Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Host Dr. Lee Freedman welcomes Dr. Gordon Baltuch, Director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery and Professor of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Baltuch discusses the future of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease and other debilitating brain health issues. Their areas of focus include indications for DBS, the right time for its application, and new technologies in the field.

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Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Brain tumors invoke great fear in the general populace, such that many patients interpret being diagnosed with brain cancer as akin to receiving immediate death sentences. But significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of these feared disorders that may improve patient outcomes. Dr. Steven Brem, Director of Neurosurgical Oncology, Co-Director of the Brain Tumor Center and Professor of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, joins host Dr. Lee Freedman to update clinicians on diagnostic technologies and the latest advancements in surgical and medical treatments for brain tumors.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Jean Bennett, MD, PhD

Host Dr. Lee Freedman and Dr. Jean Bennett, the FM Kirby Professor of Epistemology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, explore how the study of molecular genetics of inherited retinal degenerations can help develop treatments for congenital eye disorders, as well as adult-onset diseases and possibly disorders that affect the body outside the eye.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Jean Bennett, MD, PhD

Host Dr. Lee Freedman and Dr. Jean Bennett, the FM Kirby Professor of Epistemology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, explore how the study of molecular genetics of inherited retinal degenerations can help develop treatments for congenital eye disorders, as well as adult-onset diseases and possibly disorders that affect the body outside the eye.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Michelle Smith, MD

Dr. Michelle Smith, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Penn Medicine, discusses with host Dr. Lee Freedman her patients' fears about aneurysms. Dr. Smith talks about the studies she uses that typically show changes of the aneurysms over time in order to enable her to follow these aneurysms. They discuss aneurysm structure and the relationship to risk, along with new treatments for aneurysms.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Neil Malhotra, MD

How much do quality improvement efforts improve quality of life for neurosurgical patients? Host Dr. Lee Freedman talks to Dr. Neil Malhotra, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Neurological Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, about new efforts to improve outcomes in this area. They also look at latest treatments and techniques in Dr. Malhotra's area of surgical expertise, the treatment of degenerative disc disease.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Lawrence M. Levin, DMD, MD

Host Dr. Lee Freedman talks with Dr. Lawrence Levin, interim chair and associate professor of oral surgery and pharmacology, and chief of the division of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Penn Medicine, about oral and dental issues commonly seen in the physician's office. When should an oral surgeon get involved with patients suffering from sleep apnea? What do you need to know about dental implants and dentures. And what does milk have to do with treating dental injuries?

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Grace Wang, MD, FACS

Dr. Grace Wang, vascular surgeon in the division of vascular and endovascular surgery at Penn Medicine, discusses aortic disease from a surgeon's perspective, with host Dr. Lee Freedman. Among the topics they explore are the importance of history and physical exams, imaging modalities, genetic components, management of anneurisms, surveillance, outpatient and inpatient care.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Thomas Guzzo, MD, MPH

With 70,000 new cases each year in the US, bladder cancer is more common than many Americans may realize. As many as half of cases are caused by smoking, and many others are caused by environmental or occupational exposure. In determining appropriate treatment, staging and diagnosis are critical. Dr. Thomas Guzzo discusses the various treatment options with host Lee Freedman, with the overall goal to preserve quality of life. As a surgeon trained in a wide variety of surgical options, Dr. Guzzo discusses the advantages of each. He also discusses urinary diversions, including the neobladder.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD

Guest: Michael Ruckenstein, MD

In this week's Medical Breakthroughs from Penn Medicine, Dr. Michael Ruckenstein, director of the Center for Implantable Hearing Devices at Penn Medicine, discusses with host Dr. Lee Freedman the only human sense for which total loss can be medically restored: hearing. They talk about which patients with hearing loss might benefit from a cochlear implant instead of a hearing aid. And they'll explore what we know so far about personal music players' role in hearing loss.