Stay Healthy & Be Well Health  &  Wellness  News  That  You  Can  Use  

This  is  a  new  quarterly  

newsletter  for  Urology  Group  of  

Athens    patients  and  friends  alike  to  stay  

up-­to-­date  on  urinary  issues,  

health  and  wellness.  

“How  Caffeine  Affects  The  Urinary  

Tract”  

“Get-­to-­Know    Dr.  Oliver”  

“Website  Made  Simpler…    

And  Mobile”  

“5  Must  Eat  Foods  For  A  Healthy  Bladder”  

“The  Mechanics  Of  Minimally  Invasive  

Surgery”  

“How  Caffeine  Affects  The  Urinary  Tract”  

If  you,  family  or  friends  are  experiencing  discomfort  when  urinating,  that  cup  of  coffee,  soda  drink  or  energy  drink  could  be  to  blame.    

Right  here  in  Northeast  Georgia,  coffee  consumption  has  increased  since  just  10  years  ago.    Young  and  old  alike  are  consumer  more  coffee  whether  purchased  from  the  neighborhood  café  or  made  in  the  new  personalized  home  coffee  machines.    

That  morning  cup  of  java  might  wake  you  up,  but  caffeine  in  particular  is  known  to  cause  bladder  irritation  and  worsen  urinary  tract  symptoms.    

Caffeine  is  a  diuretic  and  a  bladder  stimulant  that  can  cause  a  sudden  need  to  urinate.    After  consuming  a  cup  of  coffee  or  drinking  down  a  can  of  cola,  the  caffeine  is  passed  quickly  to  the  brain  and  does  not  collect  in  the  bloodstream  or  get  stored  in  the  body.    However,  the  caffeine  exits  your  body  several  hours  later  in  the  urine.  

Because  caffeine  is  a  diuretic,  it  can  lead  to  dehydration.    I  can  also  cause  temporary  incontinence  or  leakage.    

Women  especially  might  want  to  re-­‐think  that  cup  of  coffee.    A  research  study  conducted  at  the  University  of  Alabama  Medical  School  found  that  women  who  consume  three  or  more  cups  of  coffee  a  day  have  a  70%  higher  likelihood  of  having  a  bladder  problem.    

Urinary  frequency  can  also  be  affected  by  caffeine,  especially  if  you  drink  caffeine  within  a  few  hours  of  going  to  bed  at  night.  Caffeine  stimulates  the  urgency  to  go  and  some  evening  consumers  of  a  hot  cup  of  coffee  at  night,  wake  up  with  an  urge  to  rush  quickly  to  the  bathroom.    

Sodas  don’t  actually  cause  bladder  or  urinary  tract  infections,  but  they  have  been  found  to  cause  bladder  irritation  in  people  with  chronic  bladder  inSlammation.  In  particular,  citrus-­‐Slavored  sodas  like  the  lemon-­‐lime  concoctions  are  often  found  to  be  the  cause-­‐agent  for  bladder  irritation.  

And  as  far  as  energy  drinks  are  concerned,  there’s  actually  more  caffeine  in  the  Dunkin’  Doughnut  and  Starbucks  Coffee  than  that  can  of  Red  Bull,  but  they  too  can  cause  bladder  irritation  and  worsen  urinary  track  symptoms.  

While  not  sporting  the  image  of  quick  energy,  if  you  are  prone  to  bladder  infections,  you  should  probably  choose  to  drink  water  instead.    And  the  Institute  of  Medicine  suggests  that  men  consumer  about  13  cups  of  total  beverage  in  a  day  an  women  consumer  a  total  of  about  9  cups  of  total  beverage  a  day.    

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Stay Healthy & Be Well Health  &  Wellness  News  That  You  Can  Use  

More  than  30  years  serving  patients  to  live  a  balanced  healthy  life  

Founder  of  Urology  Group  of  Athens  

Graduate  of  UGA  and  The  Medical  College  of  Georgia  

Get  To  Know  Dr.  Tom  Oliver  “My  philosophy  of  treatment  is  not  centered  around  a  case,  but  a  person…  the  physical,  emotional  and  spiritual  sides  of  the  whole  person.”  

Dr. Oliver was born in Charlotte, NC and moved to the greater Athens area when he was in high school. He graduated from Oconee High School, received his graduate degree from the University of Georgia and then went on to get his physician’s degree at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

Unique from many physicians, Dr. Oliver believes in the full health and well-being of a person – mind, body, emotional spirit and soul. Its this perspective of full-scope care that he shares with his team at Urology Group of Athens.

“Our health is all about balance. Treating a condition strictly on a physical mechanical level might address a functional issue, but wellness and well-being overall involves emotionally balancing the stress of work and family along with a spiritual level of one’s mission and reason for waking up each morning.”

Dr. Tom Oliver, with more than 30 years experience as a doctor, is the founder of Urology Group of Athens, formerly branded as Athena Urology Group.

Growing up with a fascination of both science as well as literature, Dr. Oliver fondly remembers times at the University of Georgia. He was lettered on the basketball team and is a huge supporter of UGA Athletics. Dr. Oliver interned at Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta and served residency at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, the college that is now named Georgia Health Sciences University. It was during both his internship and residency where he had rich patient experiences as well as the ability to learn from some great medical leadership.

Just this past year, 2013, Dr. Oliver received outstanding physician recognition as a founding member of the American Society of Men’s Health.

Today, healthcare delivery is changing and evolving, but Dr. Oliver is very committed to ensuring that his patients are respected and treated as a full person and not a case or a medical statistic. “Healthcare reform is still very much evolving and the aspect of prevention versus treatment of a problem is a strong positive area of reinforcement.” To learn more about Dr. Oliver, watch his video about his perspective of health and well-being at www.urologygroupofathens.com/our-team/. 2

Stay Healthy & Be Well Health  &  Wellness  News  That  You  Can  Use  

Our  approach  to  urology  is  crafted  to  meet  the  most  

important  player  on  the  stage  of  life…  YOU…  and  we  hope  that  staying  on  top  of  the  webs  and  

interactive  changes  illustrates  this  

mission  

Website  Made  Simpler  

“Keeping pace with the latest and the most innovative changes happening with the Internet.”

Back in March of the this year, the Urology Group of Athens website was updated with a much simpler format that is not only easy to reach on desktop and laptop computers, but even more so on mobile smart phones and Apple iPads.

Mobile website access has changed the conventional architecture of websites that got to the point of multiple sets of menu buttons, pop-up screens, text-laden page contents and cubby holes that reminded a person of the attics in the old homes of our parents.

The new Urology Group of Athens website is simple. Visitors can quickly access patient resources like new patient packets as well as a simple contact number to call to schedule an appointment.

New patients and current patients alike are encourage to learn more about our team right here at Urology Group of Athens by visiting the Team page of video snapshots found under the first menu listing of Urology Group of Athens.

To better understand different urology conditions and treatments, the website has a link to a great online resource called Urology Care Foundation with information provided by the American Urological Association. The Urology Care Foundation also has a rich set of Survivor Stories as well as a great Caregivers Resource under its Outreach menu selection.  

For a great summer evening… consider the following recipe for Blue Cheese and Pear Salad combined with a glass cranberry mocktail of pure cranberry juice, tonic water and a twist of lime, a nice slice of whole-grain bread and a dessert of Greek yogurt splash of honey!  

Great  summer  foods  to  keep  your  

bladder  healthy:  1.  Cranberries  

2.  Pears  3.  Whole  Grains  

4.  Water  5.  Yogurt  

Blue  Cheese  &  Pear  Salad  

Ingredients 1 bunch arugula, torn 1 head romaine lettuce, torn 3 medium pears, cored and sliced 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup blue cheese 1 medium garlic clove, minced 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper 3 Tbs. chopped walnuts, toasted

Instructions 1. Divide arugula and romaine on six plates 2. Arrange pears on greens 3. Mix buttermilk, cheese, garlic and pepper 4. Toss salad in dressing 5. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve

ENJOY!

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Stay Healthy & Be Well Health  &  Wellness  News  That  You  Can  Use  

Since  the  1990s,  the  application  of  

minimally  invasive  surgery  to  treat  

urology  conditions  has  become  a  gold  standard  to  treat  the    prostate  gland,  kidney  and  bladder    

The  Mechanics  of  Minimally  Invasive  Surgery  “Urology  Group  of  Athens  has  pioneered  the  use  of  minimally  invasive  surgery  in  Northeast  Georgia”  

Minimally invasive surgery, where the procedures are performed through tiny incisions instead of large openings, is becoming more and more common in surgery centers and hospitals. Because the incisions are small, patients experience less discomfort and pain, less scarring and may recover quicker than with conventional surgery.

During a minimally invasive procedure, surgeons make several small incisions in the skin – just a few millimeters in many cases. A long thin tube with a miniature camera attached at the end – something sometimes referred to as an endoscope -- is passed through the incision and used to guide the physician doing the procedure. Special instruments are also passed through other openings to explore, remove or repair whatever requires treatment inside the body.

When a patient has minimally invasive surgery, the patient likely will experience less bleeding and less post surgery pain, fewer and smaller scars, and a faster recovery than a person would after conventional surgery.

A wide range of conditions like urological cancers, benign prostate enlargement, bladder disorders, urinary stone disease, reconstructive surgery, sexual dysfunction and male infertility are largely treated with minimally invasive surgery.

For some conditions, a physician may recommend robotic surgery. That technology gives the doctor more precision, flexibility and control by providing a magnified, 3-D view of the surgical site.

During minimally invasive robotic surgery, the surgeon sits at a console next to the patient and controls four robotic arms that are engineered to specifically around the task. One robotic arm handles a three-dimensional camera while the other three robotic arms hold miniaturized, specially engineer tools. The robotic system gives the doctor a highly magnified view that provides great surgical dexterity and control.

The next issue of Stay Healthy & Be Well will be issued in August For more information on the different topics addressed in the

newsletter, we encourage you to check out Patient Resources available on www.urologygroupofathens.com

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Check  out  the  next  issue  of    

Stay Healthy & Be Well

in  August  2014