Rimas V. Lukas, MD discusses the pathophysiology of Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) and its nervous system manifestations. He walks us through the clinical diagnostic criteria, the therapeutic management of CNS hemangioblastomas and endolymphatic sac tumors and how recent advances have increased our understanding of pathologies of VHL. He tells us about the VHL Clinic at Northwestern Medicine, what makes it unique, and what he and his colleagues are doing to advance the understanding and treatment of VHL.

S. Christopher Malaisrie, MD discusses recent advancements in open heart valve surgery, including minimally invasive access for cardiac surgery. His podcast also includes topics related to improvements in both tissue and mechanical valves, the indications for valve-in-valve procedures, and the benefits of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).

Mohammad Abbass MD shares his background and expertise in the area of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes and he examines recent developments and advances in the clinical management of the most commonly encountered hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes. He talks about how the quality of life is a primary outcome measure, he walks us through NM’s management decision-making process and he shares what he and his colleagues at Northwestern Medicine are doing to advance the understanding and management of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes.

In this episode of Better Edge, Anna Strohl, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discusses how surgical innovations have improved patient outcomes and safety for the treatment of gynecologic cancers.Related: Northwestern Medicine John I. Brewer Trophoblastic Disease Center is one of only two centers in the country dedicated to the treatment of gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD). Anna Strohl, MD shares how the establishment of the center has led to nearly one hundred percent cure rates and the development of the first-ever NCCN national care guidelines for GTD in a video.

Yara Mikhaeil-Demo, MD, discusses the use of the ketogenic diet, a restrictive high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, as a treatment for epilepsy, including its applicability and efficacy.

Each year, Northwestern Medicine Otolaryngology sees approximately 10,000 patients with sinusitis and performs more than 1,000 sinus surgical procedures using state-of-the-art technology.In this episode of Better Edge, Robert Kern, MD, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Northwestern Medicine discusses some of the emerging surgical procedures and biologic therapies and how the Northwestern Medicine Otolaryngology team collaborates with the Division of Allergy and Immunology to provide a comprehensive approach to treatment and management of severe chronic rhinosinusitis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the wellbeing of older adults. In this episode of Better Edge, Anna Liggett, MD, assistant professor of Geriatric Medicine, discusses the delicate balance many geriatricians are facing between keeping seniors safe and managing social isolation in long-term care facilities. She shares recommendations and details of a new initiative her team is launching to pair medical students and seniors in underserved areas together for phone conversations to help combat social isolation.Related: Read the study, "Reducing Social Isolation of Seniors during COVID-19 through Medical Student Telephone Contact," led by Lee Lindquist, MD, MPH, MBA and published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

Vikram Aggarwal, MD, discusses how the Northwestern Medicine Home Hemodialysis program has expanded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aggarwal describes the training program their team quickly activated, benefits of home hemodialysis, as well as a particularly complex case that required a rapid shift to home hemodialysis at the onset of the pandemic.Related: Aggarwal shares details of a patient who survived three heart transplants, multiple near-fatal infections, and a failed kidney transplant and then found herself also having to confront COVID-19. "This is one of the most challenging cases of home dialysis training I have seen in my 15 years of practice," says Aggarwal. Read more.

On average, there are between 25 and 50 million documented cases of influenza each year. With this in mind, the overlap of COVID-19 and influenza has many experts in the United States concerned that we may soon face two epidemics at the same time and that this combination could precipitate a crisis for our country's health system.In this episode of Better Edge, Benjamin Singer MD, pulmonologist and assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care joins to discuss the clinical management of these two illnesses, the critical protocols the Northwestern Medicine team is implementing to manage the situation, and more.Related: Read the editorial "COVID-19 and the next influenza season," written by Singer and published in Science Advances.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in North America. When detected early, it has very good survival outcomes. But when the cancer spreads outside of the uterus and into the lymph nodes, this cancer can become more deadly and cause a higher rate of re-occurrence. Edward Tanner, MD, chief of gynecologic oncology at Northwestern Medicine and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discusses the use of sentinel lymph node (SNL) mapping to diagnose and treat endometrial cancer.