With expertise in neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, radiation oncology and palliative care, clinicians in the Rush Spine Tumor Clinic are able to provide patients with comprehensive, tailored treatment plans when they have benign or malignant spinal tumors. Depending on the location and size of the tumor, as well as the patient’s age and overall health, the treatments that Rush provides can help patients regain a better quality of life by lessening their symptoms, such as mobility and memory challenges, pain, speech difficulties and seizures.

John O’Toole, MD, MS, is a neurosurgeon and the co-director of neurosciences service line at Rush, as well as the co-director of the Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Spine Tumor Clinic.

Ken Tatebe, MD, is the clinical director of stereotactic radiosurgery, the neuro-oncology research director and is a radiation oncologist at Rush.

“It can be a struggle for patients to obtain the best care at multiple different institutions, especially when their care providers may not all be on the same page for treatment. We strongly feel that providing this kind of interdisciplinary care under one roof really results in the most optimal treatment plans for patients,” explains Dr. O’Toole.

Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is a novel, outpatient endoscopic approach to treat obesity. Without using permanent anatomical alterations, clinicians who incorporate ESG into their care suture the inside of the stomach as a way of reducing the stomach’s volume down to the size of a banana, allowing patients to get full faster. In the continuum of weight loss therapies, including medication and surgery, ESG is a viable approach for patients looking for a minimally invasive approach to achieve their weight loss goals.

Christopher Chapman, MD, is a gastroenterologist at RUSH University Medical Center whose expertise is in interventional and bariatric endoscopy, with a focus on providing patients minimally invasive approaches in their care.

“Surgery is a very effective therapy, but is more invasive. Pharmacotherapy, at least before the introduction of GLP-1s, was minimally invasive, but also wasn't as effective [as surgery]. Endoscopy [such as ESG] is in the middle of being a little bit more invasive, but also more effective than medications.”

In this episode, Salina Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist at RUSH University Medical Center, will discuss how the detection and removal of adenomas is key to helping gastroenterologists prevent patients from developing colorectal cancer. Additionally, she will profile several colorectal cancer screening tools, as well as the latest advancements in colonoscopy, including the use of GI Genius that helps to produce higher adenoma detection rates.

“GI Genius is a novel artificial intelligence that's built into our processor to help us identify potential adenomas. You may wonder if GI Genius is helpful even amongst gastroenterologists who already have an adequate, or even good, adenoma detection rate. There’s research that shows it does increase the detection of polyps when compared to humans alone, even if they were considered experienced.”