September - December, 1998
May - August, 1998
January
- April, 1998
Woburn Resident Molly Fox Wins Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's Holiday Art Contest
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
December 30, 1998 -- Molly Fox, 7, of Woburn, was the winner of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's annual Holiday Art Contest. The contest is open to all pediatric patients in the Infirmary's Child Life Program. The Child Life Program is designed to help ease the emotional impact of illness and hospitalization on children and their families.
Molly drew a warm winter's scene with falling snow and happy snowmen, which was used for the cover of the Infirmary's holiday card.
Molly's parents are Julianne and Randy Fox. Her grandparents are Barbara and Phillip Flammia, also of Woburn, and Elizabeth Fox, of Reading.
Mass.
Eye and Ear Infirmary's Reynolds Society Dinner Presents Achievement Awards
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
December 18, 1998 -- The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, Mass., recently held its twelfth Annual Reynolds Society Dinner at Boston's Four Season's Hotel and presented achievement awards to two Arizona residents.
Hosted by Sara Edwards, Entertainment Reporter at Boston's WHDH-TV 7, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Reynolds Achievement Awards, honoring individuals who have overcome the loss of vision, hearing, or speech, and those whose contributions have enabled others to lead more active and independent lives.
Massachusetts Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Travaglini were honored with the first-ever Jeffries Public Service Award, which is given to individuals who have provided leadership in advancing the quality of healthcare available to the public at either the national, state or local level. In addition, Terry Kelly, popular Canadian singer/songwriter, provided a special performance.
This year's award recipients were Cara Dunne and Bonnie Poitras Tucker. A skiing legend who has received 10 medals in world championships and Olympic games for the disabled, Cara Dunne is one of the few athletes who is a medalist in both a winter and a summer sport (cycling). Bonnie Poitras Tucker is an attorney and a Professor of Law at Arizona State University and is the author of eight books and approximately 100 articles, primarily on the subject of Federal disability law.
Established in 1824 in Boston, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an international center for treatment and research and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Colder
Weather Increases Chances of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
November 6, 1998 -- Amanda Rossetti of Woburn was three months pregnant when she was rushed to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a malfunctioning furnace. Both she and her husband, Michael, were exposed to carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas which is especially harmful to unborn children. With home heating season upon us, the chances of being exposed to carbon monoxide are extreme.
Upon her arrival, Amanda was placed in one of the hyperbaric oxygen chambers in the Infirmary's Norman Knight Hyperbaric Medicine Center, and received four hours of therapy, while Michael sat by her side receiving continuous oxygen. The supplemental oxygen helped in restoring her blood oxygen level to normal.
After her treatment, Amanda underwent several ultrasound exams/scans to monitor the baby's development. The couple breathed a huge sigh of relief when Amanda gave birth to a health baby girl, Michaela, six months later.
"The Massachusetts Eye and Ear personnel were extremely supportive and comforting, continually soothing me through such a trying time," Amanda said, "I'm so glad they offer this service. My family and I are eternally grateful!"
Opened in February 1995, the Norman Knight Hyperbaric Medicine Center was the state's first unit and has served as a model of cooperation between major medical facilities, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Shriners Burn Institute. Formerly, patients would have to go to Rhode Island and Maine to receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
According to Richard L. Fabian, M.D., medical director of the Center, the opening in Boston has made hyperbaric oxygen treatment available to many more patients. "It has relieved much pain and suffering and, ultimately, saved lives," says Dr. Fabian. "Many patients have multiple daily treatments of HBO therapy for weeks at a time -- as many as 60 treatments in some cases."
More than 1,500 deaths occur in the United States each year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, making it the number one cause of poisoning deaths in the nation. In addition to these deaths, 10,000 injuries occur annually in the U.S. due to this colorless, odorless, tasteless and non-irritating gas.
"You can get carbon monoxide poisoning by breathing improperly vented gases containing carbon monoxide," explains Lorraine Brennan, R.N., Infirmary nurse who specializes in hyperbaric oxygen therapy. "Many cases go untreated, but with the use of carbon monoxide detectors in the home, cases are being spotted sooner."
"When carbon monoxide is inhaled, it enters the blood stream and replaces the oxygen molecules on hemoglobin, thus depriving the heart, brain, and other organs of oxygen," says Dr. Fabian. "If the gas is inhaled at high level, it can lead to breathing difficulties, impaired judgment, memory damage to the nervous system, cardiac trauma, brain damage, coma and even death."
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides the most advanced treatment available for problems with wound healing, radiation-treatment related bone loss, burns, scuba diving injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning. One of the most important roles of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is its use as an adjunctive therapy in the surgical treatment for cancers of the head and neck. The Infirmary is the leading center in the Northeast for treatment of these cancers.
The Center is available on a 24-hour basis for emergency and is open during normal business hours for scheduled treatments.
Founded in 1824, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an international center for treatment and research, and the principal teaching hospital in its specialties of Harvard Medical School. Please visi
Note to reporters: If you would like more information on this subject or would like to speak with a doctor or patient, please call the Infirmary's Office of Public Affairs at 617 573-3341, and we will set you up with the appropriate people.
Dr.
Jessica Fewkes Joins Facial and Cosmetic Surgery Center at Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary Eye and Ear Infirmary
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
July 29, 1998 -- Jessica L. Fewkes, M.D., of Belmont, Mass., recently joined The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates, the physician organization of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Fewkes, a Mohs/dermatologic surgeon with an interest in skin cancer, is the newest staff member of the Infirmary's Facial and Cosmetic Surgery Center, which houses a variety of Harvard specialists encompassing all areas of facial plastics and cosmetic surgery.
"We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Fewkes join our team of specialists," says Mack Cheney, M.D., director of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Infirmary. "She has demonstrated an impressive track record of substantial contributions to the field of dermatology surgery."
Dr. Fewkes attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, and is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Before joining the Infirmary, Dr. Fewkes was at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Ronald
McDonald Learning and Activity Center Opens at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to Take Place on July 9th
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
June 29, 1998 -- The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is proud to announce the opening of the Ronald McDonald Learning and Activity Center. The Ronald McDonald Learning and Activity Center, which will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 9, at 2:00 p.m., is a cooperative effort of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Ronald McDonald Learning and Activity Center is particularly significant because it represents the first time that the Ronald McDonald House Charities has partnered with a hospital to meet the specific needs of children confined to the hospital. The Center has been designed by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to meet the needs of its visually and hearing-impaired patients.
The Ronald McDonald Learning and Activity Center provides an environment where children can learn and play, free from clinical intervention. In effect, the Center allows them to escape the hospital setting without actually leaving the hospital. The Center will also employ a variety of educational devices to help young patients better understand why they are in the hospital and how the hospital will help them. It is anticipated that the Center will provide important therapeutic benefits by reducing the stress associated with surgery and by providing much needed distraction from the pain that post-operative pediatric patients often experience.
Ronald McDonald House Charities is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. Ronald McDonald House Charities provides fundraising to the local Ronald McDonald House Charities and hundreds of New England organizations who work with kids of all ages, backgrounds and levels of need. Over the past five years, Ronald McDonald House charities has provided more than $5 million to organizations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary's Methuen Eye Center Offers Advise About Sunglasses and
Eye Care
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
June 4, 1998 -- For many, sunglasses are a fashion statement or merely a comfortable sun shield on bright days. Yet, more people are realizing the critical role of sunglasses in protecting the eyes from harmful exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. "These UV rays can actually affect parts of the eye," explains Jack F. Bowers, M.D., director of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's Methuen Eye Center. "Long-term exposure to UV rays is linked to certain eye diseases."
According to Dr. Bowers, there are many factors to consider when choosing a pair of sunglasses.
For contact lens wears, non-prescription sunglasses are the best choice. They also provide an excellent protection against wind and dust. For those who wear prescription glasses, prescription sunglasses have been a popular solution in the past, but many physicians now recommend wrap-around sunglasses with a large frame and side pieces, for ultimate glare reduction. "These models fit over one's prescription glasses and are available at most optical shops," explains Dr. Bowers, adding that clip-on sun shields should be avoided because that are often not as effective as the other options, and may scratch the prescription lenses.
Located at One Branch Street, the Methuen Eye Center offers a full range of state-of-the-art primary, secondary and tertiary eye care services. Appointments can be made by calling 978 794-3439. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an international center for treatment and research, and a teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School.
Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary Pediatric Otolaryngologist Develops New Technique for Closure
of Ear Drum Perforations
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
May 28, 1998 -- Roland Eavey, M.D., director of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, has developed a simplified technique to close a perforation, or hole, in an eardrum. An article by Dr. Eavey on this technique was just published in the May issue of the journal The Laryngoscope.
"A hole in the eardrum makes certain patients vulnerable to ear infections and, in with a large perforation, may even cause hearing loss," says Dr. Eavey. "Current techniques utilize either an underlay or an onlay approach to close the hole. However, both procedures require incising ear canal skin and can cause some bleeding, require uncomfortable external canal packing, and initially affect the patient's hearing adversely."
With the novel inlay technique, a thin piece of cartilage from the outer ear is used. The cartilage is inserted into the hole in the eardrum, similar to a plug. A groove is made around the customized cartilage so it fits snugly into the rim of the hole. The design is similar to a butterfly-shaped yo-yo that Dr. Eavey played with as a child. Many patients with a hole in the eardrum can be candidates for this approach. Some patients, however, should receive conventional surgery depending on circumstances.
According to Dr. Eavey, there are many advantages to this technique. Patient comfort is improved by fewer incisions, less anesthesia time, and no need for ear packing or ear dressings. Hearing restoration can be appreciated sooner and the operation takes only about one-third the time of conventional surgery. This technique has advantages in Third World regions where lack of resources and geographic isolation make surgical care even more challenging. Success has been achieved, for example, in Australian Aborigines.
If you would like more information on this subject, or would like to speak with Dr. Eavey, please call the Infirmary's Office of Public Affairs at 617 573-3341.
Dr.
Joan W. Miller Elected First Woman President of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's
Ophthalmology Staff
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
April 30, 1998 -- Joan W. Miller, M.D., was recently elected president of the Eye Staff at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Miller is the first woman in the Infirmary's history to be elected to this position. She will succeed otolaryngologist Edward Glinski, M.D., as president of the entire medical staff of the Infirmary when his term ends next year.
"The Infirmary is both pleased and fortunate to have Dr. Miller take on this role as president of the Ophthalmology medical staff. She is an extremely talented physician and dedicated researcher, and we are proud to have her as part of the team," says Frederick A. Jakobiec, M.D., Chief of Ophthalmology at the Infirmary and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
A resident of Winchester, Mass., Dr. Miller joined the full time staff of the Infirmary's Retina Service in 1991. She is currently an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Her research is directed towards developing better treatments for abnormal blood vessels in the eye, particularly in diseases such as macular degeneration.
M.
Charles Liberman Appointed New Director of Eaton-Peabody Lab at Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
April, 1998 -- M. Charles Liberman, Ph.D., was recently appointed the new Director of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
In his new role, Dr. Liberman will oversee the day-to-day activities of the Infirmary's Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, which is dedicated to hearing research and treatment that brings together science, engineering and medicine. The Eaton-Peabody Laboratory houses the largest collaborative research effort of its kind in the world.
A resident of Milton, Dr. Liberman is a full-time professor of Otology and Laryngology at the Harvard Medical School. He received his doctorate in physiology at the Harvard University and served a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Anatomy at the Harvard Medical School. He was recruited to the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory in 1977 and has worked there continuously since then. Dr. Liberman has been acting director for the past two years.
Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary Otolaryngologist Uses New Technology for Thyroid Surgery:January
is National Thyroid Awareness Month
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
January 26, 1998 -- The thyroid gland is a dumbbell-shaped endocrine gland that rests in the base of the neck which regulates the body's metabolism. Nodules within the thyroid are very common in the adult population. For the past several years, January has been designated as National Thyroid Awareness Month in an effort to increase exposure of the approximately 20 million Americans who have been diagnosed with some form of thyroid disease.
Otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons are increasingly called on to evaluate and treat patients with thyroid and/or parathyroid disease because of the expertise in treating disorders of the head and neck.
Surgery of the thyroid and parathyroid glands at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is performed with recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring. This new technology allows real-time vocal cord passive and evoked monitoring to help in identification and preservation of this important nerve during thyroid surgery. Such monitoring may decrease the rate of vocal cord nerve injury, and may reduce the incidence of voice and swallowing problems after thyroid surgery.
"We can apply new technologies to surgery, including nerve monitoring and intraoperative parathyroid hormone assessment during parathyroid surgery," explains Gregory W. Randolph, M.D., Director of General Otolaryngology at the Infirmary, who performs thyroid surgery. "With the application of these advances, new standards of safe surgical care have developed." Dr. Randolph is an expert in the area of thyroid /parathyroid surgery and has been instrumental in the advances that the Infirmary has made with regard to the laryngeal monitoring program.
If you would like more information on this subject, or would like to speak with Dr. Randolph, please call the Infirmary's Office of Public Affairs at 617 573-3341.
Patalano
Appointed Associate Chief of Ophthalmology for Community Practice at Mass. Eye
and Ear Infirmary
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
January 16, 1998 -- Vincent James Patalano, II, M.D., has been appointed Associate Chief of Ophthalmology for Community Practice at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. As part of his new role, Dr. Patalano will solicit input from community-based ophthalmologists who are staff physicians at the Infirmary.
Dr. Patalano is an attending physician in the General Eye Service and co-director of the Infirmary's Somerville Eye Center and Stoneham Eye Center.
Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary's Child Life Program Provides Emotional Support For Hospitalized
Children and Their Families
Contact: Shawn P.
Middleton
617 573-3341
December 4, 1997 -- A visit to the hospital can be a frightening experience for both children and their parents. To help the pediatric population and their families cope with anxieties and fears that accompany medical treatment and hospitalization, the Pediatric Unit at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary has established a Child Life Program.
The Child Life Program is a multidisciplinary approach to children's health that emphasizes development, education and child psychology.
According to Milagros Lopez-Ramirez, M.S., Child Life Specialist, the primary focus of the Child Life Program is to help ease the emotional impact of medical appointments, illness and hospitalization on children and their families; to encourage free expression of feelings and sense of mastery; and to offset the unfamiliar experience of hospitalization. "A comfortable patient and a well informed family eases medical consultation and may even improve outcome," says Ms. Lopez-Ramirez.
The program offers a variety of services such as a pre-admission tour of the hospital for children, adolescents and their families. The tour includes individualized pre-operative teaching and support for surgical patients. The Child Life Program also offers a "Parent in the Operating Room" program, which allows one parent to accompany the child into the operating room during induction of anesthesia. Finally, the program offers therapeutic play and recreational activities in the inpatient floor and outpatient clinics.
Ms. Lopez-Ramirez provides these services with the assistance of a group of five graduate students from the Child Life Master's Program at Wheelock College in Boston.
"All of the services we offer are modeled according to the child's age, medical condition and individual needs," Ms. Lopez-Ramirez explains. Pre-admission tours are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
According to Ms. Lopez-Ramirez, the success of the Child Life Program is a collaborative effort. She works closely with nurses, physicians, social workers, public affairs, technical and development staff. "We realize that hospitalization and medical treatment can be anxiety provoking. Multicultural sensitivity is a part of everything we do, and we can make a dramatic difference," she says.
For more information on the Child Life Program or to arrange a tour of the Pediatric Unit, please call 617 573-4184.