Orthohealing » Danielle Aufiero MD

Two patients from Orthohealing Center in Ivanhoe Breakthrough Report on national Television with PRP Platelet Rich Plasma

dosampson — Mon, 03 May 2010 02:16:42 +0000

Ivanhoe featured the Orthohealing Center & two of our patients in a recent story on Platelet Rich Plasma. One patient is a Karate instructor who suffered multiple tendon injuries from holding up sparring pads. Another patient, an avid runner developed knee arthritis. Both received PRP & had their subsequent injections filmed by Ivanhoe. It’s great for the community to see that most of the patients we treat are not world class athletes and most are just active individuals who get injuries from exercise or from occupation.

New article discusses the increasing use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in Spine Pain Management

dosampson — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:07:32 +0000

In a recent publication of Pain Medicine News: Ultrasound Demonstrations Fuel debate on Clinical Role in pain Medicine.The article discusses how the increased use of Musculoskeletal ultrasound is enhancing spine pain management & changing the way we perform state of the art procedures. More studies are needed to learn what specific spine procedures are superior to relying on the standard x-ray (fluoroscopy) for visualization. Advantages of ultrasound noted include decreased radiation exposure for the patient/doctor & better visualization of soft tissues & cost effectiveness. Pain management physicians are encouraged to explore this technology in efforts of possibly improving quality of care & safety.

We find that particular procedures can be done in the office with ultrasound which cuts down on the cost for the patient rather than having to go to a surgical center. However there are particular spine procedures that are best performed under x-ray guidance (fluoroscopy) vs ultrasound. At least more spine specialists & pain managements are becoming increasingly aware of this available technology.

VIDEO: Tiger Woods discusses PRP Platelet Rich Plasma at Press Conference at Augusta Masters

dosampson — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:14:23 +0000

VIDEO: Tiger Woods Admits Federal Investigators Have Contacted His Agent In Drug Probe | RadarOnline.com.

Tiger woods held a press conference a the Augusta Masters today to address concerns of his medical treatment among other issues that have been circling in the media. Tiger clarified that he has never used performance enhancing drugs (PED’s). However Tiger did confirm that he received 4 injections of PRP Platelet Rich Plasma to his knee ligament (LCL) following a slow post operative recovery from ACL repair. Woods also received treatment for his Achilles tendon which he tore & adversely affected his driving distance . He claims that the treatments were successful & he feels strong.

While Tiger Woods has been surrounded by disappointments of his family & fans of infidelity, it appears that he has not violated any medical laws or restrictions in sport. PRP has been used to treat many athletes & even more weekend warriors. We are conducting several studies including a 10 multi center clinical trial on tennis elbow as well as a pilot knee arthritis study that was submitted for publication.

So hopefully the bright side of all this media frenzy will be the attention placed on an emerging therapy PRP. In no way is this a panacea but it appears a safe alternative to cortisone. More studies will emerge soon, some pro and some con to best determine which patients and injuries will be proper candidates for PRP.

New Study from Canada suggests ultrasound guided hip injections are effective

dosampson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:29:52 +0000

54 patients were treated with hip/buttock pain requiring a diagnosis of gluteal tendinosis (a chronic tendon injury rather than an acute injury tendinitis). The study from the American Journal of Roentgenology demonstrated seventypercent of patients were satisfied with the results of the intervention which included a ultrasound guided cortisone injection. Typically these injections are done blind without image guidance. However the physician may miss the target site and may simply be injecting fatty tissue or the incorrect muscle or tendon causing further damage or discomfort by hitting painful structures like bone or nerve. If patients have great relief from this guided cortisone injection, the proper disgnosis is determined & the patient may be a candidate for other injectables which may be less damaging like PRP or Traumeel etc.

Diagnostic Ultrasound Used to Help With Haiti Relief Efforts

dosampson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:20:46 +0000

While we are using cutting edge technology like musculoskeletal ultrasound to diagnose orthopedic injuries & guide PRP injections, Physicians used this equipment to save lives in Haiti. Through generous donations by Sonosite, Emergency Doctors & Anesthesiologists visited Haiti & treated patients with severe injuries.

Platelet Rich Plasma featured on NPR National Public Radio

dosampson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:58:11 +0000

NPRrecently featured PRP discussing it’s use in orthopedics & sports medicine. Interestingly via professional athletes, the community is learning more about emerging therapies that are driving change in medicine. Hopefully indirectly the increased awareness of PRP use in professional sports will promote further studies so that more patients at home can benefit as well.

PRP Platelet Rich Plasma for Wrinkles?

dosampson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:03:15 +0000

A new article from Harper’s Bazaar discusses stem cell based therapies used by plastic surgeons for cosmetic wrinkles. I first learned about PRP use for wrinkles in plastic surgery a while back when a Physician from S Korea visited our clinic. Don’t be surprised to see increased use of PRP in plastic surgery. Perhaps it will provide a natural based alternative to Restylane or botox?

New organization ICMS formed to advance stem cell reserach

dosampson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:49:24 +0000

Congrats to the ICMS for making the effort to bring together physicians who are researching cellular based therapies to advance the field & ensure safety and sound medial literature.

The International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS) is an independent, physician and scientist guided 501(c)(3) non profit organization with a mission to advance the use of safe and effective adult stem cell therapies. As an organization, the ICMS provides education and interaction opportunities for patients seeking stem cell therapies, as well as clinical and laboratory best practice guidelines for doctors, researchers and stem cell clinics world wide. Their website includes helpful links to current research in stem cell based therapies & PRP.

Dr Jamie Textor visits The Orthohealing Center

dosampson — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:07:23 +0000

We were thrilled to have Dr Jamie Textor a Veterinarian Surgeon, currently a PhD student at UC Davis researching extensively on platelets & Platelet Rich Plasma. UC Davis is responsible for some real promising studies on stem cell based therapies in animals.

Dr Textor gave an inspiring talk at the North American Vetenirary Regenerative Medicine Course . We hope to collaborate with Dr Textor in the future & we’re thankful to learn from her during her visit here this week. Thanks to our patients for being so cooperative! The Veterinaryfield is leading the way in stem cell research & thsi visit proves that we can both learn from each other. We are also collaborating with plastic surgeons & dentists who utilize PRP & biologics.

Isagani Leal MD, MPH visits Orthohealing Center from Philippines to observe Platelet Rich Plasma Procedures

dosampson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:09:13 +0000

We were thrilled to have Dr Isagani Leal visit from Manilla, Philippines. Dr Leal completed his residency training in Tel Aviv, Israel and specializes in non-surgical orthopaedics utilizing musculoskeletal ultrasound. Of great interest, Dr Leal is the first Dr that I am aware of who utilizes ultrasound guided acupuncture known as “Intramuscular stimulation.” Developed by Dr Chan Gun, this practice emphasizes that tendon injuries are a result of shortened & contracted muscles. For example if someone has achilles tendon pain, the shortened muscles of the calf & tibialis posterior must be relaxed. Dr Leal palpates the shortened muscle and marks a spot that reproduces pain in the patient. Afterwards Dr Leal uses ultrasound to look into the muscle & inserts an acupuncture like needle into the muscle belly & illicits a “twitch.” The patient perceives a brief pulse known as “Qi (chi)” The needle is left in for 3 minutes then removed & heat is provided with ultrasound. According to Dr Leal patients need 2 treatments one wk apart & may have tremendous relief.

I must admit the idea is interesting having an acupuncture background myself. However this theory may influence us to consider injecting not only the tendon that is damaged but simultaneously relaxing the affected muscle. This phenomenon may also explain why some tendon injuries don’t respond appropriately when treated.

We may have learned more from Dr Leal than he from us! Many thanks to our kind patients who allowed Dr Leal to observe various procedures for the week! We hope to collaborate with Dr Leal in PRP research together.

Dr Sampson