general, c and e dentistry articles better solution
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South Sarasota County Edition Summer 2019
FEATURED ARTICLES Better Solution
Fit, feel and taste give implant-secured dentures edge over traditional dentures
(see A Better Solution, page 4)
ALEXANDER GAUKHMAN, DMD
A fter friends of New Hampshire native Maurice Whipple invited him to Florida for a visit, he decided he liked the
state and wanted to retire here. Maurice bought a home and became a permanent Florida resident in the late 80s, but he still spends the hot summer months with his children up north.
� ese living arrangements work out well for Maurice. Unfortunately, not everything has worked out positively for him. For years, the retired electrical con-tractor had trouble with his teeth. � ose issues eventually reached a point where he had to have his teeth replaced.
“My dentist told me I had very hard teeth, but they were prone to cavities, no matter how much I brushed and � ossed,” Maurice shares. “I knew I was going to end up with dentures eventually, but I managed to put it o� as long as I could.
“Around 2000, I got my upper teeth pulled and replaced with a den-ture. Eighteen years later, my bottom teeth started heading south on me, and I knew I would have to have them pulled out as well.”
While Maurice contemplated a denture for his bottom jaw, he also considered replacing his upper denture with an improved appliance. He learned about dentures that are secured by dental implants and thought implant dentures were the better way to go.
“With my upper denture, plastic cov-ered the whole roof of my mouth to create a vacuum to hold it in place,” Maurice describes. “� e denture � t well, but it made me gag a lot, so I knew I needed to get rid of the roof part of my denture. I heard implant dentures don’t have plastic over the top of the mouth, so I looked into them.
“I called three dentists who offer implant dentures, and Dr. Gaukhman was the most experienced. He was also convenient. His o� ce is located close to where I live. He also had the best deal and was very pleasant to work with. � at’s the main reason I chose him.”
Maur ice’s choice for den-tal care was Alexander Gaukhman, DMD, of Venetian Dental in Venice. Dr. Gaukhman, who o� ers exceptional general, cosmetic and restorative den-tistry, also has o� ces in Sarasota and Osprey. � e dentist agreed that implant dentures were a good option for Maurice.
“I told Dr. Gaukhman what I wanted, and he said, That’s what you should have,” Maurice remembers. “I did
a lot of research before I made this move. I looked into individual dental implants, but that route was too expensive for me. Implant dentures addressed my concerns and were something I could a� ord.”
Classic ExampleDental implants are screw-like posts that are surgically placed into the jawbone to serve as the foundation for replacement teeth, such as crowns and dentures. When they’re secured by implants, dentures don’t slip or move; they stay in place when patients speak and eat. � ere are other advantages of implant dentures over tra-ditional dentures, Dr. Gaukhman notes.
“A drawback of traditional upper dentures is a decrease in taste,” the dentist describes. “� e tongue is mainly respon-sible for discerning taste, but the palate also plays a role. Because traditional den-tures cover the palate, patients can be deprived of sensing the full complement of tastes. Implant dentures, on the other hand, are horseshoe-shaped and do not cover the palate, improving taste.”
Another issue that can occur with traditional upper dentures is a gag reflex. Some patients, including Maurice, experience this problem due to the denture being over the palate. By not covering the palate, implant den-tures eliminate this gag re� ex.
Maurice Whipple
Advanced RejuvenationHearing Loss Is
Reversible
Sarasota Foot and Ankle Center Case in Pointe
Joyce Vein & Aesthetic InstituteFirehose Effect
OsteoStrongRepair Bone Loss
Port Charlotte Dental CareArrested Development
Johnson Medical Center
6Trailblazing Treatment
Back at It
Eye Floater Laser
Happy Hunting Without Pain
3David A.
Napoliello, MD, FACS
8 South Florida
Eye Clinic
Atlas Chiropractic of Sarasota
11
Advanced Orthopedic CenterReversing Course
General, CosmetiC and emerGenCy dentistry
Never one to waste a lot of time just sitting around, Diane Costa spent the majority of her working
years on her feet, � rst as a waitress and a bar maid, then as a wallpaper hanger and a furniture re� nisher and � nally as a cake decorator.
Surprisingly, it was her shoulders that took the brunt of the abuse from that odd array of jobs. As a result of the repetitive nature of the wallpaper hanging, and re� nishing, Diane had rotator cu� surgery on both shoulders, the right one in 2005, the left one in 2006.
More trouble developed for Diane a few years later when she stumbled over a poorly � tting drain hole cover in the kitchen where she was decorating cakes and fell, severely injuring her knee, back and left shoulder.
� e fall resulted in Diane undergoing a meniscus repair on her knee while receiving radiofrequency treatments on her back. Her shoulder injury was not treated, however, because her insurance company, citing her previous injury, refused to cover the cost.
“After that, I just went to hell in a handbasket,” says Diane, who eventually developed arthritis in both shoulders and lost so much strength in her left shoulder that she could no longer perform even the simplest of household tasks.
“I couldn’t strip the sheets off the bed to wash them or make the bed again when the sheets were cleaned,” she says. “I couldn’t pick up a frying pan, so I had trouble cooking. And when I drove, I had to keep my left hand at the bottom of the wheel because I couldn’t lift it up to the ten and two position.
“� e worst thing of all, though, was that I had a lot of trouble lifting up my husband, who had recently undergone hip and knee sur-gery and then had a stroke and needed my help getting up out of chairs and getting dressed.”
Diane and her husband were living in North Carolina at the time of her hus-band’s stroke. Before long, their daughter moved them to Florida, where one of her � rst tasks was to arrange for her father
Robert P. Stchur, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in the treatment of severe shoulder disorders. He completed a sports medicine fellowship at the Lake Tahoe Sports Medicine Program. He is originally from Michigan and received his medical degree,
with honors, from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Stchur completed his residency at the University of Michigan. He specializes in arthroscopic shoulder surgery. He serves as a Team Orthopedic Consultant for the Tampa Bay Rays and Team Orthopedic Surgeon for the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Dr. Stchur is a member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America. In his free time, he is an avid fi sherman, particularly enjoying spearfi shing.
KENNETH D. LEVY, MDRONALD M. CONSTINE, MD
DALE A. GREENBERG, MDNICHOLAS J. CONNORS, MD
ROBERT P. STCHUR, MDGREGORY P. GEBAUER, MD
JASON E. REISS, DOSTEVEN R. ANTHONY, DO
LEE M. JAMES, DOJASON M. MLNARIK, DO
Advanced Orthopedic CenterREPAIR RESTORE RECOVERY
The staff of Advanced Orthopedic Center welcomes new patients and is happy to answer questions about
joint replacement, joint revision, sports medicine and surgery of the spine. To
schedule an appointment, please visit or call one of their offi ces.
Port Charlotte 1641 Tamiami Trail, Suite 1
(941) 629-6262
Punta Gorda350 Mary St., Suite F
(941) 639-6699
Reversing Course
Visit Advanced Orthopedic Center on the web at www.advancedorthopediccenter.com
Give Them a Call!
• Pain with motion• Pain that fl ares up with
vigorous activity• Tenderness when pressure is
applied to the joint• Diffi culty walking
• Joint swelling, warmth and redness
• Increased pain and swelling in the morning, or after sitting or resting
Serving patients in the southwest Florida area since 1980, our top-notch surgeons o� er comprehensive orthopedic care to all ages. Our courteous and caring sta� is ready to assist, and ensure your satisfaction.
Our Specialties Include:• Spine surgery• Sports medicine• Total and partial joint replacement• Foot and ankle care• Hand care• Upper extremity fracture care• General orthopedics• Interventional pain management• Trauma surgery
Welcome to Advanced Orthopedic Center
Do You Have Arthritis?The symptoms of arthritis vary depending on which joint is aff ected. In many cases, an arthritic joint will be painful and infl amed. Generally, the pain develops gradually over time, although sudden onset is also possible.Other signs can include:
Reversing Course
to undergo rehabilitation therapy at Advanced Orthopedic Center.
It was during one of those therapy sessions that Diane learned that one of the doctors at Advanced Orthopedic Center – Robert P. Stchur, MD – could repair her ailing shoulder by performing what is known as reverse total shoulder replacement surgery.
Transfer of PowerOriginally designed in Europe in the 1980s, the reverse total shoulder replacement procedure was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States in 2003 as an alternative to tradi-tional shoulder replacement surgery.
It is considered a better option for anyone who has suffered a large tear of a rotator cuff or anyone suffering from severe arthritis in the shoulder because it forces the shoulder to use different muscles than it normally does to lift the arm.
In a healthy shoulder, the muscles and tendons in the rotator cuff work together to keep the ball of the upper arm bone, which is the humerus, in the shoul-der socket. � ey also work to power the process of raising and rotating the arm.
� e reverse total shoulder replace-ment procedure transfers the task of powering the arm to the deltoid muscle through the use of a device that places a metallic ball where the socket was and a socket where the ball was.
“You’re basically just flipping the joint around,” says Dr. Stchur (pro-nounced Sure). “Especially with older patients, it’s the best way to go because the failure rates of traditional surgery are much higher in patients with big tears and poor-quality tissue.
“And I’ve seen it happen where some-one has gone through a big repair and months of rehabilitation and then they tear the shoulder again, and they have to go in and do the reverse anyway. � at’s why we’re favoring the reverse more and more.”
Speedy RecoveryWhen he � rst examined Diane in October 2018, Dr. Stchur discovered that her left shoulder was completely devoid of car-tilage and that she was indeed a good candidate for the reverse total shoulder replacement surgery.
� at surgery took place a few weeks later, and within six weeks of having the surgery, Diane was using her shoulder normally again. Had Diane opted for traditional surgery or even another rota-tor cu� repair, her downtime would have been three to six months.
“� at’s one of the great advantages of this surgery,” Dr. Stchur says. “� e recov-ery time is shockingly fast because we’re not repairing anything. We’re placing metal and plastic components into the shoulder that stick to your bones immediately.”
Patients are often encouraged to begin using their new shoulder immedi-ately as part of their rehabilitation. Diane is among those who began using their shoulders again within a matter of days. She is now back to using it normally.
“For so long, it seemed like I was the one who had the stroke, because I couldn’t use that arm at all,” Diane says. “But now, I can do anything.
“The last time I went to see Dr. Stchur, he had to laugh because he reached out to shake my hand, and I said, No, no, no, give me a high-� ve instead. I’m
telling you, having that reverse shoulder surgery was the best thing I ever did.
“I’m so happy with it that I’m going to have it done on my other shoulder, too, and I’ll have Dr. Stchur do it because he is a fantastic doctor. He has all the qualities you want and expect in a great doctor, and I highly recommend him.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photo by Jordan Pysz.
Graphic courtesy of Depuy Synthes. nj
Correct severe shoulder damage
Diane has regained full range of motion in her left shoulder.
Page 2 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition orthopediC surGery and sports mediCine
DAVID A. NAPOLIELLO, MD, FACS
For more information, please visit www.DavidNapolielloMD.com
David A. Napoliello, MD, FACS, is board certifi ed by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He earned his undergraduate degree at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, and his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Napoliello completed his residency in general surgery at Penn State–Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, and a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. He is past chief of sur-gery for Venice Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. In addition, Dr. Napoliello was voted one of the top general surgeons in Sarasota and Manatee Counties by his peers and patients for the Castle Connolly list of America’s Top Doctors eight years in a row.
Learn MoreDr. Napoliello and his staff look forward to answering your questions. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the number below or visit them at one of their two offi ce locations:
Lakewood RanchMedical Offi ce Building
8340 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.Suite 101
Venice411 Commercial Court
(941) 388-9525
Trailblazing TreatmentNew, minimally invasive technique resolves acid re� ux disease
T he misery often starts with a burning sensation behind the breastbone that radiates to the neck and throat. In addition to
this pain, known as heartburn, there may be nausea, regurgitation, bad breath and, even-tually, tooth decay. � ese are some of the telltale signs of a common condition known as gastroesophageal re� ux disease, or GERD.
� e term gastroesophageal refers to the stomach (gastro) and the esophagus, or food pipe. � e esophagus empties into the stom-ach through a circular band of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). If the LES doesn’t open and close properly, diges-tive acids from the stomach can � ow back into the esophagus and cause symptoms.
“When this backflow of stomach acids happens persistently, the condition is diagnosed as GERD,” explains David A. Napoliello, MD, who is board certi� ed by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. “Over time, GERD can damage the esopha-gus and lead to serious complications.”
Among these complications are esoph-agitis, or in� ammation of the esophagus; and stricture, a narrowing of the esophagus due to scar tissue from acid erosion. Other complications include the formation of ulcers in the esophagus and the develop-ment of precancerous changes in the tissue, a condition called Barrett’s esophagus.
Being obese or pregnant, smoking, overeating, eating late at night; eating certain foods, such as fried or fatty foods; drinking alcohol or co� ee, and taking certain medi-cations, including aspirin, can contribute to the weakening of the LES and the develop-ment of GERD. Another factor associated with GERD is hiatal hernia.
“There is a natural space in the diaphragm, the thin muscle wall that sep-arates the chest cavity from the abdomen,
that allows the esophagus to pass through to the stomach. It’s called the hiatus,” Dr. Napoliello educates. “� e hiatus can become abnormally large from actions such as years of coughing or straining. � e stomach can inappropriately slip upward into the chest cavity though that enlarged hiatus. � at is a hiatal hernia.
“� e normal position of the stomach is a major force in re� ux management. When the stomach and its connection to the esophagus are in the wrong anatom-ical position, the proper food depositing mechanism is broken. � is contributes signi� cantly to the heartburn and regur-gitation associated with GERD.”
With GERD and hiatal hernia, people can experience all of the usual symptoms of GERD and also su� er additional symp-toms attributed to hiatal hernia. � ese can include di� culty swallowing and respira-tory issues such as chronic coughing and asthma-like symptoms.
Anti-Refl ux RoutesPeople can have GERD without hav-ing a hiatal hernia and a hiatal hernia without having GERD, but in most instances, people with hiatal hernia also have GERD. They generally co-exist. In some cases of simple hiatal hernia, there may be no symptoms, but symptomatic patients are treated with medication or surgery, Dr. Napoliello notes.
“� ere is a type of hiatal hernia called a paraesophageal hiatal hernia that is dan-gerous because with it the stomach can get constricted and its blood supply can get cut o� ,” he informs. “With that type of hiatal hernia, surgery is indicated upon diagnosis.”
When surgery for GERD with hiatal hernia is warranted, Dr. Napoliello can typically treat both conditions during one surgical session. He performs most of these combined procedures as laparoscopic surgeries with the patients under general anesthesia. Laparoscopic surgery is a min-imally invasive technique that uses thin instruments and a camera inserted into the abdomen through tiny incisions. � e surgeons view the esophagus, hiatal hernia and surrounding tissue on a video screen.
Fortunately, Dr. Napoliello has expertise in surgically treating GERD with hiatal hernia. He is a specially trained re� ux surgeon who completed a fellowship in minimally invasive and advanced laparoscopic surgery at the world-famous Mayo Clinic.
“During the combined GERD/hia-tal hernia surgery, we begin by repairing the hiatal hernia,” Dr. Napoliello states. “� at involves first putting the stomach back into its appro-priate position. � en we sew the defect in the diaphragm closed with or without the use of a biologic mesh patch. After that, we pursue the anti-re� ux procedure.
“� ere has been classically one type of anti-reflux surgery, called Nissen fundoplication, during which the surgeon wraps the upper portion of the stomach around the esophagus. � is adds pressure to the LES and lower end of the esophagus. � is procedure, although tried and tested, has some rare pitfalls that would favor a simpler intervention.”
Now, however, there is a new option for GERD treatment that is less inva-sive and proving to be equal, if not more e� ective than fundoplication in reducing GERD symptoms. � is technique uses a re� ux-preventing device called the LINX® Re� ux Management System.
outpatient procedure or with an over-night stay in the hospital. A standalone LINX procedure takes about one hour to perform. When done as a GERD/hiatal hernia repair, surgery time is slightly longer, about an hour and a half. The LINX device can be removed or replaced if necessary.
“The LINX device was developed by pioneers in re� ux surgery and studied for more than ten years,” Dr. Napoliello reports. “� e LINX Re� ux Management System is a safer choice for people whose GERD has not responded to medications, and surgery is the next step in treatment.”
� e LINX technique is also a good option for those who are concerned about the risks and side effects of long-term medication use to manage their GERD symptoms, adds the doctor.
“There have been reports recently questioning the standard medical man-agement of GERD, especially the use of
proton pump inhibitors,” Dr. Napoliello observes. Proton pump inhibitors are a group of medications that stop production of a pro-tein in the stomach that is necessary for acid secretion.
“ T h e s e m e d i c a -tions have been linked to decreased calcium and mag-nesium, stomach tumors,
blood clots and even the development of dementia. Patients who have concerns about these risks now have a new answer for treatment of their GERD. It is the less invasive surgery using the LINX device.
“The LINX Reflux Management System is a simpler, more readily revers-ible option that can provide signi� cant GERD relief. The LINX procedure is excellent for GERD, especially for GERD in combination with hiatal hernia.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Header photo from
Pixabay. LINX graphic courtesy of Torax. mkb
“The LINX Re� ux Management System is a safer choice for people whose GERD has not responded to medications, and
surgery is the next step in treatment.” – Dr. Napoliello
Magnetic Mastery� e LINX system is a drug-free treat-ment for patients who continue to experience signi� cant GERD symptoms despite conservative treatments such as lifestyle changes and acid-suppressing medications. The LINX procedure is considerably less invasive than fundo-plication because it doesn’t require any surgical changes to the anatomy.
“� e LINX device is a small, � exible, circular band of interlinked magnetic beads made of titanium,” Dr. Napoliello describes. “� e device is placed around the base of the esophagus, and it essentially acts as a new, arti� cial lower esophageal sphincter.
“The beads in the device form a strong magnetic bond, which holds this arti� cial LES tightly closed. When patients swallow, the movement of food passing through the lower part of the esophagus breaks that bond and allows food to pass from the esophagus into the stomach. After that, the magnetic bond quickly reforms, which resists gas-tric pressures and prevents acids from � owing backward.”
Surgery to install a LINX Reflux Management System can be done as an
The LINX device is only slightly larger than a quarter.
South Sarasota County Edition | Summer 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 3minimally invasive General surGery
Maurice can relax comfortably now that
he has implant-secured dentures
Please visit Dr. Gaukhman’s website at www.VenetianDentalCare.com
Alexander Gaukhman, DMD, earned his dental degree at Nova Southeastern University College of Dentistry, Ft. Lauderdale. He completed his undergraduate studies at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. Dr. Gaukhman is a dip-lomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, Florida Dental Association, Sarasota Dental Association and American Dental Association.
Dr. Gaukhman is accepting new patients and welcomes the opportunity to help you improve your smile
and bite function. He invites the readers of Florida Health Care News to visit or call Venetian Dental.
Venetian Dental specializes in all aspects of dentistry, including but not limited to:
• Dental implants
• Extraction of teeth
• Deep cleaning
• Crowns• Bleaching• ZOOM!®
whitening• Root
canals
• Laser surgery
• Invisalign®• Dentures• Partials• Bridges
Same-Day Service
V enetian Dental has its own dental lab, allowing Dr. Gaukhman and his staff to fabricate full traditional dentures in just one day. Dr. Gaukhman
explains that, historically, much of the time needed to deliver dentures to a patient involved simple transportation.
“After the dentist acquires all the information needed to fab-ricate a patient’s dentures, the usual procedure is to send that information to the dental lab,” Dr. Gaukhman explains. “� e den-tures are designed and prepared at the lab and then sent back to the dentist for � tting in the patient’s mouth. It can take up to two days’ transport each way. � en, if adjustments need to be made, additional time is required to return the dentures to the lab.”
Recognizing that such delays can be a hardship for patients, especially those who lose or damage a denture while visiting Florida on vacation, Dr. Gaukhman decided to o� er dental lab services in his own o� ce – e� ectively eliminating transportation delays and allowing him to provide many patients with same-day service when they require traditional dentures.
To provide this quick service, Dr. Gaukhman schedules the patient for an early-morning appointment to take impressions and develop a treatment plan. While the dentures are being pre-pared in the lab, the patient is able to leave the o� ce to relax or to take care of personal errands or business.
A second visit later in the day enables the dentist to perform an initial � tting of the dentures and to note any changes that need to be made. Once the adjustments are performed, the patient returns to the o� ce later that same day to receive the � nished dentures.
(continued from page 1)
A Better SolutionTraditional lower dentures are generally more di� cult to keep stable
than upper dentures. Because there is no palate on the bottom of the mouth, less suction is produced to hold lower dentures in place naturally. As a result, they tend to slip while patients are eating and speaking.
“Adding dental implants stabilizes lower dentures, so they do not move around,” Dr. Gaukhman observes. “In addition, dentures secured by implants have stronger chewing capability than tradi-tional dentures. Patients can eat foods they could not eat previously, improving their quality of life.
“Implant-retained lower dentures are generally secured with two implants. We typically secure upper dentures with four implants. It’s due to gravity that I can use two implants on the bottom but need four on the top.”
Dentures have to work with or against gravity. Lower dentures move down with gravity, so two implants are su� cient. Upper dentures have to work against gravity, so four implants keep them more secure.
”Maurice is a classic example of what we o� er for implant dentures,” Dr. Gaukhman asserts. “We gave him a new upper denture stabilized by four implants and a new lower denture with two implants.”
Perfect MatchMaurice looked forward to getting his implant dentures, but he made it clear he wasn’t looking forward to the dental work that would get him there. Dr. Gaukhman took care of that issue as well.
“I told Dr. Gaukhman I wanted to be put to sleep when he did the drilling and other work, and he did that for me,” Maurice says. “He made me very comfortable. I didn’t expe-rience the slightest bit of pain, not even after Dr. Gaukhman put in the implants.”
And while Maurice can’t recall any bad experiences with dentists in his past, he still gets nervous whenever he visits one. Dr. Gaukhman and his sta� took his anxiety into consideration during the implant process.
“I have my blood pressure under control, but when I go into a dental appointment where the dentist is going to work on my teeth, my blood pressure skyrockets,” Maurice acknowledges. “But the sta� at Venetian Dental helped me relax.
“I’m happy with Dr. Gaukhman’s process. When I got my upper denture eighteen years ago, the dentist pulled my teeth and put in my denture before my gums had completely shrunk back to their normal size after being swollen. As a result, I ended up with a loose denture.
“This time, Dr. Gaukhman placed the implants, then waited a few months until the bone adhered to the implants and my gums healed. He gave me temporary dentures to wear during that time. I got my permanent dentures in January, and they � t perfectly.”
As it turned out, Maurice was in New Hampshire during the time his implants were heal-ing, so when he returned to Florida, he was ready to receive his permanent dentures. He’s thrilled with the � nished products.
“I love my dentures,” Maurice raves. “� e bite is perfect, and they look good. Dr. Gaukhman pretty much copied the look of my old den-ture on the top, and for the bottom, he showed me sample teeth and let me pick what I wanted. Some were narrow teeth and some were wider, but they matched up really well.
“� e dentures Dr. Gaukhman made for me look very natural. People don’t know they’re not real teeth. I’m so lucky. Everything turned out perfectly.”
Maurice is especially pleased that his new upper denture has no plas-tic covering the roof of his mouth. He points out that one bene� t of that is he can better taste his food. But that’s not even the best part for him.
“� e main bene� t of the implant denture for me is it eliminated the gagging I experienced for eighteen years with my old upper den-ture,” he says. “And my bottom denture doesn’t move in my mouth at all. I should have done this in 2000 instead of waiting.
“I de� nitely recommend Dr. Gaukhman and Venetian Dental. � ey did excellent by me. Nobody could do a better job than they did.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Photos by Jordan Pysz. mkb
Venetian Dental Services
Better Bite, Better Smile
(941) 328-3208
Venice US Hwy.
Bypass S.
Osprey S. Tamiami Trail, Suite F
Sarasota Avenida
Navarra
Page 4 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition
Barry LevineExecutive Publisher
Gina L. d’AngeloCFO/HR
Roy CummingsEditorial Supervisor
Michelle BrooksCreative Director
Brian LevineProject Coordinator
Patti DiPanfiloAnnette MardisEditorial Staff
Laura EngelProduction Assistant
Nerissa JohnsonGraphic Designer
Nerissa JohnsonJordan PyszFred BelletPhotography
Steve TurkMario Hill
Gary SmithAldy Laracuente
Distribution
ZaQuan EverettAlliyah LawrenceShyan Blaze Clark
Interns
Venetian Dental General, Cosmetic and
Emergency Dentistry
Advanced Orthopedic CenterOrthopedic Surgery and
Sports Medicine
David A. Napoliello, MD, FACSMinimally Invasive General Surgery
Joyce Vein & Aesthetic InstituteVein Treatment and Aesthetics
Johnson Medical CenterSedative Stretching
South Florida Eye ClinicOphthalmology
Sarasota Foot and Ankle Center Podiatry
OsteoStrongOsteoporosis Treatment
Advanced RejuvenationLaser Therapy
Atlas Chiropractic of SarasotaChiropractic
Port Charlotte Dental CareComprehensive Dentistry
215 Bullard ParkwayTemple Terrace, FL 33617
(813) 989-1330
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General, CosmetiC and emerGenCy dentistry
While preparing for work one day in 2007, Linda Ettinger mindlessly scratched her right leg over what she thought was a mosquito bite. A few moments later,
she looked down and saw blood � owing from an open wound on her leg and gathering on the � oor. Her hus-band took her to the hospital, where the wound closed. It eventually healed, but not for long.
“Over the years, I saw several wound care doctors, but it was always the same story,” the 66-year-old New Jersey native shares. “� ey treated the wound with med-icine and scraped away the dead skin. It would be � ne for a while, but it kept coming back. It would heal, then open up again.
“� e wound looked like somebody stuck a � replace poker in my leg. It was pretty deep, and it was bright red and oozed infectious stu� . At one point, I was on antibiotics for a year. It felt like a hole burning in my leg. � ere was a lot of pain.
“I couldn’t sleep on my right side, so I had a lot of sleepless nights. I couldn’t swim or ride my bike, and I had a hard time walking because of my leg. I couldn’t even stand for more than ten minutes because it was so painful.”
Just when Linda was losing hope, her husband heard about Douglas H. Joyce, DO, at Joyce Vein & Aesthetic Institute in Punta Gorda. At � e Ulcer Center at JVAI, Dr. Joyce treats leg wounds resulting from venous disease. Dr. Joyce is a skilled vein specialist who combines com-passion and expertise to treat patients with venous disease.
After evaluating Linda’s legs using ultrasound map-ping, Dr. Joyce determined her wound, or venous ulcer, was related to leaking veins in her right leg, a form of venous disease.
“� ere are two systems of veins in the legs,” Dr. Joyce informs. “� ere are the high-pressure, deep veins in the middle of the leg, and the low-pressure, super� cial veins near the surface of the skin. � e two systems are con-nected by veins called perforator veins.
“Perforator veins have valves in them that allow blood to move from the skin to the deep veins during rest. When people walk, the deep veins are squeezed by the large muscles of the legs, and high pressure is generated to send blood toward the heart. � e valves in the perforator veins are designed to close at that time to prevent the � ow of high pressure blood outward to the delicate skin veins.
“If the perforator valves fail, high-pressure blood � ows directly to the delicate skin veins causing the symp-toms of venous disease. � ese include swelling, pain, chronic varicose veins, discoloration and ulceration.”
At � e Ulcer Center at JVAI, Dr. Joyce uses leading-edge procedures and state-of-the-art technology to treat patients and give them the best chance at a positive
Douglas H. Joyce, DO, FACOS, FACPh, is board certifi ed in phlebology (venous disease), cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery, and general surgery. After receiving his Doctorate from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Joyce completed his internship and surgical residency at Lansing General Hospital. He went on to receive several fellowships, including a surgical fellowship in cardiovas-cular and thoracic surgery and a special fellowship in cardiopulmonary perfusion from Cleveland Clinic Foundation, as well as a fellowship in congenital and adult cardiovascular-thoracic surgery from Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills, NJ. Dr. Joyce is a diplomate of the American College of Phlebology, American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and International College of Surgeons, and a former assistant clinical professor of surgery for the department of osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ.
Visit Joyce Vein & Aesthetic Institute on the web at www.jvai.com
GET HELP FROM AN EXPERT
To learn how Dr. Joyce can remove venous disease from your life, call or
visit his o� ce in Punta Gorda at:
25092 Olympia AvenueSuite 500
(941) 575-0123
DOUGLAS H. JOYCE, DO, FACOS, FACPH
Firehose EffectHigh venous pressure can lead to non-healing leg ulcers
outcome. � at technology includes a procedure Dr. Joyce pio-neered called single-needle laser ablation. This procedure is a noninvasive method of sealing the diseased veins responsible for advanced venous condi-tions, including ulcers. He used this technique to treat Linda’s leg veins.
Under PressureThe deve lopment of venous ulcers is all about pressure, Dr. Joyce stresses.
“The pressure in the superficial veins under the skin is very low,” he observes . “� is is evident when a person su� ers a cut on their skin’s surface. � e cut bleeds a little bit then stops. � e force in these outside veins runs at about 15mmhg (blood pressure measurement).
“� e pressure in the deep veins, on the other hand, can be higher by a factor of twenty or more. When a person walks, the leg muscles squeeze the deep vein and the pressure increases dramatically to move blood all the way uphill to the heart. � e pressure in the deep veins can be more than two times the blood pressure in the arteries.
“If the super� cial veins fall under high pressure, the nearby arteries, which have a lower pressure, cannot per-form their function of circulating fresh blood,” Dr. Joyce continues. “Fresh blood brings in oxygen to nourish the skin and removes waste products. If these processes can-not occur, skin cells begin to wither and die.
“� e perforator veins run straight from the deep veins to the surface veins. When they become enlarged and start leaking, they act like a pressure washer against the skin. Arteries cannot compete against that pressure, skin cells cannot get nourished and die, and the skin opens up as an ulcer.”
“Dr. Joyce told me I had high-pressure venous disease,” Linda relates. “With that, my blood wasn’t � ow-ing correctly going back to my heart, and because of the pressure, the blood � ow was like a � rehose against my skin. � at caused the wound to open up.”
Sealing the diseased perforator veins with single-needle laser ablation turns o� the � rehose and normalizes the pressure in the super� cial veins. Arteries can then
function to bring oxygen and other nutrients to the skin, and venous ulcers begin to heal.
Miracle StepsDr. Joyce’s single-needle laser ablation had a tremendous impact on the debilitating e� ects of Linda’s leg ulcer. She’s amazed by the improvement in her condition.
“Since I’ve been seeing Dr. Joyce, it’s like a miracle,” Linda marvels. “When I � rst started going to him, I could barely walk. I got a Fitbit® for Christmas, and now, I’m up to � ve thousand steps. My husband can’t believe how much better I’m walking. And my sleeping is wonderful now.
“I love baseball, and my husband treated me to a couple spring training games. We had to stand and wait until the box o� ce opened. I stood for an hour and a half, and it didn’t even bother me. Before, I couldn’t stand for ten minutes.”
Dr. Joyce and his sta� at � e Ulcer Center at JVAI partner with their patients’ wound care centers to see the wounds to closure. Once Dr. Joyce treats a patient’s diseased veins, the e� orts of the wound care centers are more e� ective. After her procedure, Linda returned for additional wound care.
“Dr. Joyce’s treatment has de� nitely been successful,” she enthuses. “My wound is almost healed. � e wound care doctor is now going to put a skin graft on it, but he wanted to wait until Dr. Joyce was done treating the veins in my leg. At my next appointment, I’ll get the graft, then I’ll be completely healed.
“Dr. Joyce is very gentle, and his sta� is amazing. Going to � e Ulcer Center at Joyce Vein and Aesthetic Institute was a great experience for me. I tell my neighbors, if they have sores on their legs, don’t wait like I did. See Dr. Joyce. He’s absolutely wonderful.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Photo by Jordan Pysz. Before images courtesy
of Joyce Vein & Aesthetic Institute. nj
BEF
ORE
Following vein treatment,
Linda is walking more than
� ve thousand steps a day
South Sarasota County Edition | Summer 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 5vein treatment and aesthetiCs
Sheila Katko
Dr. Johnson encourages his patients to do stretches like these every day.
For more information, please visit www.DRJPJ.com
JEFFREY P. JOHNSON, DC
Je� rey P. Johnson, DC, is a member of the National Academy of Manipulation Under Anesthesia Physicians and has performed more than , procedures to date. He is also a graduate of Life Chiropractic University in Marietta, GA, with additional training through the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago. His training included: Manipulation Under Anesthesia, proprietary substances and chiropractic adjunctive physiotherapy. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Johnson holds certifi cation from the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and is a member of the American Chiropractic Association, the Florida Chiropractic Association, the American Board of Disability Analysts and other professional and civic organizations. He has been in private practice since .
Stop the PainFor a consultation appointment, please contact Johnson Medical
Center, located in Venice at:
401 Johnson LaneSuite 101
(941) 484-5333
“My husband really hates the cold, so he started coming down to Florida for the winters while I stayed in Indiana because I didn’t want to give up my job,” Sheila shares. “One year, I came down to Florida to stay for six weeks, and I was hooked.”
For years, Sheila dealt with a recurring back issue. Whenever she performed an activity for an extended period of time, her low back would become painful. Over time, however, she adapted to the discom-fort and went on with her life. But three
Stretching protocol relieves aggravating, debilitating back pain
Back at It
Sedative Stretching has made it easier for Sheila to play with Maggie.
years ago, an incident occurred that caused pain she couldn’t live with.
“I don’t know what happened,” Sheila says. “I was outside with my dogs, and I experienced this excruciating pain in my lower back. I was just standing there. I don’t know if I twisted or did something else, but I just about fell over from the pain. It was awful.
“� e pain got worse and worse until I could barely walk. But if I sat for more than ten minutes, I’d be in agony. My lower back was constantly tight, and in the lower
right side, it felt like some-body was stabbing me with a knife and then twisting it. � e pain was intense. � e only thing that helped at all was lying back on a recliner.
“I couldn’t function. I couldn’t walk my dogs. We couldn’t go out and have an evening out because I couldn’t sit. I could hardly go to the grocery store. If I bent down to get some-thing, I couldn’t get back up. I had trouble sleeping as well. Every time I turned over, my back locked up. I was a decrepit, old lady, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”
Sheila’s doctor had a few ideas. One was to have Sheila complete a course of physical therapy. Upon completion of the course, however, Sheila was still in pain. She next visited a pain
management specialist who tried easing the agony by performing a couple of specialty treatment techniques.
“� e doctor tried radiofrequency abla-tion, where they burn your nerves, and that worked for about two weeks,” Sheila describes. “� en the doctor gave me steroid injections, and those worked for a couple of weeks, but the pain returned yet again.”
Soon thereafter, Sheila’s husband heard about Je� rey P. Johnson, DC, and his spe-cialized treatment protocol for back and neck pain called Sedative Stretching. Dr. Johnson is a skilled and experienced chiropractor at Johnson Medical Center in Venice. He has expertise in Sedative Stretching, which is an expanded and comprehensive form of Manipulation Under Anesthesia, or MUA.
“I was skeptical about it at � rst, but my husband said, What have you got to lose? You’ve tried everything else, so I made an appointment,” Sheila recalls. “Dr. Johnson was so caring and kind. He took his time to explain everything to me, and he gave me a folder with all of the information about Sedative Stretching.”
“I remember Sheila very well,” Dr. Johnson states. “She came to us with back pain that began in 2016 and became progressively worse. She experienced pain within the � rst minute of standing and walking, and she was unable to walk or stand for more than ten minutes at a time. Since she had tried physical therapy and several pain management techniques
without much success, I believed she was a perfect candidate for Sedative Stretching.”
“Dr. Johnson took x-rays and told me I had two joints that were fused a long time ago, maybe when I was a kid,” Sheila relates. “He also said there was a lot of scar tissue around all of the joints in my back. I also have scoliosis, which didn’t help with the pain.
“He then explained that during Sedative Stretching, he’ll stretch all of my joints and get them moving again. And once they’re moving, they’ll break up that scar tissue. � at made sense to me, so I decided to do the Sedative Stretching.”
Infl ammation in ExcessSedative Stretching can bene� t many people with painful muscle and joint conditions. Ideal candidates are those with conditions such as unresolved neck and back pain, her-niated discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, frozen shoulder, acute and chronic muscle spasm, headaches and failed back surgery syndrome. � e procedure can also bene� t people who want to regain lost � exibility or those who are “sick and tired of being sti� and sore.”
“It’s best for people to address the cause of their condition as early as they possibly can,” Dr. Johnson observes. “� e chronic sti� ness, tightness and pain cause excessive wear and tear on the joints of the spine and extremities, resulting in permanent degen-eration and arthritis.
“People start losing � exibility after minor injuries incurred during their typical daily activities result in chronic,
low-grade inflammation. Many times, this occurs in early childhood and is a long-forgotten event. Over time, these injuries develop into severe and sometimes debilitating conditions.”
In� ammation is part of the body’s natu-ral healing process, which lays down a mesh of connective tissue, commonly known as scar tissue. Over time, layer upon layer of scar tissue can form in the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the joints, restricting the joints’ ability to move properly. � ese layers of scar tissue are called adhesions.
� e warning signs and symptoms gen-erally associated with adhesions include the slow and insidious loss of � exibility, as well as an increasing achiness and soreness. Most people will attribute this to normal aging. While it’s very common to become sti� and sore with age, it’s not normal.
“People will compensate how they move their bodies when this occurs, although they don’t always realize it,”Dr. Johnson notes. “� is is evident every-where while watching the way people walk, bend, twist and turn.
“Sadly, many people wait until signif-icant damage from excessive wear and tear has occurred before seeking appropriate care. Often, people will utilize over-the-counter and prescriptive medications, which help alleviate their symptoms.
“Unfortunately, this gives the patient a false sense of being cured while the underlying scar tissue continues to cause excessive damage.”
Freeing AdhesionsDuring Sedative Stretching, the patient is put under light sedation, often called twi-light sedation. With the patient relaxed, the a� ected joints are brought through their normal full range of motion, freeing the adhesions that have developed between the joints, causing pain.
“We use light, comprehensive stretch-ing techniques while the patient is sedated,”Dr. Johnson describes. “Since we don’t have to contend with tense, guarded muscles, we are able to free up the scar tissue and mobi-lize the joints without causing the patient any discomfort. � is would be impossible to do without the use of sedation.”
� e Sedative Stretching procedure is coordinated by a highly trained team of medical professionals. Generally, there are multiple health care providers present, including an anesthetist and several nurses. Patients usually require only one procedure. It is very rare that patients require a second
procedure to fully address their condition.Dr. Johnson recommends that patients
follow up the procedure by spending about two weeks in a rehabilitation program designed to reinforce the increased movements obtained from the treatment. During this time, patients are taught stretching exercises that prevent the condition from recurring.
“By following the recommended exer-cises, patients regain the � exibility they had decades before, and they generally return to activities they haven’t done in years,” Dr. Johnson informs. “� is is truly correct-ing the original cause of their conditions.”
Standing EngagementLela “Ann” Young, 72, spent most of her working years on her feet, first as a men’s hairstylist, then as an assistant to her husband.
ago that may have contributed to the problem.
“I fell back in the Eighties, but I don’t know if that had any-thing to do with it,” Ann relates. “I just know that my back hurt after I fell, and it hurt more and more as I got older.
“The pain was located in my lower back, and it hurt all the time. It just ached and hurt. I was always kind of humped over because of the pain, and for the most part, I just dealt with it and went on with my life as best I could.
“But the pain kept me from doing some things. I didn’t play golf as much because I always had to rest between playing, and the back pain a� ected my swing. My husband had to help me with the housework. He always vacu-umed for me.”
Ann became curious when a few friends told her about Dr. Johnson and his Sedative Stretching. She also read an arti-cle in Florida Health Care News that gave her additional information, so she thought she’d give the doctor and his treatment a try.
“Ann told me that years ago, she fell on the ice and landed � at on her pelvis,” Dr. Johnson notes. “She’s had recurring lower back pain ever since. Her pain was a seven to nine on a scale of zero to ten. She continued to be active even though she was in constant pain.
“My examination revealed swelling throughout her lower back and pelvis. Her sciatic nerve was irritated and in� amed, and she lost signi� cant range of motion in the lower segments of her spine. X-rays revealed severe disc degeneration in the last two seg-ments of her spine as well as facet arthrosis.
“Ann also exhibited a decrease in her ankle re� exes and strength in her hip � exor muscles. I was convinced Sedative Stretching would help her.”
“Dr. Johnson was very concerned and interested in the story of my back pain,” Ann recalls. “He took some x-rays and found out things about my back that I didn’t realize were wrong with it and explained it all to me in detail.
“He is very knowledgeable and that made me feel very comfortable about what he was saying. He told me he thought Sedative Stretching could really help me. Nobody had told me before that they could help me, so I thought, Why not give it a chance? I’m glad I did.”
Vivid Memory Ann remembers the day of her Sedative Stretching vividly. She got up early in the morning to arrive at the surgery center on time. � e sta� at the center prepped her for the pro-cedure, then Dr. Johnson stopped by to go over some last-minute instructions. � e doctor and his sta� then performed the procedure. When it was over, Ann received a surprise.
“When I woke up, my back didn’t hurt,” she raves. “I couldn’t believe it.”
With her pain relieved, Ann regained her energy and drive and soon returned to the activities she previously avoided. She
went back to the golf course and the house-work, although her husband continues to do the vacuuming just to be helpful.
“Dr. Johnson asked me to wait two weeks before I started gol� ng again, which I did,” Ann reports. “Now, I play golf two or three times a week with no problems. My back is no longer humped. I’m straighter and I stand up straight. And I’m more � exible since the Sedative Stretching procedure. I swing the golf club so freely now that I can’t believe it.”
It took a little longer for Sheila to expe-rience signi� cant pain relief following her Sedative Stretching. Her pain was decreased somewhat immediately after the procedure, but she still felt occasional shots of pain in her lower back.
“It actually took a couple of months before I really felt relief,” Sheila discloses. “One day, I was doing my regular stretch-ing routine and as I lifted then lowered my right leg, I felt something in my back move, like slide up and down. Apparently, I got the joint really moving, and I’ve been doing great ever since.
“I feel wonderful since my Sedative Stretching pro-cedure. I’m no longer feeling decrepit. Instead, I walk my dogs, I get on my treadmill, I bowl, I sleep, and I go out with the girls. I can get in and out of my car without pain. When I walk around, I think, Wow, I’m walking around and I’m not limping. I’m not bent over.”
“It’s amazing how well the Sedative Stretching worked,” Ann says. “I think about how long my back had been hurting and how bad it hurt. And now that it doesn’t hurt anymore, I don’t even know how to describe how good it feels. It’s like a new life for me.
“Sedative Stretching was one hundred percent success-ful for me. I’ve already talked
to a few people about the procedure and about Dr. Johnson. He is a very genuine person who really cares about people and wants to help them.
“He is also a very dedicated person, and he made me feel better when I didn’t think anyone or anything could make me feel bet-ter. It should make everyone feel good to know that there’s someone out there who can really help them.”
Sheila notes that Dr. Johnson and his stretching protocol made a huge di� erence for her as well.
“Before my Sedative Stretching proce-dure, I was at my wit’s end,” she relates. “I didn’t think any surgery would help, and I was just not going to go on opioids. I had taken so much ibuprofen for the pain that I actually damaged my kidney, and I can’t ever take ibuprofen again.
“Recently, I called Dr. Johnson and told him, You really saved my life.” FHCN staff article. Photos by Jordan Pysz. mkb
Lela “Ann” Young
Bene� ts of Sedative Stretching
Eff ective Sedative Stretching treatments provide powerful results:
• Breaks up scar tissue and adhesions surrounding the joints and spine commonly caused by injury or previous surgery
• Corrects the cause of many pain syndromes
• Relaxes patient for more eff ective treatment of even sensitive, injured areas
• Stretches and corrects persistent shor tened muscles, tendons and ligaments
• Relieves pain from damaged intervertebral discs
• Decreases the progression of osteoarthritic types of degeneration
Provided by Johnson Medical Center
Sheila Katko, 64, is semi-retired. She works part-time for a company that manages the release of
patient medical records from hos-pitals to individual physicians. � e Indiana native works from her Port Charlotte home, which became home three years ago when she relocated from Indiana to Florida.
“I retired a long time ago, but then I worked with my husband in his job as a manufacturer’s representative to the safety and industrial trade,” she con-firms. “He worked a lot of trade shows and things like that, so I was on my feet a lot at those events.”
A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Ann relo-cated to Florida in 2017 by way of Atlanta, Georgia. � e balmy Florida weather was the main motivating factor for the move.
“We had ice and snow in Atlanta, which we don’t miss at all, and we wanted beauti-ful weather year-round,” Ann explains. “We wanted to be able to play golf all year long, so Venice was the perfect place for us to live.”
Like Sheila, Ann had a longstanding issue with back pain. She can’t remem-ber one defining injury that initiated the pain but does recall an incident 30 years
Ann is swinging
freely and pain free since
under-going
Sedative Stretching.
Page 6 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition sedative stretChinG
Sheila Katko
Dr. Johnson encourages his patients to do stretches like these every day.
For more information, please visit www.DRJPJ.com
JEFFREY P. JOHNSON, DC
Je� rey P. Johnson, DC, is a member of the National Academy of Manipulation Under Anesthesia Physicians and has performed more than , procedures to date. He is also a graduate of Life Chiropractic University in Marietta, GA, with additional training through the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago. His training included: Manipulation Under Anesthesia, proprietary substances and chiropractic adjunctive physiotherapy. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Johnson holds certifi cation from the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and is a member of the American Chiropractic Association, the Florida Chiropractic Association, the American Board of Disability Analysts and other professional and civic organizations. He has been in private practice since .
Stop the PainFor a consultation appointment, please contact Johnson Medical
Center, located in Venice at:
401 Johnson LaneSuite 101
(941) 484-5333
“My husband really hates the cold, so he started coming down to Florida for the winters while I stayed in Indiana because I didn’t want to give up my job,” Sheila shares. “One year, I came down to Florida to stay for six weeks, and I was hooked.”
For years, Sheila dealt with a recurring back issue. Whenever she performed an activity for an extended period of time, her low back would become painful. Over time, however, she adapted to the discom-fort and went on with her life. But three
Stretching protocol relieves aggravating, debilitating back pain
Back at It
Sedative Stretching has made it easier for Sheila to play with Maggie.
years ago, an incident occurred that caused pain she couldn’t live with.
“I don’t know what happened,” Sheila says. “I was outside with my dogs, and I experienced this excruciating pain in my lower back. I was just standing there. I don’t know if I twisted or did something else, but I just about fell over from the pain. It was awful.
“� e pain got worse and worse until I could barely walk. But if I sat for more than ten minutes, I’d be in agony. My lower back was constantly tight, and in the lower
right side, it felt like some-body was stabbing me with a knife and then twisting it. � e pain was intense. � e only thing that helped at all was lying back on a recliner.
“I couldn’t function. I couldn’t walk my dogs. We couldn’t go out and have an evening out because I couldn’t sit. I could hardly go to the grocery store. If I bent down to get some-thing, I couldn’t get back up. I had trouble sleeping as well. Every time I turned over, my back locked up. I was a decrepit, old lady, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”
Sheila’s doctor had a few ideas. One was to have Sheila complete a course of physical therapy. Upon completion of the course, however, Sheila was still in pain. She next visited a pain
management specialist who tried easing the agony by performing a couple of specialty treatment techniques.
“� e doctor tried radiofrequency abla-tion, where they burn your nerves, and that worked for about two weeks,” Sheila describes. “� en the doctor gave me steroid injections, and those worked for a couple of weeks, but the pain returned yet again.”
Soon thereafter, Sheila’s husband heard about Je� rey P. Johnson, DC, and his spe-cialized treatment protocol for back and neck pain called Sedative Stretching. Dr. Johnson is a skilled and experienced chiropractor at Johnson Medical Center in Venice. He has expertise in Sedative Stretching, which is an expanded and comprehensive form of Manipulation Under Anesthesia, or MUA.
“I was skeptical about it at � rst, but my husband said, What have you got to lose? You’ve tried everything else, so I made an appointment,” Sheila recalls. “Dr. Johnson was so caring and kind. He took his time to explain everything to me, and he gave me a folder with all of the information about Sedative Stretching.”
“I remember Sheila very well,” Dr. Johnson states. “She came to us with back pain that began in 2016 and became progressively worse. She experienced pain within the � rst minute of standing and walking, and she was unable to walk or stand for more than ten minutes at a time. Since she had tried physical therapy and several pain management techniques
without much success, I believed she was a perfect candidate for Sedative Stretching.”
“Dr. Johnson took x-rays and told me I had two joints that were fused a long time ago, maybe when I was a kid,” Sheila relates. “He also said there was a lot of scar tissue around all of the joints in my back. I also have scoliosis, which didn’t help with the pain.
“He then explained that during Sedative Stretching, he’ll stretch all of my joints and get them moving again. And once they’re moving, they’ll break up that scar tissue. � at made sense to me, so I decided to do the Sedative Stretching.”
Infl ammation in ExcessSedative Stretching can bene� t many people with painful muscle and joint conditions. Ideal candidates are those with conditions such as unresolved neck and back pain, her-niated discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, frozen shoulder, acute and chronic muscle spasm, headaches and failed back surgery syndrome. � e procedure can also bene� t people who want to regain lost � exibility or those who are “sick and tired of being sti� and sore.”
“It’s best for people to address the cause of their condition as early as they possibly can,” Dr. Johnson observes. “� e chronic sti� ness, tightness and pain cause excessive wear and tear on the joints of the spine and extremities, resulting in permanent degen-eration and arthritis.
“People start losing � exibility after minor injuries incurred during their typical daily activities result in chronic,
low-grade inflammation. Many times, this occurs in early childhood and is a long-forgotten event. Over time, these injuries develop into severe and sometimes debilitating conditions.”
In� ammation is part of the body’s natu-ral healing process, which lays down a mesh of connective tissue, commonly known as scar tissue. Over time, layer upon layer of scar tissue can form in the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the joints, restricting the joints’ ability to move properly. � ese layers of scar tissue are called adhesions.
� e warning signs and symptoms gen-erally associated with adhesions include the slow and insidious loss of � exibility, as well as an increasing achiness and soreness. Most people will attribute this to normal aging. While it’s very common to become sti� and sore with age, it’s not normal.
“People will compensate how they move their bodies when this occurs, although they don’t always realize it,”Dr. Johnson notes. “� is is evident every-where while watching the way people walk, bend, twist and turn.
“Sadly, many people wait until signif-icant damage from excessive wear and tear has occurred before seeking appropriate care. Often, people will utilize over-the-counter and prescriptive medications, which help alleviate their symptoms.
“Unfortunately, this gives the patient a false sense of being cured while the underlying scar tissue continues to cause excessive damage.”
Freeing AdhesionsDuring Sedative Stretching, the patient is put under light sedation, often called twi-light sedation. With the patient relaxed, the a� ected joints are brought through their normal full range of motion, freeing the adhesions that have developed between the joints, causing pain.
“We use light, comprehensive stretch-ing techniques while the patient is sedated,”Dr. Johnson describes. “Since we don’t have to contend with tense, guarded muscles, we are able to free up the scar tissue and mobi-lize the joints without causing the patient any discomfort. � is would be impossible to do without the use of sedation.”
� e Sedative Stretching procedure is coordinated by a highly trained team of medical professionals. Generally, there are multiple health care providers present, including an anesthetist and several nurses. Patients usually require only one procedure. It is very rare that patients require a second
procedure to fully address their condition.Dr. Johnson recommends that patients
follow up the procedure by spending about two weeks in a rehabilitation program designed to reinforce the increased movements obtained from the treatment. During this time, patients are taught stretching exercises that prevent the condition from recurring.
“By following the recommended exer-cises, patients regain the � exibility they had decades before, and they generally return to activities they haven’t done in years,” Dr. Johnson informs. “� is is truly correct-ing the original cause of their conditions.”
Standing EngagementLela “Ann” Young, 72, spent most of her working years on her feet, first as a men’s hairstylist, then as an assistant to her husband.
ago that may have contributed to the problem.
“I fell back in the Eighties, but I don’t know if that had any-thing to do with it,” Ann relates. “I just know that my back hurt after I fell, and it hurt more and more as I got older.
“The pain was located in my lower back, and it hurt all the time. It just ached and hurt. I was always kind of humped over because of the pain, and for the most part, I just dealt with it and went on with my life as best I could.
“But the pain kept me from doing some things. I didn’t play golf as much because I always had to rest between playing, and the back pain a� ected my swing. My husband had to help me with the housework. He always vacu-umed for me.”
Ann became curious when a few friends told her about Dr. Johnson and his Sedative Stretching. She also read an arti-cle in Florida Health Care News that gave her additional information, so she thought she’d give the doctor and his treatment a try.
“Ann told me that years ago, she fell on the ice and landed � at on her pelvis,” Dr. Johnson notes. “She’s had recurring lower back pain ever since. Her pain was a seven to nine on a scale of zero to ten. She continued to be active even though she was in constant pain.
“My examination revealed swelling throughout her lower back and pelvis. Her sciatic nerve was irritated and in� amed, and she lost signi� cant range of motion in the lower segments of her spine. X-rays revealed severe disc degeneration in the last two seg-ments of her spine as well as facet arthrosis.
“Ann also exhibited a decrease in her ankle re� exes and strength in her hip � exor muscles. I was convinced Sedative Stretching would help her.”
“Dr. Johnson was very concerned and interested in the story of my back pain,” Ann recalls. “He took some x-rays and found out things about my back that I didn’t realize were wrong with it and explained it all to me in detail.
“He is very knowledgeable and that made me feel very comfortable about what he was saying. He told me he thought Sedative Stretching could really help me. Nobody had told me before that they could help me, so I thought, Why not give it a chance? I’m glad I did.”
Vivid Memory Ann remembers the day of her Sedative Stretching vividly. She got up early in the morning to arrive at the surgery center on time. � e sta� at the center prepped her for the pro-cedure, then Dr. Johnson stopped by to go over some last-minute instructions. � e doctor and his sta� then performed the procedure. When it was over, Ann received a surprise.
“When I woke up, my back didn’t hurt,” she raves. “I couldn’t believe it.”
With her pain relieved, Ann regained her energy and drive and soon returned to the activities she previously avoided. She
went back to the golf course and the house-work, although her husband continues to do the vacuuming just to be helpful.
“Dr. Johnson asked me to wait two weeks before I started gol� ng again, which I did,” Ann reports. “Now, I play golf two or three times a week with no problems. My back is no longer humped. I’m straighter and I stand up straight. And I’m more � exible since the Sedative Stretching procedure. I swing the golf club so freely now that I can’t believe it.”
It took a little longer for Sheila to expe-rience signi� cant pain relief following her Sedative Stretching. Her pain was decreased somewhat immediately after the procedure, but she still felt occasional shots of pain in her lower back.
“It actually took a couple of months before I really felt relief,” Sheila discloses. “One day, I was doing my regular stretch-ing routine and as I lifted then lowered my right leg, I felt something in my back move, like slide up and down. Apparently, I got the joint really moving, and I’ve been doing great ever since.
“I feel wonderful since my Sedative Stretching pro-cedure. I’m no longer feeling decrepit. Instead, I walk my dogs, I get on my treadmill, I bowl, I sleep, and I go out with the girls. I can get in and out of my car without pain. When I walk around, I think, Wow, I’m walking around and I’m not limping. I’m not bent over.”
“It’s amazing how well the Sedative Stretching worked,” Ann says. “I think about how long my back had been hurting and how bad it hurt. And now that it doesn’t hurt anymore, I don’t even know how to describe how good it feels. It’s like a new life for me.
“Sedative Stretching was one hundred percent success-ful for me. I’ve already talked
to a few people about the procedure and about Dr. Johnson. He is a very genuine person who really cares about people and wants to help them.
“He is also a very dedicated person, and he made me feel better when I didn’t think anyone or anything could make me feel bet-ter. It should make everyone feel good to know that there’s someone out there who can really help them.”
Sheila notes that Dr. Johnson and his stretching protocol made a huge di� erence for her as well.
“Before my Sedative Stretching proce-dure, I was at my wit’s end,” she relates. “I didn’t think any surgery would help, and I was just not going to go on opioids. I had taken so much ibuprofen for the pain that I actually damaged my kidney, and I can’t ever take ibuprofen again.
“Recently, I called Dr. Johnson and told him, You really saved my life.” FHCN staff article. Photos by Jordan Pysz. mkb
Lela “Ann” Young
Bene� ts of Sedative Stretching
Eff ective Sedative Stretching treatments provide powerful results:
• Breaks up scar tissue and adhesions surrounding the joints and spine commonly caused by injury or previous surgery
• Corrects the cause of many pain syndromes
• Relaxes patient for more eff ective treatment of even sensitive, injured areas
• Stretches and corrects persistent shor tened muscles, tendons and ligaments
• Relieves pain from damaged intervertebral discs
• Decreases the progression of osteoarthritic types of degeneration
Provided by Johnson Medical Center
Sheila Katko, 64, is semi-retired. She works part-time for a company that manages the release of
patient medical records from hos-pitals to individual physicians. � e Indiana native works from her Port Charlotte home, which became home three years ago when she relocated from Indiana to Florida.
“I retired a long time ago, but then I worked with my husband in his job as a manufacturer’s representative to the safety and industrial trade,” she con-firms. “He worked a lot of trade shows and things like that, so I was on my feet a lot at those events.”
A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Ann relo-cated to Florida in 2017 by way of Atlanta, Georgia. � e balmy Florida weather was the main motivating factor for the move.
“We had ice and snow in Atlanta, which we don’t miss at all, and we wanted beauti-ful weather year-round,” Ann explains. “We wanted to be able to play golf all year long, so Venice was the perfect place for us to live.”
Like Sheila, Ann had a longstanding issue with back pain. She can’t remem-ber one defining injury that initiated the pain but does recall an incident 30 years
Ann is swinging
freely and pain free since
under-going
Sedative Stretching.
South Sarasota County Edition | Summer 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 7sedative stretChinG
Dawn Chiu, DPM, AACFAS, is a board-qualifi ed podiatric surgeon and Associate of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in zoology and received her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco. Dr. Chiu completed her podiatric surgical residency at Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia.
Arthur D. Clode, DPM, AACFAS, is a board-qualifi ed podiatric surgeon and Associate of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. He earned a degree in biological sciences from Florida International University and a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco. He completed his podiatric surgical residency at Golden Glades Regional Medical Center in Miami.
SARASOTA FOOT AND ANKLE CENTER
DAWN CHIU, DPM, AACFASARTHUR D. CLODE, DPM, AACFAS
Makethe Call
To learn more about the PinPointe FootLaser, visit www.sarasotafoot.com
There’s no need to drive to Fort Myers or Tampa for laser toenail fungus
treatment. FDA-approved PinPointe FootLaser is available at
Sarasota Foot and Ankle Center, which has three locations:
Sarasota th Street
(941) 366-4888Englewood
Old Englewood Road(941) 366-4888
Sun City Center Rickenbacker Dr.(813) 634-8980
Case in Pointe
W hen a two-liter bottle of soda fell out of a grocery bag and onto her right big toe one summer day
several years back, Sandy Oliver knew it would take a while for the resulting cracked toenail to heal and look normal again.
She just didn’t expect the healing pro-cess to take more than 20 years.
“� is all started at a water park in Texas,” Sandy relates. “I had taken my kids there for the day, and when this bot-tle of soda fell out of the sack, I wasn’t wearing anything on my feet, so my toe wasn’t protected at all. Let me tell you, that really hurt.
“What happened later is that a fun-gus got in there, so even after that big toe healed, it still wasn’t right. It became all black and then the fungus spread to some other toes. It got so bad that it hurt to wear shoes, which made it hard to walk.”
� e situation eventually forced Sandy to visit a podiatrist, who prescribed an oral antifungal medication. � e medi-cation eliminated the fungus, but it also
made Sandy feel ill. She felt worse when the fungus returned a few months later.
Reluctant to try another medication, Sandy tolerated the fungus and its e� ects for years. It wasn’t until after she moved to Florida and read about a laser treatment per-formed at Sarasota Foot and Ankle Center that she once again sought medical aid.
Weapon of Choice“Sandy � rst came to us a little more than a year ago wanting to try our PinPointe™ FootLaser® therapy, which is my preferred weapon of choice in the battle against toe-nail fungus,’’ says Dawn Chiu, DPM, at Sarasota Foot and Ankle Center.
“I prefer it because unlike oral med-ications, which can upset a person’s stomach the way they did with Sandy, the laser treatment kills the under-lying fungus without caus-ing side e� ects, and there’s no need for the patient to take a blood test beforehand.”
� e in-o� ce laser treatment lasts only a few minutes, during which time the laser is passed over the nail in a crisscross pattern to ensure full coverage. Patients
usually feel a warm sensation on their toe while the laser treatment is in progress, but no pain.
Afterward, patients can resume nor-mal activities. When combined with topical ointments, the laser treatment has an 80 percent success rate. Sandy, who had the treatment performed on all of her toes in November 2017, is factored into that success rate.
“My toes look and feel great again, and I’m really happy about that because I moved to Florida to be near the beach,’’ Sandy exudes. “I love the white sand beaches and the blue water of the west coast, and now, I can really enjoy them.
“I’m so glad I found this treatment because I was thinking I was going to have to put up with that fungus prob-
lem forever. D r . C h i u and her staff cou ldn’t be more profes-s i o n a l a n d kind. They’re
all great, and I highly recommend them and the laser treatment.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photo by Jordan Pysz.
Before and after images courtesy of Sarasota Foot and
Ankle Center. mkb
Painless, in-o� ce laser treatment corrects toenail fungus
Sandy Oliver
SOUTH FLORIDA EYE CLINICSCOTT L. GELLER, MD
For Eye Floater Solutions
South Florida Eye Clinic is located in Fort Myers at:
4755 Summerlin Rd. Call Dr. Geller at:
(239) 275-8222or toll-free at:
(877) 371-3937
Scott L. Geller, MD, is board certified by the A m e r i c a n B o a r d o f O p h t h a l m o l o g y. H e is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and Rush Medical College. While in medical school, he was awarded a student
fellowship to study tropical medicine at a missionary hospital in India, and pursued additional studies at the famous Brompton Hospital in London, England. He interned at Presbyterian Hospital, Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, and completed his residency in ophthalmology at Sinai Hospital of Detroit, which was affi liated with Wayne State Medical School and Kresge Eye Institute. Dr. Geller was fellowship-trained in anterior segment and refractive surgery with Dr. William Myers of the Michigan Eye Institute. Dr. Geller is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has presented papers on eye fl oater laser treatment at the International Congress of Ophthalmology, European Congress of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, European Congress of Ophthalmology and the Florida Society of Ophthalmology.
SCAN THIS TO YOUR SMARTPHONE
TO SEE ACTUAL PATIENTS
Dr. Geller has performed more than 20,000 documented eye � oater laser sessions.
See what Dr. Geller’s patients say about the Eye Floater Laser at www.vimeo.com/eye� oaters and on the Scott Geller MD YouTube channel.
Eye Floater LaserScott Geller, MD, teaches the technique worldwide
W ith more than 20,000 documented eye � oater laser sessions com-pleted, Dr. Scott Geller,
a board-certi� ed ophthalmologist, has the largest and longest clinical series of eye � oater laser sessions in the United States, and probably worldwide.
“I became interested in this niche ophthalmic specialty after I was trained by the professors in Switzerland who were using lasers to cut membranes in diabetic patients,” Dr. Geller explains. “� ey never thought of applying it to eye � oaters.”
Some doctors and patients creditDr. Geller with inventing the technique.
“I just applied the training and tech-niques I learned to eye � oaters, and have had amazing success,” Dr. Geller says. “I have presented my results and technique at major scienti� c meetings worldwide starting with the International Congress of
Ophthalmology in Singapore over twen-ty-� ve years and thousands of cases ago.”
Dr. Geller’s last presentations were at the prestigious Florida Society of Ophthalmology and the Orione Ophthalmic Congress in Italy, where he performed eye � oater laser sessions on selected patients.
“Almost all ophthalmologists use lasers in their practice, but they can’t treat eye � oaters with the precision and predictability required to do the best job possible, because most YAG lasers are not configured to work in the vit-reous gel, where floaters are created,” Dr. Geller states.
Worldwide Patient BaseRecently, a major ophthalmic laser manufacturer has devised a laser for � oaters.
“� e problem is, there have been no training courses for ophthalmologists who might be interested in this area,” Dr. Geller notes. “And that can lead to complications.”
Dr. Geller was the prin-cipal author of the only presentation on this subject at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2012.
“I have tried the other lasers, and if they were superior, I would purchase one immedi-ately,” Dr. Geller says. “I use the
Swiss made LASAG laser. It is de� nitely, in my hands, superior to the others out there. And I have two of them.”
Dr. Geller has a worldwide patient base. He has treated patients from Europe, Russia, China, Japan and most recently, an anesthesiologist from Brazil.
Dr. Gel ler a lways welcomes colleagues to observe or just call if they need to re� ne their own technique.
“Laser treatment of eye � oaters is fas-cinating,” Dr. Geller says. “I look forward to doing this every day.”Article submitted by Scott L. Geller, MD. Photo by Jordan
Pysz. mkb
Page 8 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition
podiatry
ophthalmoloGy
Reverse Bone Loss
OsteoStrong leverages scienti� cally proven osteogenic-loading methodologies to help
all ages and � tness levels. It was created using research in cellular
biology, anti-aging, longevity and bone mass. For more information or to schedule your FREE session,
call or visit their Downtown Sarasota o� ce at:
1702 Ringling Blvd.(941) 210-3832
Diseases and Conditions That Can Cause Bone Loss include:
� Autoimmune disorders � Digestive disorders � Breast or prostate cancer � Stroke � Celiac disease � Lupus � Parkinson’s disease � Spinal cord injuries � Diabetes � Scoliosis � Poor posture and poor diet
OsteoStrong®, a natural way to trigger your own adaptive responses to improve bone density and physical strength! It’s the no sweat and no soreness, once a week system that only takes about seven minutes per session. Over , people have seen amazing results and growing. Supporting scientifi c data and countless personal testimonies are making OsteoStrong® the best choice for strong bones, muscles, and balance in the world.
AFTEROsteoporosis
BEFORE
Repair Bone LossA once weekly, 15-minute strengthening program can rebuild bone
A fter su� ering for years with endometriosis, Shirley* and her husband turned to infertility treatments to help them conceive.
While those treatments were not suc-cessful, Shirley and her husband still got the child they always wanted through adoption.
In the aftermath of the infertility treat-ments, however, Shirley was left with a serious side e� ect resulting from prolonged use of infertility drugs – osteoporosis.
Bones are made of tissue that is con-stantly broken down and replaced. But when new bone creation does not keep up with degeneration, osteopenia and osteo-porosis can occur.
About 54 million Americans have osteoporosis and low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Breaking a bone is a serious complication of osteoporosis, especially as we get older. Osteoporotic bone breaks are most likely to occur in the hip, spine or wrist, but other bones can break too. In addition to causing permanent pain, osteoporosis causes some to lose height. When osteoporosis a� ects vertebrae, or the bones of the spine, it often leads to a stooped or hunched posture.
“I had a friend of mine who was a nurse advise me to get a bone density screening because she knew that many women on the same infertility drug had severe bone loss,” Shirley recalls. “So, I had my � rst bone scan performed when I was thirty-eight.
“ T h e results indi-cated I was o s t e o p e n i c , which means I had early o n s e t o f osteoporosis.”
That was 13 years ago.
“At that time, doctors told me to do weight-bearing exercises and increase my calcium and Vitamin D intake. They had no answers and no real plan.”
When a friend’s mother died of oste-oporosis, Shirley vowed she would not succumb to the condition herself.
“I have a child, and there is just no way that after everything I’ve been through I will allow osteoporosis to win,” Shirley says. “It isn’t going to hap-pen like that for me.”
During an OsteoStrong workout, patients apply pressure on patented equipment designed to stimulate
the body’s natural impulse to rebuild bone. Despite joining a gym and following a
rigorous exercise regimen, she continued to see her bone density scans get worse each year.
“My numbers kept going down,” Shirley recalls. “I felt like there had to be something out there that would help.”
In 2015, through online research, Shirley found a unique program called OsteoStrong that helps rebuild bone through once-a-week, 15-minute sessions using specialized strengthening equipment.
“It is di� cult to explain the di� erence between our equipment and that used at
a traditional gym,” educate s Marc Cannon, owner of OsteoStrong in Sarasota. “This equipment is iso-metric, which means tension is developed without contraction of the muscle. � ere is no force pushing against you, which
means that you create the force. On the leg press, for example, I’ve had ladies in their eighties weighing one hundred pounds who can press a thousand pounds. Because it is isometric, it is di� erent.”
To understand the difference he describes, Marc invites people to come in and try the equipment for themselves.
“We o� er one free session so that people can see what we mean by isometric,” Marc shares. “� ey have the opportunity to use the equipment and see exactly what it is like.”
A Proven Solution“Osteoporosis is a silent disease that most people are unaware they have until they fracture a bone,” educates Marc. “Statistically, one in two women and one in four men over age fifty will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.”
Marc says OsteoStrong is a proven, e� ective, natural solution to reverse bone loss for all age groups. “� is is an amazing concept that culminated after twelve years of research that looked into the body’s own adaptive response to growing new bone and muscle structure and improving the density of the bones we have.”
Marc loves to share stories that high-light the program’s long-term value.
“I met Shirley at an OsteoStrong con-ference in Albuquerque and after hearing her story, we connected instantly because in my view, her story is a success,” Marc says. “The program utilizes a concept called osteogenic loading, which is a � fteen-minute, once-a-week, resistance-based session that increases bone density, prevents fractures and strengthens muscle tissue.”
Shirley admits that initially, she was uncertain about how well a 15-minute workout, once a week, could rebuild bone.
“At first, I was skeptical, but after I read a lot about it and researched its suc-cess, I was convinced,” she says. “� e patient applies pressure on the patented equipment through short, acute activities that stimu-late the body’s natural impulse to rebuild bone and tissue loss. Once the tissue growth process has been triggered, the body will naturally rebuild tissue and bone.”
Sessions are deliberately scheduled once a week.
“Studies have determined that doing an OsteoStrong session more than once a week doesn’t promote any additional ben-e� t,” Marc explains. “Overall, studies have found that OsteoStrong improves people’s bone density by about seven percent a year.”
Better Late Than NeverShirley knows that had she found OsteoStrong years earlier, her bone loss would not have been as substantial.
“I’ve already lost twenty percent of my bone in my hip and twenty-four
percent of bone in my arm,” Shirley explains. “If I were to lose another twen-ty-� ve to thirty percent, I would have the bones of a signi� cantly older woman who could have a fracture at an early age.
“In the � rst six months, I had a signif-icant bone increase in my hips because of the OsteoStrong program,” she continues. “I was in tears when my latest bone scan results showed that increase. I had not had a gain in twelve years.”
Shirley’s life has been so dramatically improved because of OsteoStrong that she and her husband invested in a franchise.
“My husband and I were looking for a business venture, and after experi-encing OsteoStrong, and with my own personal situation, we decided to buy a franchise ourselves.
“� e important thing is, my num-bers are increasing now, and I owe it all to OsteoStrong,” she says. “It’s been a miracle for me and has changed my life!”
Because of her signi� cant improve-ment in her bones, Shirley says she likely will start having bone scans every other year once she turns 55.
“We’ve already had success stories in our center even though it’s been open for a short amount of time,” Shirley shares. “I tell women who come to our center here – we can reverse bone loss and you don’t have to be in fear of having a fracture.”
It is important for those who suf-fer from osteoporosis to consider that OsteoStrong is a program that caters to all age groups.
“Osteoporosis is not just something that only happens to old people. We have clients from young to old and everything in between. We have a lot of women in our center that are younger than I was when I was diagnosed.
“Men aren’t immune either,” she adds. “When they start losing their testosterone, their bone loss becomes more rapid.
“OsteoStrong wants to help educate people about bone loss. � e framework is the most important part of your body and you need to take care of it and be aware of changes to it.”
While there are many factors in a person’s life that can cause osteoporosis, thankfully programs like OsteoStrong can help a person reverse the damage.
“OsteoStrong has been a mira-cle for me and has changed my life!” Shirley raves.FHCN staff article. Photo courtesy of OsteoStrong. mkb
*Patient’s name withheld at her request.
South Sarasota County Edition | Summer 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 9osteoporosis treatment
John Lieurance, DC, DACNB (Board Eligible), received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Parker College of Chiropractic and his Doctor of NMD degree through St. Luke’s Medical School. He is also a board-eligible chiropractic neurologist through the Carrick Institute of Neurology. Dr. Lieurance is the developer of Functional Cranial Release, and teaches and certifi es these methods to physicians around the world. He has practiced in Sarasota for the past years.
JOHN LIEURANCE, DC, DACNB (BOARD ELIGIBLE)
For Health and Comfort
The staff of Advanced Rejuvenation looks forward
to meeting the readers of Florida Health Care News. To learn more about laser
therapy or other rejuvenation options, contact the holistic
health and chiropractic center. Mention this
article and receive a free audiometric evaluation. Their offi ce is located in Sarasota at:
2033 Wood St., Suite 210(941) 330-8553
To learn more about Lumomed laser therapy, visit Advanced Rejuvenation on the internet at advancedrejuvenation.us
Hearing Loss Is ReversibleOne-of-a-kind Lumomed™ laser restores damaged ear cells
A fter working for 42 years as a � orist in their small, family-owned shop in Albany, New York, Sandy* and her hus-
band retired at the ages of 67 and 68 respectively, moved to Florida and began living what Sandy calls “the good life.’’
As the years rolled on, however, the good life became increasingly di� cult, par-ticularly for Sandy, who realized not long before her 80th birthday that she was expe-riencing the kind of hearing di� culties all too common among people her age.
“I’d be talking to someone, and I’d only catch half of what they were saying,” Sandy recalls. “I’d have to ask them over and over again, What did you say? Or if I answered them wrong, they’d give me a funny look, and I’d have to explain, I didn’t totally hear you.”
Sandy’s inability to carry on a conver-sation without constantly asking people to repeat themselves was especially frus-trating for her husband, who encouraged her to have her hearing tested. � ose tests revealed a hearing loss signi� cant enough to warrant Sandy being � t for hearing aids. But Sandy soon found her hearing aids to be a nuisance.
“I was constantly turning them up higher and down lower,” Sandy com-plains. “It was a pain in the neck, but I had no choice because some people talk loud and some people talk soft, so I was always having to adjust them.”
By the time she began her eighth decade of life, Sandy was resigned to the idea she’d need to wear the annoying
hearing devices for the rest of her life. � en one day, Sandy’s husband picked up a copy of Florida Health Care News while waiting for an appointment in a doctor’s o� ce.
� e publication included an article about an innovative inner ear treatment designed to reverse hearing loss that is performed by John Lieurance, DC, at Advanced Rejuvenation, a regenerative medical practice in Sarasota.
“very, very thorough” during her initial examination and consultation, which included a comprehensive hearing test.
“He explained everything – how the laser therapy worked and what I could expect as far as getting my hearing back,” adds Sandy, who accepted Dr. Lieurance’s recommendation to undergo the therapy, a full course of which consists of 15 thirty-minute laser treatments on each ear.
Dr. Lieurance continues. “With low or depleted energy, the auditory and vestib-ular cells in the ear lose their ability to do their jobs, and disease results, whether it’s a hearing loss, dizziness or tinnitus.”
� e hair cells have their own energy source, which is adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. It is produced by structures inside the cells that act as power plants, called mitochondria. Maintaining the ears when they’re stressed requires vast amounts of energy. Without it, the cells begin to break down.
“Studies have shown that hair cell regeneration is possible,” Dr. Lieurance asserts. “Inner ear laser therapy is per-formed with specialized laser equipment set at very speci� c settings. � e Lumomed laser showers energy into the ear in the form of photons. � is energy is then used by the hair cells to repair themselves.”
Better with Each Treatment� e therapy is most e� ective for younger patients, who are “developing their language based on what they hear,” Dr. Lieurance points out. “If we can � x their hearing at a young age, they don’t develop a lot of speech impediments.”
The laser, which is applied while patients wear goggles and lie on a treat-ment table, emits very little heat. Some people feel the sensation of sunshine, while others feel nothing.
Some patients notice an improve-ment in their hearing within the � rst few sessions, Dr. Lieurance informs. For others, it takes longer.
“After the first two treatments, I was told not to wear my hearing aids anymore,” Sandy remembers. “I should just trust that my hearing was slowly getting better, and it did get better with each treatment.”
Today, Sandy can hear as well as she did years ago. She’s living proof that it is possible to turn back time, and that hear-ing loss is reversible.
“ I f I hadn’t me t up w i th Dr. Lieurance, I would still be wearing hearing aids,” Sandy shares. “People are telling me, Your hearing is back! Your hearing is back! I am very, very happy.”FHCN staff article. mkb
*Patient’s name withheld at her request
In addition to hearing loss, tinnitus and balance disorders, Advanced Rejuvenation
treats various musculoskeletal, neurological and chronic diseases, including:
• Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition• Chronic sinusitis• Snoring• Sleep apnea• Degenerative neurological disorders, e.g. Parkinson’s• Hip joint arthritis
Advanced Rejuvenation also o� ers:• Advanced stem cell treatments using LumoStem Activation • Prolotherapy with dextrose-based injections• Whole body cryotherapy using nitrogen gas to lower the skin’s
surface temperature for several minutes• Medical ozone injections• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves breathing pure
oxygen in a pressurized room• Intravenous laser therapy to irradiate white blood cells
“My husband showed me the article, and when I read it, I thought, � is sounds pretty good,” Sandy shares. “I said to my husband, � is is something that can really help people, so we made an appointment and went and checked it out.”
Dr. Lieurance is a chiropractic neurol-ogist and naturopath, as well as a certi� ed provider of Lumomed sound laser therapy, which is designed to rejuvenate damaged ear cells. Treatments have been clinically shown to improve hearing loss and reduce the e� ects of many balance disorders and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.
Sandy says that upon � rst meeting with Dr. Lieurance, she found him to be
Exclusive TechnologyAdvanced Rejuvenation is the only cen-ter in the United States approved to use Lumomed’s protocols. Dr. Lieurance had been treating hearing loss, balance disor-ders and tinnitus for many years through his functional chiropractic neurology practice when he heard about Lumomed from one of his patients. While in Germany, the patient received the treat-ment from Dr. Amon Kaiser, who has worked with lasers for more than 30 years.
“My patient got in touch and told me, Hey, this doctor is doing wonderful work in Germany for inner ear regeneration. It would be such a great adjunct to what you’re doing in Florida,” Dr. Lieurance relates.
Dr. Lieurance contacted Dr. Kaiser and traveled to Germany to study the sci-ence they had discovered and the methods for the treatment protocols.
“I was so impressed that I brought this back to Sarasota,” Dr. Lieurance states. “It’s phenomenal. I’m constantly looking for the best and most e� ective technologies to help people with con-ditions that are considered untreatable. When someone tells me, You can’t do it, it makes me want to do it even more.”
Dr. Lieurance explains the science behind Lumomed this way: Special nerve cells in the inner ear, called hair cells, allow for the perception of sound and are essen-tial for balance. If those cells are damaged, an individual may su� er hearing loss, tin-nitus or a debilitating balance disorder such as vertigo.
“We have a great deal of technology today, such as cell phones, iPods® and com-puters,” he expounds. “� at technology, along with sirens and various machines in our environment, make di� erent, high-pitched sounds that are very loud. As a result, the hair cells are highly stressed.
“When these cells are constantly overwhelmed by noise and stress, they cannot process energy correctly,”
Page 10 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition laser therapy
Stephen R. Zabawa, DC, is board certifi ed in Orthospinology and is certifi ed by the Upper Cervical Academy. He received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Dr. Zabawa currently serves as a board member and instructor for the Society for Chiropractic Orthospinology.
Dr. Zabawa looks forward to hearing from the readers of
Florida Health Care News. For more information or to schedule
a consultation, call or visit his offi ce in Sarasota at:
2831 Ringling Blvd.Bldg. A, Suite 102
(941) 955-4755
Relief Is Just a Phone
Call Away
STEPHEN R. ZABAWA, DC
Visit Dr. Zabawa’s practice on the web at www.AtlasChiroSRQ.com
Happy Hunting Without
PainUpper cervical procedure relieves neck and back pain, headaches
I t started as a hobby 20 years ago when John Gettle was still in his 50s. He enjoyed organizing alligator hunts in the swamps of Okeechobee County. Eventually, it turned
into a second career along with his swimming pool repair and remodeling business. John loved the work, but it sometimes left him with back and neck pain and intense headaches.
“In the pool business, I had to bend over into the pool and reach and extend my arms above my head a lot to do the electrical work, like changing the motors on pool pumps,” John elaborates. “� at would get my neck and back aching and then I’d get the headaches.
“� en, for the gator hunts, we’d hunt all night, and in the morning, I had to get the gators o� the truck and put them in coolers. I handled eight-hundred-, nine-hundred-, thousand-pound gators, and then I’d get the pains in my back and neck.”
John twisted, turned and hauled those heavy loads day after day and often worked his pool business during the day before hosting gator hunts at night, with little sleep in between. John’s abuse of his body had a negative impact on his head as well.
“After lifting and doing all that work I shouldn’t have been doing, I’d wake up with headaches,” John shares. “Eventually, they came almost daily. � ey were throb-bing headaches, like migraines, and they were really painful.
“To get relief, I rested and put lini-ment on my neck, but by the next day, my head hurt again. If I took pain medication, the headaches felt better for a little while, but I’d have to take medication all the time if I wanted the pain to stay away. I don’t like taking a lot of medication, so I put up with the pain rather than take the pills.”
John continued to live this way for more than 15 years, all while struggling to
manage his distress-
i n g
pain. He tried traditional chiropractic treatment, but it wasn’t until he discov-ered Stephen R. Zabawa, DC, of Atlas Chiropractic of Sarasota, that he found sustained relief.
Unlike traditional chiropractors, Dr. Zabawa is an upper cervical chiro-practor who uses an extremely accurate approach to adjust the spine and relieve back pain and other disorders. Dr. Zabawa employs gentle, precise adjustment methods called Orthospinology and Atlas Orthogonal to treat misalignments of the spine. He is board certi� ed in Orthospinology.
“John is a very active person,” Dr. Zabawa describes. “He hunts gators, wild hogs and deer. Sometimes, he gets neck pain as a result of his activities. When that occurs, pressure builds up on his brainstem, which leads to decreased cere-brospinal � uid � ow and causes headaches.
“When John’s neck is out of align-ment, he experiences pressure and pain in his lower back as well. Fortunately, all of these conditions are addressed by the upper cervical adjustment.”
Gentle and Precise� e body has a natural re� ex to keep the head, brain, nervous system and eyes level, Dr. Zabawa explains. � e spine will distort itself all the way down the body to keep the brain and nervous system level.
“The atlas is the first vertebra in the neck that connects the head to the cervical spine,” he informs. “If there’s
a misalignment of the upper cervical vertebrae, the rest of the spine will com-pensate. It will twist and torque, which puts pressure on areas throughout the spine, including the neck and lower back.
“� e atlas adjustment takes pressure o� by restoring the proper alignment of the atlas vertebra. � is balances the head, relieving the spinal twisting from the neck down to the lower back. In John’s case, it also eased the pressure on his brainstem and increased the � ow of cerebrospinal � uid, which relieved his headaches.
“Because of the twisting caused by his misalignment, John had one leg that seemed like it was a quarter-inch shorter than the other. This twisting also put pressure on the nerves of his lower back, causing pain. After his atlas adjustment, John’s spine was aligned. � ere was no more twisting so John’s legs evened out, pressure was taken o� of the nerves, and his back pain was resolved.
“When I adjust the atlas vertebra, I’m actually adjusting the full spine just by touching the neck,” Dr. Zabawa empha-sizes. “And we’re achieving phenomenal results with it.”
Dr. Zabawa asserts that the precision and gentleness of the atlas adjustment is what makes upper cervical chiropractic unique.
“Unlike other chiropractors, I don’t snap-crackle-and-pop you,” he says. “An upper cervical correction is a very gentle tap in just the right place for your personal mis-alignment. � ere’s no pulling or jerking of such a delicate area. It’s precise and gentle.”
To begin his treatment process, Dr. Zabawa takes three-dimensional x-rays of the patient’s neck to see how their upper cervical bones are misaligned. Using those pictures, he performs calculations to determine the exact angle for the adjustment to take the pressure o� of the patient’s spinal column. Thus, the atlas adjustment restores balance to the entire body.
“It’s an effective, more accurate approach without extreme manipula-tions,” Dr. Zabawa concludes. “Patients may have low back problems or head-aches, but just accurately adjusting the neck can address many conditions. It successfully relieved John’s pain so he could remain active.”
John agrees.
“It doesn’t seem like much when he’s doing it, but Dr. Zabawa’s treatments put me into alignment, I feel good when he’s done, and they last,” he states. “Now, it’s a regular thing, and I don’t worry about the pain anymore.”
Staying NormalJohn, now 73, recently retired from his pool business, leaving it to his sons, but he’ll still service a client or friend in need. He remains involved with the gator hunts, but not to the extent he used to be. His plans for retirement include lots of hunting, � shing and traveling. And with regular treatments by Dr. Zabawa, John can do it all without pain.
“Dr. Zabawa has done good things for me,” John enthuses. “I haven’t had headaches for a long time now, not since I’ve been seeing Dr. Zabawa. I just don’t get them anymore. It’s amazing that his procedure took them away.
“If I ever get even a little bit of pain in my back or neck from overdoing it, I simply give Dr. Zabawa a call, and he � xes me right up. He gives me a treat-ment, and I’m good again. By going to Atlas Chiropractic of Sarasota and getting routine check-ups, I get back to normal and stay that way.
“I stand by Dr. Zabawa and the work that he does for me,” John declares. “I tell everybody I know who has trouble to go to him because he does a good job. His procedure works. It really helped me.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Photo by Fred Bellet. mkb
Patients of every age have experienced great results from the safe, gentle method of upper cervical adjustment available at Atlas Chiropractic of Sarasota.In addition to increased range of motion, slower degeneration of problem areas and overall improvements in general health, patients have also found relief for:
♦ Back & Neck Pain ♦ Numbness & Tingling
♦ Joint & Muscle Pain
♦ Migraines ♦ Asthma
♦ Ménière’s Disease
♦ Seizures/Epilepsy
♦ Trigeminal Neuralgia
♦ Bed-Wetting
♦ MS Symptoms ♦ Scoliosis ♦ Digestive Disorders
♦ TMJ Problems ♦ Reproductive Issues
Relief for a Variety of Conditions
And many more...
John Gettle
South Sarasota County Edition | Summer 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 11ChiropraCtiC
Minimally invasive laser treatment stops periodontal disease
John Eastman
JOSEPH H. FARAG, DMD
Joseph H. Farag, DMD, earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, FL after completing his undergraduate degree at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL. Dr. Farag served an implant residency at the Misch Institute and is trained in advanced laser dentistry. He is a mem-ber of the American Dental Association, American Association of Dental Practitioners, American Academy of Operative Dentistry, the International Association of Dental Researchers, and is a Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Dr. Farag and the team at Port Charlotte Dental Care look forward
to hearing from the readers of Florida Health Care News.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call or visit one of their
o� ces:
Port CharlottePort Charlotte Dental Care
3441 Conway Blvd.(941) 764-9555
Fort MyersAdvanced Dentistry of Fort Myers
16601 San Carlos Blvd.(239) 466-3131
Have A Beautiful
Smile
Syracuse, New York native John Eastman decided at a relatively early age that the cold, snowy Northeastern winters weren’t for
him, so about eight years ago, he and his wife packed up their lives and moved to Florida.
Now an inventory specialist for Charlotte County Fire and EMS, John currently spends not only his winters but every other season making sure the � re trucks, ambulances and animal control trucks used across Charlotte County stay in tip-top shape.
“Whenever one of those emergency vehicles needs a part, I order it, and I keep a stock count of everything we have and what we use the most so that we have everything we need to keep those vehicles on the road and running,” John relates.
“What I do now is a bit of a combi-nation of what I used to do in New York, where I worked in the parts department for J.B. Hunt Transportation and spent about � fteen years serving as a volunteer � re� ghter.”
John’s New York-based � re� ghter training did not transfer to Florida, so his days as a volunteer � re� ghter have been put on hold. He recently wound up � ghting a three-alarm � re all his own nevertheless.
“I was not one of those guys who went to the dentist all the time, and it eventually caught up with me, because I got to a point recently where I could not brush my teeth without my gums bleeding, and bleeding very badly,” John explains.
“Every day, my gums would bleed when I brushed my teeth, and I also had what I later found out was tartar build-up on the back of my bottom front teeth that was breaking o� . At the time, though, I thought it was parts of my teeth that were chipping o� .”
Those two issues sparked an ear-nest search for a dentist that began with John asking some of his co-workers for recommendations. One co-worker recommended Joseph H. Farag, DMD, at Port Charlotte Dental Care.
John � rst saw Dr. Farag during the � rst week of January 2018. During that visit, Dr. Farag learned John was a heavy smoker who had neglected his teeth for years. A full examination revealed the result of those habits was a severe case of periodontal disease.
“We noticed he had a lot of deep pockets in the gums around his teeth,” Dr. Farag explains. “Most of those pockets were � ve millimeters deep, but in some cases, they were up to ten millimeters
deep, whereas healthy pockets are between one and three millimeters.
“In addition, the x-rays we took showed he had a lot of bone loss around the teeth and that there was a great deal of tartar build-up on his teeth. Both of those were signs of a chronic condition that was ongoing.”
Dr. Farag explains, LANAP can also improve bone quality and density.
“The LANAP procedure does improve the quality of the existing bone, and in some cases, we can re-grow bone,” Dr. Farag con� rms. “But in cases involv-ing a smoker such as John, we’re often happy if we can stop the bone loss.
“Smoking ampli� es the periodontal disease. It makes it worse because nicotine in the cigarette constricts the capillaries, which are the blood vessels in the tissue, stalls healing and creates an environment where bacteria thrive.
“� ose bacteria thrive because they’re not getting attacked by the immune sys-tem. Blood supply to the tissue is reduced. � ere’s some, but it’s not healthy tissue, and that’s why heavy smokers usually
have worse cases, including more bone loss.”
In John’s case, the bone loss was, in some areas, sig-nificant. Though the loss was 20 percent in most
areas, there were areas where the loss was nearly 40 percent and some others where it was greater than 70 percent.
Because of the bone loss and the advanced nature of his periodontal dis-ease, John was on a track that would have resulted in him eventually losing several teeth. � at bottom line made him an ideal candidate for the LANAP procedure, which John agreed to.
“No Discomfort at All”“� e was absolutely pain free,” John says. “I was surprised by that, because the thought of a laser cleaning between my gums and teeth scared me. I was thinking, How can this not hurt? But it didn’t. � ere was no discomfort at all.”
Despite the advanced nature of his periodontal disease, John’s LANAP pro-cedure took only about two hours to complete, which is typical. During those two hours, the entire mouth was treated through three steps.
Dr. Farag explains that during the � rst laser pass, the energy from the laser kills any bacteria in the gums, vaporizes the diseased gum tissue and dehydrates the tartar on the teeth, making it brittle and easy to remove.
During the second step, the tartar is removed with a � ne-tipped, vibrating, ultrasonic instrument. � e teeth are then rinsed with an antimicrobial substance that halts the growth of new bacteria. During this step, the diseased lining of the tissue is removed and the bone surround-ing the teeth is debride of infected tissue.
Finally, during a third pass of the laser at a di� erent setting than the � rst, an antimicrobial seal is created that prevents re-infection and releases growth factors from blood cells that help regenerate the attach-ment between the gums and the teeth.
“The patient doesn’t have any sen-sation of what we’re doing during the procedure because we use a local dental anesthetic, just as we do if we’re doing a � lling,” Dr. Farag says. “� at’s how patients stay comfortable during the process.”
John says his gums have healed nicely as a result of the LANAP procedure and notes that his overall oral health has improved markedly.
“My teeth feel much, much better, and there’s no more bleeding when I brush any-more,” John exudes. “I’m forty-� ve years old, and for the � rst time in my life, really, I’m taking care of my teeth the right way because Dr. Farag and his sta� showed me how to brush and � oss properly. Now, I know why my buddy couldn’t stop talking so highly of Dr. Farag.
“I mean, the treatment worked great, so if you need it, don’t hesitate to get it. And if you need to get it, get it done by Dr. Farag. My experience with Dr. Farag was by far the best dental experience I’ve ever had.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. John’s photo by Fred Bellet. mkb
Regenerative ProcedureBased on his findings, Dr. Farag rec-ommended John undergo a specific minimally invasive laser treatment that he’s been performing for more than a decade called LANAP®, which stands for laser-assisted new attachment procedure.
LANAP is not the only treatment option for patients su� ering from peri-odontal disease, but Dr. Farag considers i t bes t because it improves the attachment between the gums and teeth, does not result in a gross loss of tissue or gum recession and is pain free.
“I f you use another laser with a di� erent method-ology, you’ll end up with tissue harm, necrosis or a recession of the gums around the tooth bridge,” Dr. Farag educates. “We do not want the gums to recede because that can make the teeth appear longer. � e goal is healthy gums that reattach naturally to the teeth and LANAP does this without harming the healthy tissue.”
Another reason Dr. Farag recom-mended the LANAP procedure for John is because of the signi� cant loss of bone he had suffered around his teeth. In addition to healing gum tissue,
Page 12 | Florida Health Care News | Summer 2019 | South Sarasota County Edition Comprehensive dentistry