LEAH CHILES AND NORTH CADDO MEDICAL CENTER BRING UROLOGY SERVICES TO NORTH CADDO North Caddo Medical Center and Dr. Leah Chiles with Regional Urology are partnering to bring Urology Specialty Services to the North Caddo community.

Chiles will practice general urology with additional interest in male and female urinary incontinence, voiding dysfunction, neurogenic bladder, vaginal prolapse, urethral strictures and diverticula, and urinary fi stulae.

Dr. Leah Chiles, a native of Vivian, La., received her medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. She then went on to complete a urologic residency at Baylor- Scott & White in Temple, Texas. After residency she trained in Charleston, S.C., and completed a fellowship in female urology and voiding dysfunction.

To schedule an appointment at the NCMC Medical & Surgical Clinic in Vivian with Dr. Leah Chiles, contact Regional Urology at 683-0411.

UNIVERSITY HEALTH USING NEW AFib TECHNOLOGY University Health Shreveport is using a new procedure that uses cold instead of heat to treat atrial fi brillation, better known as AFib. AFib is an irregular heartbeat, which impacts a person’s quality of life. It can lead to blood clots, strokes, even heart failure.

LSU Health Shreveport electrophysiologist Dr. Paari Dominic used the newly approved Arctic Front Advance Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter from Medtronic. The catheter is inserted into a patient’s veins. Once it reaches the heart, a balloon is deployed from the tip and infl ated. The balloon is pressed up against the vein causing the irregular heartbeat. The balloon freezes, causing scarring around the vein, which stops the irregular heartbeat.

Doctors also use heat to scar an area around the veins in the heart that are causing the irregular heartbeat. This intricate procedure could take upwards of two and half hours to complete. While it treats the AFib, the patient often deals with chest pains and discomfort the next day. The cryoablation process takes less than an hour, without the side effects.

To make an appointment, please call 626-0050.

SAI KONDURU JOINS WK Sai Konduru, MD, MPH, who specializes in clinical cardiac electrophysiology, has joined Willis-Knighton Cardiology, a cardiology practice with 11 additional cardiologists.

Dr. Konduru is certifi ed by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiac electrophysiology, cardiology and internal medicine. He studied public health at Tulane University in New Orleans and subsequently earned his master’s degree in that fi eld from University of North Texas Health Sciences Center. From there, he moved to Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport, where he earned his medical degree and completed a residency in internal medicine, followed by a fellowship in cardiology. He completed a fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at St. Luke’s-Mid American Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.

Dr. Konduru practices at the Willis-Knighton Heart & Vascular Institute on the campus of Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport. Dr. Konduru and his partners accept new patients and most insurance plans.

WK EYE INSTITUTE INTRODUCES RAINDROP ® NEAR VISION INLAY Anyone who has struggled with the off/on of reading glasses may benefi t from a new procedure, introduced in North Louisiana by Willis-Knighton surgeons at WK Eye Institute: the Raindrop® Near Vision Inlay.

Christopher L. Shelby, MD, of WK Eye Institute Pierremont and North, performed the fi rst Raindrop Near Vision Inlay procedure in our region, and his colleague, Wyche T. Coleman III, MD, at WK Eye Institute South, performed the second.

Raindrop is a small transparent disk called an “inlay.” This FDA-approved disk is made mostly of water and of a soft contact lens material. The 10-minute procedure offers a long-term solution, with results that are evident within one week.

Following the Raindrop procedure, 98 percent of patients in a study indicated they could read a newspaper or equivalent at near distance. In that same study, 88 percent reported they could read fi ne print, and 76 percent indicated they could read e-mail on a computer screen.

WALK MS EXPECTED TO RAISE FUNDS Hundreds of people are expected to raise more than $25,000 at Walk MS: Shreveport. Gates open at 7 a.m. (walk begins at 8 a.m.) at 540 Boardwalk Blvd., Louisiana Boardwalk on April 8. For participation or volunteer redistration: Visit walkMS.org, call 855-372-1331 or e-mail [email protected].

Since 1988, hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in Walk MS events across the country raising critical funds and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Walk MS is an opportunity for people living with MS and those who care about them to connect, join together and be inspired. This year, the cumulative fund raising is expected to surpass $1 billion.

DRS. BURGIN AND PETTERWAY HAVE FORMED NEW PRACTICE, CHRISTUS PRIMARY CARE PARTNERS CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System announces that Drs. Jode Jann Burgin and Gretchen Petterway have formed a new practice, CHRISTUS Primary Care Partners at 9220 Ellerbe Road that will care for the entire family.

Dr. Burgin is board-certifi ed in family medicine and specializes in in acute and chronic illnesses, preventative medicine, women’s health, and pediatric care. Dr. Petterway is board-certifi ed in pediatrics and is a selfdescribed “Doc-Mom” passionate about approaching every clinical decision she makes from those two perspectives. Casey Aaron, PA-C, joins the practice as an additional provider.

Dr. Burgin graduated from the University of California, Irvine, and completed medical school at the American University of Caribbean on St. Maarten. She completed her residency at Beaumont Hospital Family Medicine Center in Troy, Mich. She was also an associate professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

Dr. Petterway has been with CHRISTUS Physician Group since 2009 after completing her residency at Louisiana State University Children’s Hospital. Dr. Petterway completed her undergraduate work at Grambling State University and attended medical school at Louisiana State University Medical Center.

The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri. and is located at 9220 Ellerbe Road, Ste. 700, Shreveport. To make an appointment, call 681-5282.