Rush-Copley Innovations

Innovative approaches and advanced medicine are common ground at Rush-Copley.  Here are some of the ways we're raising the bar for you:

• Syed Zaidi, M.D. and Tariq Rahim, M.D., are performing ablation therapy for Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's is caused by the long-term exposure of the esophagus to acid reflux, a medical condition known as GERD. This new outpatient procedure ablates (removes) the Barrett's tissue with no incisions and has been shown to eliminate Barrett's within one to two procedures.
• Abraham Steinberg, M.D.,urologist, is performing cryoblation of the prostate. A probe is inserted into the abnormal area of the prostate, so no incision is necessary. A gas is injected, freezing the tumor and destroying abnormal cells. The treatment is generally best suited for patients who have failed radiation, high risk patients that may not benefit from more conventional treatments, or those whose condition may warrant more aggressive treatment.
• Surgeons Allen Bloom, M.D., and Nancy Whereatt, M.D., have been granted privileges for catheter placement for the treatment of breast brachytherapy.  Working collaboratively with radiation oncologists, the surgeon places a catheter during a breast biopsy.  The catheter is then utilized for pinpoint radiationtreatment to destroy abnormal cells.
• Rush-Copley Pain Clinic specialists Mohammad Khan, M.D., and Yuan Chen, M.D.,are using a breakthrough procedure for the treatment of back pain.  Percutaneous discectomy is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery to relieve nerve compression caused by bulging or herniated spinal discs.  This treatment is a viable option for those seeking a non-surgical approach.
• The CHARITÉ artificial disc replacement surgery is being performed at Rush-Copley Medical Center.  Fred H. Geisler, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon with the Rush-Copley Neuroscience Institute, was one of 15 surgeons across the U.S. to serve as a principal investigator during the clinical trial, and was first to release the scientific results of the study.
  The disc – similar to the technology used in artificial knees and hips – is considered a breakthrough in spinal surgery.  Before its development, the standard treatment for painful degenerative disc disease was spinal fusion – in which lumbar vertebrae are permanently bonded together.  Spinal fusion causes a loss of mobility and function, and often pain is transferred to other parts of the back, which can worsen over time.  With the CHARITÉ artificial disc, for the first time surgeons can actually fix what is wrong rather than patching over the problem as fusion does.
• Mario Zapata, M.D., has perfected laparoscopic procedures as an alternative to conventional hysterectomies.  The laparoscopic surgery results in smaller incisions, a substantially shorter recovery time and the ability to remove scar tissue during the surgery.
• Edward Lipman, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist on staff at Rush-Copley, diagnoses and treats heart rhythm disorders using the most advanced technology available today.  Besides electrophysiology diagnostic studies, Dr. Lipman performs radiofrequency catheter ablation, a non-surgical procedure that identifies and destroys malfunctioning electrical pathways in the heart.