Mayo Clinic Talks

Guest: Jenna Wygant, APRN, CNP, DNP Hosts: Danielle O’Laughlin, PA-C, MS and Jenna Wygant, APRN, CNP, DNP Jenna Wygant discusses common gynecologic pain disorders such as endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. The episode highlights diagnostic challenges and treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes. Learning Objectives: Identify conditions contributing to gynecologic pain. Review s...

Guest: Casey Lawler, P.A.-C Hosts: Danielle O’Laughlin, PA-C, MS and Jenna Wygant, APRN, CNP, DNP This episode provides an overview of gynecologic cancers, including cervical, ovarian, uterine, and vulvar cancers. Casey Lawler shares insights into the causes, risk factors, and clinical management of these conditions. Learning Objectives: Describe the major types of gynecologic cancers. Compare and...

Guest: Susan Kok, M.D. Hosts: Danielle O’Laughlin, PA-C, MS and Jenna Wygant, APRN, CNP, DNP Dr. Susan Kok joins the podcast to explore both non-invasive and invasive breast cancers. This episode covers risk factors, symptom recognition, diagnostic tools, and treatment modalities, with a focus on individualized care and shared decision-making. Learning Objectives: Understand the spectrum of non-in...

Guest: Danielle O’Laughlin, PA-C, MS Hosts: Danielle O’Laughlin, PA-C, MS and Jenna Wygant, APRN, CNP, DNP In this episode, Danielle O’Laughlin discusses benign breast tumor conditions and other non-cancerous growths. Listeners will gain insight into the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and management strategies for these common breast findings. Learning Objectives: Review the types o...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Matthew (Mark) Melin, M.D. Vascular wounds can be quite challenging. If untreated, they can lead to infection, even sepsis, hospitalization and occasionally, amputation. Effective treatment requires an accurate diagnosis and recognition of the specific type of vascular wound you’re dealing with. Even when the type of wound is correctly identified and is being tr...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Neha P. Raukar, M.D., M.S. Women in medicine have made significant strides over the past few decades, yet some still face a variety of challenges and barriers. They commonly encounter inequalities that can affect their professional growth and overall well-being. Common issues include pay disparity, underrepresentation in leadership positions and gender discrimin...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Haraldur Bjarnason, M.D.; and Megha M. Tollefson, M.D. Vascular malformations are anomalies of vessels that can cause a variety of potentially serious health problems depending on their type, location, and size. They may involve arterial, venous or lymphatic vessels. They’re often progressive and may enlarge over time. They’re best diagnosed with one or more im...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Sam Farres, M.D.; and Ryan A. Meverden, PA-C Thoracic outlet syndromes is a great masquerader and often mistaken for a variety of other health conditions including cervical radiculopathy, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff injury or even multiple sclerosis. It has several causes which account for the variety of its clinical presentations. Because of this, the...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Stan Henkin, M.D. Peripheral arterial disease is a manifestation of atherosclerosis and becomes more common with advancing age.  In its early stages, it can be quite difficult to diagnose. Although claudication is the most classic symptom, many remain asymptomatic, especially if they have limited ability to ambulate. Although risk factor modification is importan...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Ana I. Casanegra, M.D., M.S. For many decades, we really only had one option for providing chronic anticoagulation, warfarin. We learned how to manage the many drug and food interactions, frequently changing the warfarin dose as we tried to keep our patients in therapeutic range. Now we have a variety of choices with the direct-acting oral anticoagulants, or DOA...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Christopher Francois, M.D. The risk of thoracic aortic dissection increases as the diameter of the aorta widens. A diameter greater than 5 cm is associated with an increased risk of dissection in the general population. Patients with Marfan Syndrome have defective connective tissue and dissection commonly occurs with diameters less than 5 cm. Other health condi...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Thais D. Coutinho, M.D., and Kristen A. Sell-Dottin, M.D. Genetic factors predispose selected individuals to hereditary aortic aneurysms leading to aortic dilation and potential dissection.  They can be seen in a variety of known genetic syndromes, and they differ from aortic aneurysms associated with aging and chronic, uncontrolled hypertension. Early recognit...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Jacob K. Dey, M.D. Bell’s Palsy is the most common cause of 7th cranial nerve dysfunction and clinically, it has a relatively abrupt onset resulting in unilateral facial paralysis. Fortunately, the majority of patients recover completely without treatment. Unfortunately, in some cases, the facial paralysis is persistent, and surgical intervention may be indicate...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Gregory A. Poland, M.D. Measles is a viral illness that very recently was considered rare in this country but unfortunately has seen a resurgence in recent times. It’s highly contagious and can lead to severe complications including encephalitis and potentially death. There is an effective vaccine and it’s typically administered along with mumps and rubella as t...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Stacy D. D’Andre, M.D. When we diagnose a patient with cancer, we typically focus on finding the most effective treatment for that malignancy: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy. However, to a patient, the diagnosis of cancer means much more. Patients commonly experience fear and anxiety just from receiving the diagnosis. Other symptoms may in...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Melinda J. Hahm Bariatric surgery is very likely the most effective method for long-term weight loss. It’s not unusual for patients to lose well over 50% of their excess body weight. As a result, a variety of chronic health risks are reduced including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, hypertension to name just a few. Exercise, associated with bariat...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Eric J. Moore, M.D. Salivary gland tumors can be benign or malignant, as well as primary or metastatic. Malignant salivary gland tumors usually present after the 6th decade, whereas benign lesions tend to occur a bit earlier, usually in the 4th to 5th decades. An interesting statistic is that the vast majority of salivary gland tumors occur in the parotid, only...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Sunanda V. Kane, M.D. Most people who develop inflammatory bowel disease are diagnosed before the age of 30. In women, this often occurs during the middle of their reproductive years. Some with inflammatory bowel disease choose to avoid pregnancy, usually due to misconceptions about pregnancy risks. Yet if properly managed, women can experience a normal, unevent...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Amanda M. Johnson, M.D., and Victor G. Chedid, M.D., M.S. This podcast continues our series on inflammatory bowel disease. The topic is important and timely: “Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Special Populations: The Elderly, the Obese and the LGBTQ Patient.” It’s critical that we broaden our perspective in addressing the unique challenges faced by these often-unr...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Konstantinos A. Papadakis, M.D. Due to the complexity and new pharmacologic options for the management of inflammatory bowel disease, patients often have their care provided by a gastroenterologist. They may not see their primary care provider as often as in the past and some of their preventive health maintenance may not get performed. Are patients receiving pr...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Darrell S. Pardi, M.D., and Laura E. Raffals, M.D. Pouchitis is a relatively common complication in patients who have ulcerative colitis and have had a proctocolectomy with an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. It represents inflammation of the ileal pouch and symptoms may include increased stool frequency, cramps, fecal urgency and occasionally bloody stools. The d...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: Darrell S. Pardi, M.D., and Laura E. Raffals, M.D. Microscopic colitis is one of the lesser-known members of the inflammatory bowel disease family. Symptoms include chronic, frequent diarrhea and fecal urgency. It’s usually suspected from the patient’s clinical symptoms and diagnosis is established by colonoscopy with biopsy. Biopsy is necessary as the colonic...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guest: Edward V. Loftus JR, M.D. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is somewhat of an umbrella term for a group of chronic inflammatory conditions of the GI tract. The most common types include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. While there are similarities between the two, there are also differences. For many individuals with inflammatory bowel disease, it’s only a mild...

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. Guests: David H. Bruining, M.D., and Nayantara Coelho-Prabhu, M.B.B.S. An early diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease is important in preventing long-term complications. Prompt treatment can improve quality of life, reduce the likelihood of hospitalizations, and help maintain remissions. However, establishing a diagnosis is often challenging due to the nonspecific an...

Host: Denise M. Dupras, M.D., Ph. D. Guest: Melissa Davis, Ph. D., Director of the Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine In this insightful episode, Dr. Melissa Davis delves into the profound influence of genetic ancestry on health outcomes and disparities. Her pioneering work in disparities genomics sheds light on how biological determinants intersect with sy...