased choking hazards associated with BLW, and while the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t have opinion of BLW, they do state that babies are ready for solid food once they are ready to sit up on their own and bring their hand to their mouth.

If you are considering baby led weaning for your child, here are a few tips:

Continue breast feeding and / or formula feeding as this will continue to be your baby’s biggest source of nutrition until they are 12 months old.
Begin BLW feedings with softer foods, such as ripe fruits, cooked egg yolks, and shredded meats, poultry and fish.
Avoid foods that can pose as choking hazards, such as nuts, grapes, popcorn, or foods cut into coin shapes, like hot dogs.
Do not leave your child unattended during BLW feeding times. Continue to supervise and socialize with them while they eat and to have them eat when the rest of the family does.
Don’t panic if your baby gags as it is a safe a natural reflex. Instead of overreacting, prepare for a choking event by familiarizing yourself with the infant-specific Heimlich maneuver.
Introduce new foods one at a time to pinpoint potential food allergies. A recommended length of time is three to four days between foods.
The goal of BLW is to let your baby explore eating at their own pace. This may include the smashing, smearing, or dropping of food, so prepare for a mess.

Before you decide to adopt BLW to your child, it is a good idea to discuss with your child’s pediatrician as it may not be a good idea for all babies, especially those babies with known developmental delays or neurological issues.

To make an appointment with a pediatrician at Flushing Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Center, please call 718-670-5486.

Astigmatism

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Andrew Rubin

The eyeball is supposed to be perfectly round, but when it isn’t, it is called astigmatism. The condition is due to an improper curvature of the cornea, which is the front of the eye, or the lens, which is found inside the eye. When either or both of these structures isn’t correctly shaped, light passing through the eye onto the cornea at the back of the eye, will not produce a sharp image.

Astigmatism is a fairly common disorder. Many people are born with it, but it can also be caused by an injury to the eye, an eye disease, or after eye surgery. A thorough eye exam performed by an eye doctor will be able to diagnose if it is present and how severe it is.

Symptoms of astigmatism include:

Eyestrain
Headaches
Blurry vision
Frequent squinting

Astigmatism is treated by prescribing eyeglasses or contact lenses. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary. If you would like to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor at Flushing Hospital, please call 718-670-5486.

Can Smoking Affect Your Ability to Conceive?

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Michael Hinck

There are many awareness campaigns designed to urge people to quit smoking. Some of these messages attempt to educate smokers about the many dangers smoking can have on your health or the health of your unborn child, but did you know that if you smoke, it can affect your ability to even have a baby?

There have been multiple studies to support the theory that smoking has an adverse effect on fertility. Research has found that the prevalence of infertility is higher, and the time it takes to conceive is longer in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. It has also been proven that smoking can affect every stage of the reproductive process in both sexes because the chemicals in cigarettes can cause damage to both male sperm and female eggs.

In women, smoking can lead to many fertility problems, including:

Problems with the fallopian tubes, including blockages (preventing egg and sperm from meeting) and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.
Damage to the eggs as they develop in the ovaries.
Increased risk of miscarriage, possibly due to damaged eggs, damage to the developing fetus, or unfavorable changes in the uterine lining, which may make healthy implantation of an embryo less likely.

In addition, smoking can cause a woman’s eggs to age prematurely, leading to an earlier onset of menopause and a shorter window to conceive.

But men should be equally concerned about how smoking can affect their chances of conceiving a child. Studies have concluded that smoking affects sperm in a variety of ways, including:

Concentration, which refers to the number of sperm found in a measured quantity of semen. Studies have shown a 23 percent decrease in sperm concentration in men who smoke.
Mobility, which measures the swimming capabilities sperm. If sperm cannot swim properly, they may have trouble reaching the egg.
Morphology, which relates to the shape of the sperm. Non-smokers have more healthy shaped sperm, which have a better chance to fertilize an egg.
DNA damage, which can lead to problems with fertilization, embryo development, embryo implantation, and increased miscarriage rates.

The good news is that the damage done to both the male and female reproductive system as a result of smoking is reversible. For men, it takes approximately three months for new, healthy sperm to mature. For women, quitting smoking can improve natural fertility within less than a year.

If you want to have a baby, but you are a smoker, quit now! If you need help, Flushing Hospital Medical Center offers smoking cessation services to help you. For more information, please call 718-206-8494.

Wisdom Teeth

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Andrew Rubin

Wisdom teeth, also referred to as the third set of molars, are the last set of teeth to develop. They form in the back of the mouth on the upper and lower jaw. Most people’s wisdom teeth surface when they are teenagers or young adults.

Wisdom teeth can become a problem when they fail to grow in proper alignment with the rest of our teeth. When these teeth are not growing in correctly, it is referred to as being impacted. A tooth that is impacted may have only broken through the gum partially, or not at all. This can lead to infection, pain, tooth decay, gum disease and crowding of the teeth that are adjacent.

The signs and symptoms of an impacted wisdom tooth include:

Tenderness of the jaw
Bad breath
Bleeding gums
Swollen gums
Problems opening the mouth

Wisdom teeth that are impacted can’t be prevented. The best way to monitor for a potential problem is to have regular oral check-ups and an x-ray of the mouth every year. Not all wisdom teeth are going to be impacted, but when they are, and if symptoms develop, your dentist may want to remove them to prevent potential infections, disruption of the other teeth, and also to prevent further discomfort.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with a dentist at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, you may call 718-670-5522