Feeling in the peak of health, 65-year-old Louise Cassar of Jackson visited her primary care physician in early February 2013 for her annual physical exam. To her surprise, the electrocardiogram (EKG), a routine part of the exam, revealed a slight abnormality. Despite Louise having had no symptoms that would [...]
Vicky Vydra, a 37-year-old mother of two from Marlboro, was an avid runner, skier, and scuba diver. When she developed a persistent headache, she was shocked that tests revealed she had a hole in her heart. After four weeks of debilitating headaches, Vicky visited her primary care physician, who [...]
Brian Collins is a leftie. While that fact usually doesn’t impact his life much, it became a serious concern when he severed six flexor tendons, the flexor muscle, and the ulnar nerve in his left forearm, hand, and wrist. Brian, a 44-year-old Howell resident, was walking up his front [...]
As long as he can remember, Jackson resident Mark Kelber had been suffering from excessively sweaty palms. “I’d have good days when my hands were dry, but anything—heat, caffeine, stress, etc.—could trigger it, and then my hands would be anything from damp to dripping,” shares the 38-year-old iron [...]
For nearly 40 years, Michael Connolly, a 61-year-old Old Bridge resident, had suffered from knee pain that first began after a lacrosse injury in college. His career didn’t help matters; he worked for 36 years as a motion picture, theatrical, and television teamster, driving a truck to move [...]
Dee Nemeth had rarely been sick in his life, so it was unusual when the 75-year-old Freehold resident began experiencing bloating last fall. After seeking care at a health clinic, he was sent to CentraState’s Emergency Department for a potential gall bladder issue. There, he was diagnosed with a [...]
After 52-year-old Melissa Rizzitello of Lakewood spoke with a colleague who’d undergone bariatric surgery, she decided it was time to set up an appointment. After a careful evaluation, Ragui Sadek, MD, FACS, recommended gastric sleeve surgery. Melissa had considered bariatric surgery for several years. Having worked as a counselor [...]
At only 22 years old, Mariah Rodriguez’s lifelong battle with her weight had come to this: She struggled to walk from her car up to her attic bedroom, she was uncomfortable going out with friends, and she was on the verge of developing diabetes. Having had [...]
Old Bridge residents Betty and Bob Peterson, both 53, had spent their 35-year marriage doing virtually everything together. For many years, that included eating poorly, becoming obese, and developing significant health problems that often accompany excessive weight, including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. “After years of putting our [...]
For about a year, Sandy Gordon of Colts Neck had labored breathing when performing tasks such as climbing stairs, and just thought it was part of the aging process. When her breathing didn’t improve, she visited Kenneth D. Barofsky, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician and on staff at CentraState and [...]
