Penn Medicine Physician Interviews

Giorgos Karakousis MD highlights retroperitoneal sarcoma. He shares the symptoms patients typically present with, the diagnostic criteria and treatment options for patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma. Additionally he shares what makes the Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center unique when it comes to diagnosing and treating retroperitoneal sarcoma and when it is important for physicians to refer their patients to Penn Medicine.

Genna Waldman M.D. discusses epilepsy in women. She shares parameters for diagnosis and criteria by which treatment would be initiated. She highlights how treatment for epilepsy has evolved over the last 10-20 years and some of the most exciting non surgical approaches to treatment.

The combination of a growing number of patients with end-stage renal disease and a shortage of organs poses a significant challenge to the transplant community. Donor shortage is associated with unfavorable consequences: prolonged waiting time, and compromised graft and patient survival. Efforts are required to expand the donor pool and get more patients to transplant, and sooner. Amanda Leonberg-Yoo MD and Robert Redfield III MD, FACS offer a roadmap of innovation in living donor kidney transplantation at Penn Medicine.

Dimitriy Petrov MD discusses the modern care approach to spine surgery. He highlights how the field of neurosurgery in spinal care has evolved dramatically in recent years, the latest technical advances in neurosurgery for spinal trauma and complex care at Penn Medicine and what distinguishes these technologies from the current standard of care in the region.

Lee Hartner MD discusses what factors community physicians should take into account when deciding which lumps and bumps to biopsy. He highlights some of the challenges that physicians and patients experience when certain lumps and bumps have been biopsied or removed before these patients are seen by the team and he shares how the expertise of Penn Medicine pathologists contributes to the best outcomes for sarcoma patients.

Peter Abt MD and Kim Olthoff MD discuss responsible expansion of liver transplantation. They offer the benefits of the Penn Liver Transplantation program and what they see as the single greatest challenge facing the field of liver transplantation today. Additionally, they share how Penn is finding innovative ways to increase access to deceased donor liver transplantation and the recommendations for timing of referral in liver transplantation

Bobby Ndu MD, MBA highlights minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery. He shares how minimally invasive surgery differs from traditional foot and ankle surgery, the benefits of these procedures and what makes Penn Orthopaedics unique when it comes to minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery.

Bill Jaffe MD and Jennifer Lloyd-Harris MD, MPH discuss aquablation and BPH treatment. They share how many of the existing treatments for BPH involve a tradeoff between efficacy and complications, who it is indicated for and what procedural or operative advantages Aquablation brings to BPH therapy. Additionally, they offer how this new treatment complements the total approach to BPH at Penn Urology.

While pregnancy is safe to undertake, there are specific risks for women with MS trying to conceive. Rachel Brandstadter, MD discusses these concerns and how can they be addressed for women with MS.

Additionally, she explains the services Penn Medicine offers along the way, strategies for management of MS in the postpartum period and what referring providers should be aware of before they refer a patient to the MS and women’s health specialists at Penn Medicine.

While the incidence of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has decreased, the incidence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) continues to rise.

Stuart Prenner MD explains the role of ejection fraction in heart failure diagnostics and the clinical indicators referring providers should be aware of when considering HFpEF. He explores the diagnostic strategies the team at Penn Medicine employ and the specific interventions recently approved, including SGLT2 inhibitors. Lastly, he shares how the HFpEF program at Penn Medicine has the ability to care for these patients with a multidisciplinary team.