Vascular Access for Kidney Dialysis Patients

To patients undergoing hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease, unimpeded blood circulation is everything. When an artery or vein carrying blood to or from a patient's dialysis access site narrows or develops a blockage, the limited blood flow makes hemodialysis more difficult and less effective. Dr. George Kontos, Jr., a thoracic, vascular and general surgeon with Genesis Health Group, Surgical Associates, uses a minimally invasive treatment to maintain or restore blood flow, and give dialysis patients a new outlook on life. Watch the procedure, an angioplasty with vascular stenting.

Sleeve Gastrectomy

Be part of the O.R. action. View a webcast of a sleeve gastrectomy weight-loss procedure, the latest bariatric surgery option offered at Genesis.

View of webcast of this surgery.

Total Hip Replacement

As the population ages, more and more hip replacement surgeries are being done to treat diseases of the hip joint. The procedure has fewer complications when surgeons, nurses and physical therapists, like those at Genesis Hospitals in Davenport and Silvis, are experienced in caring for joint replacement patients. Orthopaedic and Rheumatology Associates, P.C., answers common questions about hip replacement surgery.

View a webcast of this surgery.

TomoTherapy

The next generation of radiation technology for treating cancer has arrived at Genesis.  Called TomoTherapy, it pinpoints radiation doses on tumors, sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Learn more about this first-in-the-region cancer treatment, which has been very successful with prostate cancer, but also is an option for many other cancers, including brain and spine tumors.

Convenient Care Clinics

Genesis Convenient Care clinics are faster, more affordable and the preferred alternative to an Emergency Room visit for less serious illnesses or injuries. Medical Director Dr. Randel Cardott discusses the advantages of Convenient Care, what medical problems are best treated at the clinics and the services offered. Now, you can view the wait times at our three Convenient Care Clinics.

Beating-Heart Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

For the past 30 years, traditional coronary artery bypass surgery has gone pretty much the same. However, at Genesis, leading-edge technology is replacing stitches with staples while surgeons operate on beating hearts. Genesis heart surgeons Nicholas Augelli, M.D., and Robert Fietsam, M.D., discuss "off-pump," or beating-heart coronary artery bypass surgery, using Cardica’s C-Port system, which deploys tiny, stainless steel staples to secure the bypass vessel to the coronary artery. Drs. Augelli and Fietsam were the first in the Quad Cities and among the first in Iowa to use the new device. For patients, the result is a quicker surgery; about a day less in the hospital; a faster recovery; and, if early studies hold true, a better chance that bypassed vessels will remain free of blockages over time.

View a webcast of this surgery.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy plays an important role in breast cancer treatment by helping the doctor determine the extent to which the disease is spreading within the body, and develop an appropriate treatment plan. Genesis, through its Center for Breast Health, was one of the first hospitals in the country to participate in a study of the effectiveness of the procedure, which now is an accepted standard of care for women diagnosed with breast cancer. The advantages of this procedure are discussed by David Aanestad, M.D., Davenport Surgical Group, P.C., and Clinical Medical Director of the Center for Breast Health.

View a webcast of this procedure.

Digital Mammography

Women now have access to the latest screening tool for the early detection of breast cancer as Genesis Health System and Radiology Group Imaging Center LLC, are the first in the Quad Cities to introduce digital mammography. Find out from the Radiology Group's Dr. Robert Hartung how digital mammography will expand our ability to protect the breast health of women in the Quad Cities and to detect breast cancer earlier in more women.

Laparoscopic Weight Loss Surgery

The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is, according to the National Institutes of Health and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, the most popular weight loss surgery in the United States. The first laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in the Quad Cities was performed by Dr. Matt Christophersen at Genesis in November 2004, and Genesis remains the only hospital in the Quad Cities where the procedure is done.  Dr. Christophersen talks about the patient benefits of this minimally invasive procedure.

Minimally-Invasive Thoracic Aortic Endograft

Treating a life-threatening thoracic aortic aneurysm no longer requires opening the chest, removing the diseased section of the aorta and sewing a synthetic graft in its place. Cardiothoracic surgeon Richard Sadler, M.D., Chest & Vascular Surgery, P.C., uses a new treatment option that is less invasive, to place an endovascular graft inside the diseased aorta. Hear him discuss this new treatment option.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Fusion

A procedure called Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion, or TLIF, can alleviate back pain caused by a torn disc. Anthony V. Maioriello, M.D., Midwest Brain & Spine, LLC, is the only neurosurgeon in the region to use an innovative, minimally invasive approach to this procedure. Hear him discuss the patient benefits this minimally invasive procedure offers over the more traditional, open approach.

Cryoablation

An alternative treatment for atrial fibrillation is being tested in a clinical trial at Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. Cardiologist Michael Giudici, M.D., Cardiovascular Medicine, P.C., performed a first-in-the-region procedure that uses extreme cold to treat this type of  irregular heartbeat. You may listen to Dr. Giudici talk about encouraging results from cryoablation.

Influenza

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Robert Anderson, M.D., Genesis Health Group, talks more about influenza, it’s symptoms, who should get a flu shot and why. View a listing of Genesis VNA & Hospice public flu vaccination clinics.

Refractive Lens Exchange

Dr. Lisa Brothers Arbisser and Dr. Richard Phinney, physicians at Eye Surgeons Associates, P.C., can treat certain vision problems by electively replacing the natural lens inside the eye with an artificial multifocal lens. The procedure, performed at Spring Park Surgery Center, a Genesis joint venture, uses a new generation of lens implant that restores a wider range of vision than the standard monofocal lens. Dr. Arbisser talks more about Refractive Lens Exchange, and see portions of the procedure.