Page 12 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_May-2017

At the Hospitals
n Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Clinical Trial Opens
Carolinas HealthCare System doctors
are leading an FDA-approved clinical trial,
called LESS GERD, to help adults with
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
While most people with GERD receive relief
through daily acid-blocking medications,
nearly 30 percent continue to struggle with
burdensome symptoms like regurgitation and
nighttime reflux.
The LESS GERD clinical trial is for
EndoStim — an investigational device
designed to improve function of the
lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The
EndoStim system uses a technology called
neurostimulation in which two small electrodes
connected to a “lead” are placed on the LES.
The lead is connected to a small device called a
neurostimulator which delivers mild electrical
signals to the LES throughout the day. Signals
are imperceptible to the patient.
The EndoStim system lead is placed through
a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure.
The neurostimulator is implanted below the skin.
The study will investigate if electrical stimulation
delivered to the LES is safe and will improve
LES muscle tone and improve GERD symptoms.
The study is open to GERD patients who are
between the ages of 22 and 75, have taken daily
PPI medication and whose GERD symptoms
are not completely resolved or have side effects
from the PPI, and have had no prior surgery
involving the esophagus.
Interested study candidates can visit www.
lessgerd.com for more information about the
trial and to take the Self-Screening Test to
determine if they are eligible to participate.
Providers with eligible candidates can contact
Susan Standridge, RN, at 704-304-7109 for
more information.
n Sanger to Participate in Heart Study
Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute has been
chosen as the only center in the Carolinas for
an upcoming transcatheter mitral valve study.
The study, the largest of its kind in the United
States, will research transcatheter mitral valve
replacement technology with the Tendyne device.
12 | May 2017 • Mecklenburg Medicine
SHVI is a leader in the field of trans- opened in Guatemala due to the generosity
catheter mitral valve therapies. As one of the of the International Medical Outreach
first institutions in the world to perform trans- (IMO) program, a partnership between
catheter mitral valve repair and remains the Carolinas HealthCare System and the
most experienced center for MitraClip trans- Heineman Foundation.
catheter mitral valve repair. The study likely
will randomize patients with secondary mitral IMO donated all the necessary supplies and
regurgitation to Tenodyne Transcatheter Mitral machinery to fully equip the newly constructed,
Valve Replacement versus conventional surgery. 36-bed unit that is part of the National
Regional Hospital of Escuintla. Chiquita
Trial details are still being finalized with Brands International delivered three massive
the FDA and enrollment is likely to start containers of equipment from the United States
later this year. Ahead of enrollment, Michael to Guatemala. The facility also was made
Rinaldi, MD, Eric Skipper, MD, and the possible with support from the Bissell Family
Advanced Valvular Heart Disease Center team Foundation, The Leon Levine Foundation,
welcome all patients with symptomatic mitral Sandra and Leon Levine, and Jim and Peggy
insufficiency for referral. Call 704-446-2136 Hynes, to whom the unit is dedicated.
for details.
Officials attending the grand opening included
n Central America’s Largest NICU/PICU the First Lady of Guatemala, representatives
Opens in Guatemala from Guatemala’s Ministry of Health and
The largest neonatal, pediatric intensive Ministry of Social Development, the Guatemalan
Ambassador to the United States and the United
care unit in Central America recently States Ambassador to Guatemala.
n Levine Cancer Institute Launches Nation’s First Mobile Lung CT Unit
Levine Cancer Institute has launched the first mobile lung computed tomography (CT) unit
designed to address lung cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival disparities for rural populations
across the Carolinas.
The mobile lung unit is the first of its kind to link rural populations to lung cancer education
and treatment interventions through integrated mobile technology, traditional treatment
facilities and medical staff. It was developed in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb
Foundation, Samsung and Frazer.
Income and a lack of public transportation are barriers to regular cancer screenings, which have
proven essential to early diagnosis, intervention and improved survival. By travelling to these at-
risk patient populations and providing lung cancer screenings for them, the unit will provide better
access to diagnosis and care for underserved and uninsured populations.
Features of the unit include a built-in, portable, low-dose CT scanner that can develop high
quality images for soft tissue and bone, and wireless connection for fast and easy image transfers.
The unit meets the technical requirements for the American College of Radiology (ACR) screening
designation and is handicapped accessible.
If a patient is identified with lung cancer, the program
provides them with comprehensive education, clinical
intervention, and patient navigators, who are nurses
that assist patients through the network
of cancer-treatment decisions and
fears. Individuals requiring biopsy
or other interventions will
receive treatment at
Levine Cancer
Institute or
a Carolinas
HealthCare
System facility
regardless of
insurance status.