metro

aser Therapy Can Ease Chronic And Acute Pain

Marielle Temkin
JN Intern

F

or those suffering from acute and
chronic pain, there is a (very) bright
light at the end of the tunnel, thanks
to Dr. Ronald S. Lederman's offering of MLS
laser therapy. He says his is the first ortho-
pedic practice in a major metropolitan area
to offer this therapy, and the results he has
seen are highly positive.
"This therapy has no side effects, no pain,
and 96 percent of patients
are seeing improvement"
in their injuries and pain,
said Lederman, who has
been practicing for 18
years. He explained that
there are two sides to
the laser: It can decrease
inflammation, swelling
Dr. Ron
and pain, and it can also
Lederman
help people heal from
surgery in half the aver-
age time.
The doctor, who received his M.D. from
the University of Michigan, explained that
the laser at his office "is very specifically
used for its wavelengths and how deep it
can penetrate. This particular laser that we
use here penetrates deeper than other ones,
which is why it's so successful" The class IV
infrared cold laser "stimulates the metabo-
lism of cells, creating a sort of 'super cell'

that heals more quickly," he said.
While Lederman is a surgeon, he said
his goal is to keep patients out of operating
rooms. He said his West Bloomfield practice
follows the philosophy of "conservative
treatment:'
"We're always looking for what will give
patients the best care possible. We're not
looking to do the 'latest and greatest' thing,
but to do what will be best for our patients."
When he bought the first laser (the prac-
tice now has two), Lederman did so without
trialing it first. "I had a great feeling about it,
and I followed my gut;' he said.
For the first month, he tested the laser's
effectiveness on family, friends and longtime
patients for whom nothing else had worked.
After all the trial users said they felt so
much better, Lederman felt that "we really
had something here."
But what made him truly believe the laser
could help his patients was his own mother's
reaction: "My mother, who was in a horrible
car accident and couldn't walk upright —
she was hobbling around nearly bent in half
— she went under the laser, and she started
to be able to stand up straighter and walk
more normally. Once I saw that, I said,`Let's
get patients in here.'"
His initial reluctance to use the laser on
patients stemmed from the fact that insur-
ance does not cover the laser treatments.
"I felt uncomfortable asking people to pay
out of pocket, but with such positive results

I feel better about asking people to pay",' he
said.
On average, each treatment costs $100,
but the number can be higher or lower
depending on the case; acute conditions are
treated with a phase of six treatments, and
chronic conditions are treated with 10.
Lederman says that he "lays out very
realistic expectations" to his patients. Not
everyone is a "responder" to the laser, he
said, and there is no way to tell if someone
will be until they try. Of the 4 percent of
patients who didn't feel the laser was a suc-
cess for them, most of them were extremely
longtime pain sufferers and also tended to
be patients "who didn't go in with a posi-
tive attitude. I fully believe in the power of a
positive mental attitude, in any realm of life:
a new job, a new relationship or any medical
procedure Lederman said.
Laurie Wilkins of Garden City went under
the laser four months ago for her knee,
which had a lateral meniscal tear and arthri-
tis."I was very skeptical at first. I didn't
understand how a laser could heal tears. It
just didn't make sense to me',' she said. Her
husband pushed her to get the therapy, say-
ing it would be better than having surgery.
After the first treatment, Wilkins did not
notice much of a difference, but after the
second, she found she could use stairs with-
out much pain for the first time in 15 years.
"I was also skeptical because I was paying
out of pocket, and I had just gotten married,

but it was worth the money in the end. It
would have been worth it at twice the price,"
she said. After six treatments, Wilkins' pain
was completely gone and has stayed away.
The director of laser therapy services at
Lederman's office, Michelle Watson, said the
laser "helps patients live day to day without
the constant reminder of pain."
The results she has seen are "amazing.
We treated a patient yesterday who came in
with an ankle so swollen it didn't look like
an ankle, and he came in today just to show
us how much better he can walk — he actu-
ally had an ankle."
The laser has also helped surgical patients
recover in up to half the time, according to
Lederman. "This allows them to get back to
work earlier, so while they are paying for the
laser treatments, they are able to start work-
ing and making money faster than they
would have otherwise,' he said. It also helps
broken bones heal in about half the time.
Lederman, who is a member of Temple
Israel, stressed that, while this is not main-
stream" medicine,"this isn't some kind
of voodoo medicine. We need to be open-
minded about new treatments like this that
can really help people heal better and faster
than they otherwise would have." .7

Dr. Lederman's office is located in the Lakes

Medical Center at 2300 Haggerty Road in West

Bloomfield. His phone number is 1-800-598-

2809.

Impi vveti Precision

New radiotherapy system offered at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital

R

adiation has been a leading cancer
treatment for decades, and new
technology is making it more
effective, safer and more comfortable for
patients.
An advanced radiotherapy system, the
Varian TrueBeam, was recently dedicated
at the Natalie and Manny Charach Cancer
Treatment Center at DMC Huron Valley-
Sinai Hospital in Commerce.
"The TrueBeam is a whole new platform
that allows us to treat much smaller areas
with greater accuracy',' explains Kimberly
Hart, M.D., the hospital's director of radia-
tion oncology.
Precision is crucial in targeting tumors
for radiation therapy — both to maximize
the radiation dose to the tumor and to
avoid the surrounding area of normal tis-
sue.
The first step is achieving clear, detailed
images of the tumor. The TrueBeam linear
accelerator has advanced three-dimen-
sional imaging capabilities to pinpoint the

30

July 26e2012

cancerous tumor with great accuracy.
"It is an all-digital, filmless machine
with multiple options to image the patient,
including dedicated CT scans:' says Hart.
"We have more treatment options with the
ability to treat some areas that were previ-
ously inaccessible."
In addition, the imaging process
requires 60 percent less time with a lower
dose of X-rays to the patient than in previ-
ous radiation technology.
"With improved targeting of the tumor,
we are able to treat more conformally with
radiation beams that match the shape of
the tumor',' Hart explains. "This reduces
the amount of normal tissue in the radia-
tion field and the long-term side effects to
normal tissues."
Patients also appreciate quicker treat-
ments. The TrueBeam delivers much
higher doses of radiation so the treatment
is shorter. Once the patient is in position,
some treatments can be completed in a
few minutes, compared to 15 minutes for

earlier linear accelerator.
The TrueBeam provides stereotactic
body radiation, a highly specialized form
of treatment for patients with a solitary
brain or lung tumor, including tumors
requiring re-treatment. Stereotactic body
radiation is similar to the treatment pro-
vided by a cyber or gamma knife.
According to Hart, the TrueBeam's
stereotactic body radiation can be as
successful as surgery for early-stage lung
cancer patients. Due to the precision
of the imaging and treatment process,
doses can be higher and fewer treat-
ments are needed. A tumor that might
have required six weeks of radiation can
be completed with five large-dose stereo-
tactic treatments.
The linear accelerator has a modern,
open design and rotates around the
patient, delivering the prescribed radia-
tion dose from nearly any angle. An iPod
has been installed to provide musical
diversion for patients.

Dr. Kimberly Hart stands in front of Huron

Valley-Sinai Hospital's TrueBeam radio-

therapy system.

"We are very pleased to make the latest
in radiation therapy technology available
to our patients in a community setting
that is close to home says Hart.
This is the first TrueBeam in Oakland
County. Additional information is avail-
able at www.hvsh.org .

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