26 - CAPE GAZETI, Friday, February 23 - February 29, 1996
]00|ealth & Fitness
High tech lithotdpsy unit allows surgery avoidance
By Kerry Kester
When Ed Springer, 58, started
feeling intense pain in his
abdomen, he thought it would
pass. "It started with a burning
pain in the back," said Springer.
"It turned into a pretty severe pain
that moves down toward the testi-
cles. The pain just doesn't quit.
"It hurts so bad, you get clam-
my. I was very nauseous," he
said. The pain lasted for about a
half hour, he said, and when he
could no longer tolerate it, he had
to go to the emergency room at
Beebe Medical Center.
Once there, his blood was test-
ed, he had x-rays, and a physician
prescribed a pain killer. He went
home, continued taking the pain
killers, but soon even that didn't
help. "It wouldn't touch it," he
said. By that time, tests results
showed that Springer had kidney
stones. The pain was a result of
his kidney not being able to drain
properly.
R. U. Hosmane, the-urologist
who is Springer's physician,
ordered a procedure called
lithotripsy to treat the kidney stone
problem. "There's no cutting
involved," said Hosmane, of
Beebe's state-of-the art Dornier
MFL 5000 lithotripsy unit.
The machine, explained Hos-
mane, uses shock waves to crush
the stones.
"Then he
passes them
[through the
urinary
tract]," he
said. "It's
usually about
3,000 shocks."
The shocks, he
explained rise
SPRINGER
up from
beneath the patient, who rests
above a small pad that emits the
shock waves. The shocks are
timed with the heart rate.
Technicians and physicians con-
stantly monitor the patient through
equipment similar to x-rays, that
provide the professionals with
exact information about the loca-
• tion of the stones, progress being
made, and the patient's condition.
"Before this, we had to operate,"
said Hosmane. "It was more inva-
sive."
The entire procedure lasts only
about an hour, Hosmane said.
Patients are sedated, because the
shocks themselves can cause pain.
However, for most patients it is an
outpatient procedure, which
means there is less hospitalization
and less recovery time.
The lithotripsy unit is contained
• in a mobile unit, so several hospi-
tals are able to access the proce-
dure without having to buy the
costly machine. Because Beebe
allows other healthcare facilities
to access the machine, it is not
only providing its patients with the
technologically advanced treat-
ment option, it is also containing
its cost.
Hosmane said kidney stones are
generally caused by an improper
diet. People should reduce animal
protein, salt and caffeine intake, he
said. "An we don't drink enough
liquid," said Hosmane.
Kidney stones may develop in a
person of any age, although gener-
ally the. problem develops in peo-
ple who are in their twenties or
more. Hosmane said those who
have kidney stones are also likely
to have them again. "Most people
have recurrent stones," he said.
Alzheimer's advisory 1)oarc., support group
now up and running t bJ, bt ssex residents
The Delaware Chapter of the
Alzheimer's Association is
expanding programs and services
to Kent and Sussex County during
1996.
The expansion will include
developing new support groups in
both counties, targeting communi-
ties such as Lewes, Milford and
Millsboro; expanding the Respite
Care In-Home Financial Assis-
tance Program; promoting the
"Safe Return" lost patient national
identification registry program;
and developing the Kent/Sussex
County Advisory Board to assess
and serve the needs of Alzheimer
patients, caregivers and families in
those areas.
On Feb. 7, a meeting was held at
Grace United Methodist Church in
Millsboro under the guidance of
Dr. Dan Rich, pastor of the
church. Andrea Carr, executive
director of flae Delaware Chapter,
caregivers and business leaders
outlining the need to expand ser-
vices and address the concerns
and needs of the southern region's
Alzheimer's families.
Through the assembly, a new
support group has been formed
which will meet at the Grace unit-
ed Methodist Church, the third
Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m.
The first meeting of the group will
be held on Tuesday, March 19.
Kerry Kester photos
Above, Robert Wiltshire, anesthesiologist, prepares a
patient who is about to undergo Hthotrlpsy, a treatment for
crushing kidney stones.
Below, Beebe Medical Center urologist, R.U. Hosmane,
shows the pad that rests beneath a patient who undergoes
Hthotripsy. The procedure crushes kidney stones, which the
patient can later pass through the urinary tract. The high.
tech procedureis an alternative to surgery.
It is the screaming of our body
to our mind. Pain hurts. It will
not be ignored. It is first and fore-
most a symptom - the body's
alarm system.
There are two types of pain,
acute and chronic. Acute pain is
nature's alert that something is
wrong and may require attention,
such as falling down. Chronic
pain lasts, sometimes indefinitely.
With this kind of pain, doctors
cannot pinpoint any injury or
infection which would have trig-
gered the pain. The most common
source of chronic pain is the lower
back.
Acute pain can be curedl This
type of pain disappears when the
injury • mends. The medical pro-
fession has no cure for chronic
pain, which is the most common
HEALTH TOPICS
Roger 'Doc' 14
medical symptom.
There is a high cost for people in
pain. "USA Today" reported "that
American workers lose 550 million
days a year because of pain2' Forty
million Americans are afflicted by
chronic pain. The Cost of compen-
sating pain sufferers is unbeliev-
able. In 1981, compensation
reached 20 billion dollars. Include
the loss of productivity, and the
annual cost reaches 50 billion dol-
lars.
Five million people are disabled
by low back pain. These people
pay 1.5 billion dollars in hospital
and doctor bills, including
200,000 surgical procedures and
19 million visits to the doctors.
The average American loses two
weeks of productivity per year due
to pain. Over one billion dollars in
over-the-counter pain medications
are sold each year. Finally, 400
million dollars in habit-forming,
enormously addictive drugs are
sold. •
People who are inconstant pain
are depressed, gain excessive
weight, smoke more and drink
more alcohol if they are drinkers.
They are inactive, so the muscles
atrophy, and they are less like.ly to
be motivated to do anything.
When there doesn't seem to be a
reason for their pain, they become
more depressed. These chronic
pain sufferers pray that the CAT
scans or myleograms find some-
thing so they can prove they do
have pain.
There is help for the chronic
pain sufferer. There are 300 pain
centers throughout the United
States. In Wilmington, there is a
pain clinic at'the Delaware Cura-
tive Workshgp. The centers
attempt to accomplish three goals
reinforcers of pain behavior;
increase physical activity; and
decrease excessive drug use. At
"Back to Basics", these goals plus
nutritional reprogramming and
motivation techniques are utilized.
Remember - patients must
assume the responsibility for con-
trolling their pain. They must
believe they can get well. Finally,
they have a choice: control pain
and enjoy life or allow the pain to
control their life, which is nothing
but misery 24 hours a day, 365
days a year, for the rest of their
lives.
Editor's Note: Roger "Doc"
Hunt is a certified athletic trainer
and instructor in the Health Pro-
fession Department at Sussex
Vocational-Technical High School
:-7 identify andliminate positige in Georgetown ....
There is help for the chronic pain sufferer
led a meeting of 14 concerned Continued on page 27
