MedStar Health DocTalk (series)

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For more episodes of MedStar Health DocTalk, go to medstarhealth.org/doctalk.

Would like like to share feedback on this podcast? Or suggest another topic for us to explore? Click here, or email us at [email protected]
On this DocTalk episode, we chat with Dr. Steven Wexner, the Physician Executive Director and System Chief of Colorectal Surgery for MedStar Health. Dr. Wexner brings more than 38 years of clinical, academic, and research excellence to MedStar Health. He specializes in surgery for rectal cancer, and patients from around the world seek his expertise. 
For an interview with Dr. Steven Wexner, or for more information about this podcast, contact MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Manager Media Relations, [email protected].
Learn more about Dr. Wexner. 
For more episodes of MedStar Health DocTalk, go to medstarhealth.org/doctalk.

Would like like to share feedback on this podcast? Or suggest another topic for us to explore? Click here, or email us at [email protected]
In this episode in the MedStar Health DocTalk series, host Debra Schindler talks with Dr. Meghan Milburn, FACS, director of the Breast Center at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, about an important and emerging advancement in breast cancer surgery: breast nerve preservation and resensation after mastectomy. 
Dr. Milburn explains why loss of sensation is so common after mastectomy, affecting up to 60–80% of women, and how it can impact far more than physical feeling. Numbness and nerve pain can affect safety, intimacy, emotional wellbeing, and a woman’s sense of connection to her body, even when reconstruction looks cosmetically successful. 
The conversation explores how newer surgical techniques allow surgeons to identify, preserve, and reconnect nerves at the time of mastectomy and reconstruction, helping restore sensation to the breast and nipple over time. Dr. Milburn explains how nerve regeneration works, what patients can realistically expect, and why recovery can take months to years, but with meaningful improvements for many women. 
Listeners will learn:
 ·       Why numbness and neuropathic pain occur after mastectomy
 ·       How breast neurotization and nerve grafting are performed 
·       What recovery and rehabilitation look like, including sensory “retraining” 
·       Who may or may not be a good candidate for these procedures 
·       How restoring sensation can reduce pain, improve quality of life, and help women feel whole again 
Dr. Milburn also shares patient experiences, discusses the emotional and psychological impact of sensation loss, and emphasizes the importance of shared decision-making, asking questions, and considering second opinions. This episode offers hope, education, and empowerment for anyone facing breast cancer surgery, and highlights how advances in surgical care are focusing not just on survival, but on long-term quality of life. 
If you're in the Baltimore area and would like to schedule an appointment to discuss breast neurotization surgery, call 443-777-6500.  Or to make an appointment in the DC region at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, call 202-877-7937. You can also see a specialist for nerve resensation at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in DC. Call 202-295-0560.   
For more episodes of MedStar Health DocTalk, go to medstarhealth.org/doctalk.

Would like like to share feedback on this podcast? Or suggest another topic for us to explore? Click here, or email us at [email protected]
Chronic knee pain affects millions of Americans, especially as we age, and osteoarthritis is often the cause. In this episode, host Debra Schindler talks with Dr. Moutasem Aljundi, vascular and interventional radiologist at MedStar Health, to explore an emerging, minimally invasive treatment option you may not have heard of: genicular artery embolization (GAE).
Dr. Aljundi explains how GAE works by reducing abnormal blood flow that fuels inflammation inside the knee joint, helping relieve pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis. The conversation covers who may be a good candidate, how the outpatient procedure is performed, recovery time, success rates, and how GAE compares to other treatments like steroid injections, nerve ablation, and knee replacement surgery.
If you’re living with chronic knee pain and looking for alternatives, or ways to delay knee replacement, this episode offers valuable insight into a promising option that’s changing how knee osteoarthritis is treated.
For more information about genicular artery embolization for knee pain, go to medstarhealth.org and search interventional radiology or for an appointment, call 240-434-7024. If you would like to comment on this podcast or recommend a topic for another episode of DocTalk, send an email to [email protected].

For more episodes of MedStar Health DocTalk, go to medstarhealth.org/doctalk.

Would like like to share feedback on this podcast? Or suggest another topic for us to explore? Click here, or email us at [email protected]
In this episode of MedStar Health DocTalk, host Debra Schindler sits down with Dr. Nicole Sakla, a breast radiologist and published researcher in artificial intelligence, to explore how AI is changing the way mammograms are read and how it can help radiologists detect disease earlier, sometimes by years.
Learn how AI tools flag subtle patterns invisible to the human eye, act as a double-check system for radiologists, and may reduce unnecessary callbacks and missed cancers—all without replacing the human expertise behind every diagnosis.
Dr. Sakla also clears up misconceptions about AI in medicine, explains how it’s trained to be accurate across diverse patients, and shares what excites her most about the next generation of AI technology in breast imaging.
Listen now for a fascinating, accessible look into how human expertise and machine learning are working together to advance early detection and patient care.
For more information about breast imaging and screening at MedStar Health, medstarhealth.org/breasthealth or call the breast center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center: 202-877-2800 .
If you would like to comment on this podcast, or recommend a topic for another episode of DocTalk, send an email:  [email protected]

For more episodes of MedStar Health DocTalk, go to medstarhealth.org/doctalk.