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year as a result of underage drinking— more than die from all illegal drugs combined.

“Parents truly do have the power to change this, since 3 out of 4 teens say their parents are the No. 1 infuence on their decision to drink,” says Jennifer

Northway, executive direc-tor, MADD South Texas. Consult the calendar inside this issue of Keeping Well for class dates. Call the Methodist Healthcare HealthLine at 210-575-0355 to register and receive your free Power of Parents guide.

Doctors at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital have a new weapon in their arsenal that is being used to treat liver tumors, especially those located near vital structures such as nerves and blood vessels. Te NanoKnife involves a series of microsecond electrical pulses—instead of extreme heat, freezing, radiation or mi-crowave energy—that permanently open microscopic cell membranes in cancerous tumors. Once the cell membrane pores are opened, the targeted cancer cells begin to die.

Surrounding veins, nerves and ducts within the targeted area are largely un-afected by the electrical pulses directed toward the tumor, providing a compelling tool for procedures in difcult-to-reach parts of the liver.

Using the NanoKnife, specially trained physicians use ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) imaging to insert two or more needlelike probes into the tumor area. When the NanoKnife probes are in place, they rapidly deliver very short electrical pulses that target the tumor. Most patients treated with the NanoKnife require only a brief stay in the hospital, some as little as 24 hours.

When patients are diagnosed with liver cancer, they can only become candidates for a liver transplant when the tumors are reduced in size or destroyed. When the NanoKnife treatment is successful, these patients have the opportunity to be placed on the liver transplant waiting list. “Te NanoKnife system provides us with a very advanced and selective way of attacking cancer in the liver without expos-ing a patient to traditional invasive surgical

Te Maternal Transport Team at Method-ist Children’s Hospital is dedicated to pro-viding prompt and efcient transport for expectant moms experiencing pregnancy complications. Te team includes diverse specialists and can be quickly deployed to outlying areas of South Texas to transport a patient by ambulance and/or helicopter—both feature a self-contained mobile intensive care environment. Te fight crew and ground paramed-ics are also qualifed to provide medical consultation and oversee the care of the patient by phone and/or radio from the time the patient leaves the referring facil-ity until the patient arrives at Methodist Hospital.

Additionally, a team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists (perinatologists) are available for medical management, consul-tation and treatment services. Each patient must be evaluated on an individual basis

to determine if transport to a regional ma-ternal health center is required. High-risk pregnancies ofen require intensive care with a highly trained specialist monitor-ing and evaluating the patient over an extended period of time.

While many expectant moms might be worried by the prospect of being transported outside their hometowns to deliver, it is much less stressful for the baby to be to be transported prior to delivery if he or she is premature or doctors anticipate the baby having seri-ous medical problems. Transport during pregnancy also allows mother and baby to be in the same facility at the same time right afer delivery.

Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital offer experienced physicians, highly sophisticated medical equipment and resources for mothers and their babies.

Methodist Healthcare has joined forces with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) of South Texas to kick of a series of workshops to give parents the tools they need to talk to their teens about underage drinking.

Parents who attend this 30 -minute workshop will receive a free handbook, Power of Parents: It’s Your Infuence, which they can use as a guide to engage their teens in discussions about alcohol.

Underage drinking has become a teen epidemic. More than 6,000 die each

Juan Palma, MD, abdominal transplant surgeon at the Texas Transplant Institute. “Using the NanoKnife system provides us with the potential of better precision and faster treatment as well as for fewer complications,” says Dr. Palma, who has performed the procedure at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. “Te fact that we are the frst hospital to bring this technology to San Antonio is a mark of distinction and demonstrates the im-portant advances we are making on behalf of our patients.”

Te NanoKnife IRE System is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for surgical ablation of sof-tissue. Angio-Dynamics, the system’s manufacturer, is seeking FDA approval to actively market the NanoKnife initially for prostate and pancreatic cancer treatment.

For more information about the Nano Knife, call the Liver Failure and Transplant Clinic at Methodist Specialty and Trans-plant Hospital at 210-575-4837 .