In The News
When weekend activity becomes a real pain in the back
Most Monday mornings we get a call from someone in his 40s or 50s who threw out his back. Either he was competing in an obstacle course with old college buddies, or a 5K with younger co-workers. Or maybe, he injured himself doing a mud run with his kids. Whatever it was that sounded like … Read More
Newport Resident 'Feels Like a New Person' After Hoag Spinal Procedure
?Newport Beach resident Edna Zitko suffered from neck pain and numbness for several years, but a new procedure at Hoag Hospital has left her feeling like “a new person.” Zitko, 44, was the first Hoag patient to undergo a newly approved alternative to cervical spinal fusion. Zitko said she dealt with severe chronic neck pain … Read More
Women's deaths from painkillers 'an epidemic'
In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a startling announcement: “Women are dying from prescription painkiller overdoses at rates never seen before.” That was followed by a number of staggering statistics, including this one: From 1999 to 2010, there was a 400 percent increase in these deaths among women. Four hundred percent? … Read More
Dr. Burak Ozgur Honored as 'Compassionate Doctor'
A neurosurgeon at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian was ranked as one of the top physicians in the country based on patient reviews, Patient’s Choice reported. Burak Ozgur, Hoag’s chief of service of the Neurosurgery Spine program, was recently honored with a 2012 Compassionate Doctor Certification. According to Patients’ Choice, out of the country’s 870,000 active … Read More
O.C. Vital Aging program Awarded Grant to Promote Healthy Brains in Battle Against Alzheimer's
Newport Beach, Calif., July 2, 2013 – Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has been awarded a $450,000 grant to continue helping residents maintain a health brain for life, through its Orange County Vital Brain Aging Program, officials announced. The Orange County Vital Brain Aging Program (Vital Brain Program), launched in 2010, recently received its second UniHealth … Read More
Cancer patient concerned about multiple CT scans
?Risk versus reward is a debate in the medical community over a common test, frequently ordered by doctors. Now one local patient came to the I-Team with fears he’s been exposed to too much radiation. The use of computed tomography, or CT scans, has increased more than 20 times since 1980. They are used in … Read More
Carve out “me time” to avoid the holidays blues
?You’re crammed into a corner of a table set for 14 but built for 10. The pie is warm; your irritable cousin’s glare is cold. Your kids are fidgety, and you are exhausted. Happy Holidays! As chief of psychiatry liaison services at Hoag Hospital, I can’t stop your aunt from inciting an ugly political debate … Read More
There is a fungus among us
?”I’ve seen the needle and the damage done,” sang Neil Young in his ’60s anthem about drug abuse. Steroid injections by doctors for back pain don’t compare to the destructive types of pain relief used by junkies, but as the above lyric went on, “a little bit of it in everyone.” As I have previously … Read More
Doctor's own tumor led him to take up scalpel
Irvine — Dr. Robert Pettis asks for a scalpel. “”OK. Starting.”” Lying before him in an operating room at Hoag Hospital Irvine is a 71-year-old woman with a cancerous thyroid. Pettis, 46, begins to remove the entire shield-shaped gland from the woman’s throat. Though common, thyroidectomies require surgical precision and patience. Surgeons must carve around … Read More
New Generation Alzheimer's Drugs: Do They Work?
We’ve all been hopeful that a new class of Alzheimer’s drugs (monoclonal antibodies) would soon bring effective treatment to the growing number of Alzheimer’s patients. The latest approach is based on using antibodies that bind with harmful amyloid protein. The idea is that the antibodies will be naturally flushed from the body by the immune … Read More