Bionic Women

Fantasy becomes fact in Digital Age of Healthcare

Young girls who watched the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman perform superhuman feats 40 years ago are experiencing improved quality of life because science fiction fantasy has become medical science reality.

And it’s happening right here in our backyard. Robotic arms are handling delicate procedures with precision, heartbeats are being stabilized by pacemakers slightly larger than a penny that are essentially tiny computers, titanium-encased magnets are working like sealants, and bodies are being tricked into reducing symptoms by new therapies.

Advances in science and technology have translated beautifully to the field of medicine. And countless women are reaping the benefits. Women have so many more options now.

Quality of life takes on a completely different meaning because we are demanding it. We expect it. And medicine is answering the call.

Things women once viewed as unavoidable
are no longer absolutes. Case in point: advanced breast cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Pfizer Inc.’s Ibrance, a potential new standard of care for advanced breast cancer. The drug was approved for previously untreated postmenopausal women whose cancer cells have receptors to estrogen and who do not have mutations in the HER2 gene that contribute to uncontrolled growth of breast cells. Such patients represent the largest proportion of breast cancer cases and typically are treated with chemotherapy.

The new medication definitely is a game-changer for thousands of women like Dale Mathis, a resident of The Villages who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2010 and has been taking Ibrance since February.

“Many medicines offered hinder your quality of life,” Mathis said. “They limit what you can do. But not this one. I’m very pleased. I have experienced no side effects at all.”

Mathis is one of two patients being treating with the new medication by Dr. Maen Hussein, of Florida Cancer Specialists in The Villages. “This is the first drug that is specific and inhibits only the enzymes that we want it to,” Hussein said. “The drug is effective in treating estrogen-sensitive cancers. It’s the first of its class.”

Speaking of hormones, menopause also has been addressed in recent medical breakthroughs.

In February of 2014, the Menopause Society released results of a study that could significantly reduce the moderate to severe hot flashes that result from unavoidable body changes. A simple injection near a nerve bundle in the neck could mean the difference between a night on the town or sitting by the air conditioner.

Technology is also addressing the No. 1 killer of women — heart disease. Every minute, one woman dies from heart disease. It claims more women than all cancers combined. But the killer is being stalked by medical breakthroughs.

Just last year, Florida Hospital Waterman introduced the world’s first implantable defibrillator outside of the heart. The new device is a real game-changer. Today, almost 4 million people are being kept alive by traditional pacemakers and defibrillators.

Talk about going wireless. The subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) system developed by Boston Scientific, is placed just under the skin and leaves the heart and blood vessels untouched. There are no restrictive wires to attach to your heart.

The S-ICD does not use insulated wires, known as leads, to provide electrical shocks, but rather a combination of a pulse generator and an electrode that surround the heart.  “This innovative technology is paving the way for better outcomes and improved quality of life for our cardiac patients,” said Miguel Bryce, M.D., Medical Director of Electrophysiology at Florida Hospital Waterman. “The device is clinically proven to provide patients with the same reliable protection as a traditional ICD but with a decreased chance of complications and potential damage to the heart and its surrounding area.”

And the S-ICD isn’t the only wireless innovation making waves here in Lake County. Florida Hospital Waterman electrophysiologists Dr.George Monir and Dr. Scott Pollak became the first in Florida to implant a leadless pacemaker last year. This tiny device, smaller than an AAA battery, resides entirely in the right ventricle of the heart and is inserted through the groin rather than the chest. “The traditional pacemaker requires surgery and insertion of a wire called a lead into the heart,” said Pollak. “Over time, the leads can degrade and malfunction over a period of years.”

With the leadless pacemaker, there are no scars and no chest bulge that often restricts mobility for patients. Instead, this will most likely lead to a longer, more active life with the ability to remove the device when the latest marvel in medicine comes to town.

Being first is business as usual at Florida Hospital Waterman. The hospital also boasts the first ACR-certified Breast Imaging Center of Excellence in Lake County that uses digital mammography rather than film. “The imaging time for the patient is less but the most important is that the resolution is much improved and the radiation exposure is much less,” says Dr. Ram Krishnan. Other benefits include added comfort and safety, factors that will save lives because more women will get the tests done.

The push for revolutionary new systems is being driven by women determined to resume living a full life after surgery. And scientists, researchers and medical practitioners are responding.

Not every medical advancement is high-tech. Some breakthroughs are more science than technology. Case in point: the LINX implant used to help people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that occurs when stomach acid goes up into the esophagus that can lead to cancer if untreated. LINX, an almost simplistic device that resembles an elastic bracelet you’d put on the wrist of a small doll, is being used to fend off esophageal cancer, one of the fastest growing cancers in the U.S. This small implant comprised of titanium and magnetic beads attaches to the outside of the esophagus just
above the stomach and will stretch or contract to allow food to enter the stomach but prevent acid from escaping. The LINX implant was approved by the FDA in 2014 and has shown a success rate of over 90% in combating GERD.  And that is something that can quite literally help you sleep at night.

The marvels presented here are just the tip of the iceberg. So much is changing in this digital age. Chances are another breakthrough has occurred in the time it took you to read this article.