At UT Southwestern, our physicians and researchers are world-renowned for their knowledge and expertise. Every day, they push the frontiers of medicine to bring you the latest advancements in patient care. Cancer. Heart disease. Neurosurgery. Urology. Common ailments to complex diseases. We’re the only academic medical center in North Texas and one of the country’s leading research facilities. At UT Southwestern, we’re not just keeping pace with medicine; we’re delivering the future of medicine, today.

UT Southwestern Medical Center is nationally ranked in more specialty-care areas than any other health care provider in North Texas in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals 2009-10.

The UT Southwestern specialties and their respective ranks on the list include: urology at 15; neurology and neurosurgery at 20; kidney disorders at 23; and gynecology at 33.

“These specialty rankings affirm the excellence UT Southwestern is building upon in our strategic initiative,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern. “We are dedicated to enhancing quality, safety and innovation in patient care, reinforced by superb clinical and basic research and our commitment to training the next generation of dedicated physicians and scientists.”

The America’s Best Hospitals guide identifies 174 out of about 4,800 medical centers nationwide that excelled in one or more of 16 specialties. The rankings in 12 of the 16 specialties weigh four elements equally: reputation, death rate, patient safety and a set of care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. In these 12 specialties, medical institutions have to pass through several criteria to be ranked in the Best Hospitals guide.

To make the list, a facility must be a teaching hospital; have at least 200 beds; or have at least 100 beds plus four of eight important medical technologies.

To be ranked in a particular specialty, a hospital must have either a specified volume in certain procedures and conditions over three years, or must have been nominated in the magazine’s yearly specialist survey.

In addition to UT Southwestern, Parkland Memorial Hospital – which is staffed by UT Southwestern physicians – ranked 11th in gynecology. UT Southwestern physicians also provide the majority of specialists for Children’s Medical Center Dallas, recently named one of the top 10 children’s hospitals nationwide in a separate analysis by U.S. News & World Report.

Each year, millions of men over the age of 40 have prostate specific antigen – PSA – blood tests as part of routine physical exams to test for cancer in their prostate. But the utility of these tests in detecting cancer at an early stage – and ultimately in preventing death from the disease – has long been debatable.

And the picture is, unfortunately, not getting any clearer. Two studies recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine – in the same issue – contained somewhat different results. If the medical world cannot draw a firm conclusion, what in the world is a patient to do?

The two independent studies were conducted, one in the United States and one in Europe. The American study concluded that PSA screening had no significant effect on reducing deaths due to prostate cancer. The European study, however, indicated that screening reduced the rate of deaths by 20 percent. But the absolute number of deaths prevented was small – seven men saved for every 10,000 screened over the course of a decade – and 48 men were misdiagnosed and treated needlessly for every life saved.

The studies did agree in one area: Relying heavily on PSA tests can lead to unnecessary procedures with serious side effects such as incontinence, impotence and bowel disturbances that may be worse than the disease they are attempting to cure – if it even exists in the first place. The inconclusiveness of the studies keeps alive three important questions facing physicians and patients alike. Learn the answers to the three questions from Dr. Claus G. Roehrborn.

Health officials, including those at UT Southwestern Medical Center, are concerned about the potential impact of the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu, spreading from person-to-person. While officials are working to combat the problem, the outbreak could grow as we enter what has traditionally been considered flu season.

Individuals are encouraged to adhere to the following guidelines to avoid getting or spreading either the H1N1 flu or seasonal flu.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Immediately throw away the tissue.
• Practice excellent hand hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. This is one major way influenza spreads.
• If you are diagnosed with or believe you have influenza, please stay home. Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine before returning to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the seasonal flu vaccine different from the H1N1 vaccine?
Yes. The seasonal flu vaccine is offered each year and provides protection against strains of influenza expected to be widespread in each year. The vaccine for the H1N1 flu is a new vaccination that is currently scheduled to be available sometime in October.

Can I wait and receive the seasonal flu vaccine and the swine flu vaccine at same time?
Our experts recommend that individuals receive the seasonal flu vaccine now. There is potentially a higher side-effect risk when individuals receive multiple vaccine doses over a short period of time.

What are the recommendations for vaccinating children for flu and/or swine flu?
The above recommendations are primarily for adults. For pediatric questions, consult your pediatrician. Pediatric seasonal flu vaccines are not yet available. We anticipate that most area pediatricians will have the seasonal flu vaccines available sometime in September.

What should I do if I think I have the flu?
Flu symptoms characteristically include a fever of 101 degrees or higher associated with cough and muscle aches. If you have these symptoms, please stay home, limit your exposure to others and contact your physician. Individual decisions regarding the need for flu testing and/or antiviral medicine (i.e. Tamiflu or Relenza) should be made by you and your doctor. If you have more severe symptoms, including cough with blood, shortness of breath or a fever after initially no longer having fever, immediately contact your doctor or visit an emergency room.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please visit www.cdc.gov.

UT Southwestern surgeons have achieved several firsts in single-incision surgery, including the nation’s first single-incision kidney removal, North Texas’ first single-incision gallbladder surgery and the first single-incision hysterectomy in Durango, Mexico. UT Southwestern surgeons also have performed single-incision colectomies and appendectomies.

“We have a track record of innovation here,” says Dr. Daniel Scott, associate professor of surgery and director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at UT Southwestern

In 2008, UT Southwestern surgeons performed the first single-incision Lap-Band weight-loss surgery in Texas. Rather than the traditional five small incisions used for traditional laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, surgeons used a single 8-centimeter incision, reducing future scarring and accelerating healing.

“There’s a current revolution in minimally invasive surgery: Can we make laparoscopic surgery better by decreasing the number of incisions?” says Dr. Scott. “The theory behind this, not yet proven, is that fewer scars are better cosmetically and for pain control. The pain may be less because you alleviate additional cuts, and therefore the recovery may be hastened.”

The trend has taken two paths. With SILS, or single-incision laparoscopic surgery, surgeons make one incision instead of several through the abdominal wall. NOTES, or natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, involves instrumentation access through an existing orifice such as the mouth, colon or vagina.

UT Southwestern surgeons are part of a national group evaluating the feasibility and safety of single-incision surgeries and have a joint academic venture with surgeons in Shanghai, China, to develop the techniques.

UT Southwestern’s Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery is accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a regional education center, one of only 46 worldwide, one of three in Texas and the only one in Dallas. In addition, UT Southwestern’s bariatric surgery program is part of the American College of Surgeons' Bariatric Surgery Center Network Accreditation Program.