Surendra Basti, MD, and Robert S. Feder, MD, discuss the latest research and updates on femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLCS). They debate aspects of the controversy around this approach and whether there is a clear medical criterion for using the procedure.

Michael Terry MD examines eliminating opioid medications for postoperative pain control. He discusses his study and shares the multimodal approach used at Northwestern Medicine that significantly reduces the number of unused opioids circulating in the community.

In this episode, Bennet Butler, MD, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, delves into complex limb reconstruction. He discusses indications and patient selection as well as current techniques and future directions.

Laura J. Davidson, MD, MS describes the seriousness of tricuspid regurgitation and how the treatment option of transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement and repair, currently being evaluated via clinical trials, may revolutionize the care of these patients. She shares the evolution of this therapy, the indications for and how patients are evaluated for transcatheter tricuspid valve procedures.

Ranya N. Sweis, MD, MS describes the indications for treating severe aortic stenosis with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). She shares how the cardiovascular team at Northwestern Medicine continues to evolve TAVR therapies to include high-risk and low-risk patients, additional access points and valve-in-valve procedures. She also discusses the evolution of TAVR clinical trials including active, enrolling clinical trials.

Allison Hahr, MD, is the director of the Northwestern Medicine Bone Health and Osteoporosis Program and an associate professor in the Division of Endocrinology Metabolism and Molecular Medicine. In this episode of the Better Edge Podcast, she discusses the challenges of diagnosis, treatment and medication adherence for osteoporosis and osteopenia. She also shares emerging treatment options including a new class of therapeutics, a monoclonal sclerostin antibody called romosozumab, which is the first medication that is known to have a dual effect—it is both anabolic and antiresorptive.

In this episode of the Better Edge Podcast, Jane Winter, MD, professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discusses results from recent study published in the journal Blood. Findings showed that a brief course of immunotherapy resulted in complete and near complete remission in nearly two-thirds of previously untreated patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Over the past decade, rapid advancements in rehabilitative technology have dramatically expanded treatment options for our patients. Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital’s expert clinicians have been at the forefront of these advances helping to guide the clinical application of best practices. Additionally, Marianjoy is one of a select few clinical facilities in the nation to offer such a wide range of the latest technology featuring virtual reality, robotics and biofeedback–technology, including Armeo® Power, Ekso GT™ Bionic Exoskeleton, ZeroG® Gait and Balance Training System, and more. We are also one of five facilities in the nation and the only facility in Illinois designated as a Center of Excellence by Ekso Bionics.

In this episode, Marianjoy’s Anita Kou, MD, a double board-certified subspecialist practicing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury Medicine and fellowship-trained in Spinal Cord Medicine, and medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, and Stephanie Salentine, MS OTR/L, MOL, manager of rehabilitation services, explain how our leading-edge technologies are integrated into patient treatment plans, used for research and ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes.

In this episode of Better Edge, Northwestern Medicine's Lee Jampol, MD, the Louis Feinberg, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology, and Amani Fawzi, MD, the Cyrus Tang, and Lee Jampol Professor of Ophthalmology, both members of the DRCR Retina Network, discuss some of the exciting new developments in diagnosis and therapy for retinal diseases, including optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) for imaging, photobiomodulation for diabetic macular edema, and more.

A study led by Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of Neuro-infectious Disease and Global Neurology in the Department of Neurology, found that 32 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients experienced encephalopathy, leading to significantly worse outcomes. The Northwestern Medicine study, published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, is the first to examine the frequency and severity of neurologic manifestations in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States. In this episode of Better Edge, Koralnik, who also leads Northwestern Medicine's Neuro COVID-19 Clinic, explains the results of the study and discusses his clinic's unique approach to treating COVID-19 "long haulers."