Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Professor of Dermatology and Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is involved in a clinical trial for a potential new treatment for atopic dermatitis.
Tomer Avraham, MD, with Cherie Marcus
It was Tuesday evening, May 17, 2016, and Cherie Marcus, 62, had stopped at a corner on Central Park West, waiting to cross the street. Suddenly, a runaway car struck a taxi, which then rammed into Ms. Marcus, crushing her legs. When she was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, orthopaedic surgeon David A. Forsh, MD, thought she had a 50-50 chance of losing one or both legs. Today, after nine surgeries and several months of physical and occupational therapy, Ms. Marcus—with her legs preserved—is walking almost normally.
Dr. Forsh, Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma, Mount Sinai Health System, and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed surgery to control the bleeding, irrigate her wounds, and place external hardware to stabilize the tibia and fibula in both legs. A week later, when the soft tissue began to heal and some of the muscle swelling had subsided, he operated to insert rods and plates in both legs.
After assessing the extensive bone loss and muscle and soft tissue damage, he called on Tomer Avraham, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery). Dr. Avraham would begin a series of seven tissue transfer surgeries on Memorial Day weekend.
“We had to take skin and fat from her thigh, transfer it with its blood supply, connect the small blood vessels under the microscope, and do repeated rounds of skin grafting,” Dr. Avraham says. Throughout the process, doctors warned Ms. Marcus that infection might set in and
complications might still necessitate amputations. “I’ve seen worse injuries, but not on anybody who ended up keeping their legs,” Dr. Avraham recalls.
During the long process, patient and physician bonded, Ms. Marcus remembers. “I had complete faith in Dr. Avraham,” she says. “He was very approachable and easy to communicate with. He answered all our questions and he was always in touch with my husband.” She also recalls, “I’ll never forget the day when, after weeks of emphasizing that amputation could not be ruled out, Dr. Avraham walked into my hospital room, smiled, and said, ‘I think we have a win.’”
Throughout the process, Ms. Marcus remained optimistic, which her doctors believe played a role in her recovery. Also key to her recovery was the diligence with which she pursued physical and occupational therapy at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s to help her relearn to walk. “They were all so helpful,” she recalls of the staff. “Everyone was so positive, the nurses’ aides, the people who took my food order, even the maintenance people. And, I can’t say enough nice things about the nurses.”
On the mend in July, Ms. Marcus was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, where she spent six weeks, followed by physical therapy at home for a month. She recently completed two months of outpatient physical therapy and plans to continue strengthening and conditioning at a local gym in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she lives. In addition to her doctors, she is grateful to her supportive network of family, friends, and colleagues from the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Public Theater, where she worked prior to her accident. “It’s an astounding recovery,” says Dr. Avraham. “She’s an amazing lady.”
Three “generations” of mentors for Woman to Woman, a group that supports women with gynecologic cancer: from left, Robin Findling, Myrtice Wooten, and Tricia Clarke.
It was something of a family reunion when cancer survivors met on a recent Saturday at the 92nd Street Y—if a family can consist of 100 women from just about every generation and culture. What they had in common was Woman to Woman, a peer-to-peer program founded at Mount Sinai by Valerie Goldfein, an ovarian cancer survivor, that provides emotional support, mentoring, and financial aid to women in treatment for gynecologic cancer. (more…)
Patient Evan Wood, left, at the New York City Marathon with Keith J. Benkov, MD
Evan Wood, a 22-year-old Mount Sinai patient, won the Foot Locker Five-Borough Challenge at the New York City Marathon, representing Manhattan and Team IBDKids, a cause that is deeply meaningful to him. Mr. Wood, a recent graduate of New York University, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 14, struggling with stomach pain and weighing about 80 pounds. With care from doctors at The Mount Sinai Hospital, including Keith J. Benkov, MD, he began to thrive. And inspired by Dr. Benkov, who has finished 29 New York marathons, he took up running. “He’s modest, and he doesn’t like praise,” Mr. Wood says of Dr. Benkov, “but he’s been a miracle for me; he’s been a lifesaver.” Dr. Benkov started and leads Team IBDKids, which supports The Children’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Mount Sinai. The team has raised more than $200,000 this year, and $3 million since starting in 2006, Dr. Benkov says. At the marathon on Sunday, November 6, Mr. Wood raised $3,163 while winning the Challenge, a “race-within-a-race” against four other runners, each representing a borough and a charity. They started together, but competition began in earnest at the halfway point, just outside of Queens. “It’s a very good-spirited competition,” says Mr. Wood, whose race time was 3:44:57. “And you get citywide bragging rights.”
The violinist Yuval Waldman with the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s team, from left: Alan S. Multz, MD, Chief Medical Officer; Leonida Lacdao, RN, Nurse Manager; Emad F. Aziz, DO, MB, CHB; and Eyal Herzog, MD, Director, Cardiac Care Unit, and Director, Echocardiography Laboratory.
Yuval Waldman, a renowned violinist and conductor, recently performed an original song to thank the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Cardiac Care Team that treated him for atrial flutter and artery blockage. He was admitted to the hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit with severe shortness of breath, swollen legs, high blood pressure, and an irregular, fast heart rhythm. Testing revealed that he was in severe heart failure. Emad F. Aziz, DO, MB, CHB, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist, Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, performed an atrial flutter ablation that repaired an abnormal conduction pathway. When further tests revealed a blockage in the arteries supplying the heart, stents were placed to improve blood flow. Mr. Waldman performed the impromptu song in June, on the day he was released from the hospital. To view the video, please visit: youtube.com/StLukesHospitalNYC.
Sara Davidoff, RN, left, with patient Joanna Ng, who has routinely worn a cold cap to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy treatments.
Joanna Ng was determined not to lose her hair after she began receiving chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer last spring.
“I cut my hair short a long time ago, and it took so long to grow back I vowed I would never do it again if I could help it. But mostly, I didn’t want my family to see any hair loss,” says Ms. Ng, 27, who works for a global brokerage firm. (more…)