DR. MARCO LADINO JOINS EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE KIDNEY GROUP'S FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Dr. Marco Ladino, the Kidney Group's Transplant Nephrologist, joins the editorial board of our Facebook and Twitter. Currently, he joins us from Kosovo, where he is stationed as an Army Captain. Expect to see more articles on Transplant and Organ Donation, along with his expert commentary!

TODAY IS WORLD KIDNEY DAY

Today we ask everyone to think about the wonderful, amazing job their "body's computer"-the kidney does. It controls your fluids, wastes, electrolytes, red blood cell production and blood pressure-to name just a few of it's functions. Sadly, most of us NEVER give it a thought until it malfunctions. What can we do to LOVE our kidneys? We can: keep a stable weight. If you have diabetes, keep a tight control of your blood sugars. Keep our blood pressure in the range our doctor recommends for us. Watch your salt intake carefully! If you take blood pressure medication, take it faithfully. Keep well hydrated. Be careful with all medications-even over the counter ones-that are hard on the kidney. If in doubt, ask us if a medication is safe to take for you kidneys, or perhaps a dosage adjustment is needed. If you do have chronic kidney disease, make sure ALL of your health care providers know-even your dentist. And all of us should know what are kidney function is-our BUN, our creatinine and our GFR. These numbers are every bit as vital as knowing your blood pressure or your cholesterol level. So ask your doctor to discuss yours.
When you have your labs done, talk these numbers over with your health care provider, and if they fall into the "abnormal" range, request to see a nephrologist. And don't take NO for an answer. Even if you do have chronic kidney disease, there is alot that can be done to slow down and in some cases, halt, it's progression.
If someone you love has kidney disease, join in support of organizations that work to cure kidney disease or work to unravel genetic casues of kidney disease or organizations to help folks with the disease.(You can see the list of such organizations on our Kidney Group website) Learn about kidney donation and how it can help save lives.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter, where we promise to help you keep up to date on all the news that can help you to have HEALTHIER KIDNEYS! Happy kidneys = happy you!

MEET CHARLIE BEJAR

The newest member of The Kidney Group is perhaps its cutest. Charlie Bejar, the new puppy of Dr. Carlos Bejar. Could he be giving Dr. Gomez's dog, Pax,(a frequent KG visitor for those of you who follow us on Facebook) a run for his money in the "fabulous" department? Could be....stay tuned.

THE KIDNEY GROUP SET TO OPEN 3RD OFFICE IN COCONUT CREEK

The Kidney Group is expanding! We are currently planning our 3rd office location, which will be in Coconut Creek. All of our doctors will see patients in this new office location (Drs. Valle, Bejar,Ajuria, Hernandez and our new Transplant doctor-Dr. Ladino), which we hope to have ready in early summer. We will, of course, continue to have our regular hours in our East (Holy Cross location) and our Central Broward office in Plantation (on Broward Blvd. west of 441). This office is in addition to our regular offices. Please let Cindy or Stephanie know as you check out if you would like more information or call (954)771-3929 and ask for Jessica. Check back for more details on this exciting new addition as they develop!

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DOCTOR LADINO?

Our Transplant doctor, Dr. Marco Ladino, is also a Captain in the United States Army. He was deployed in late January to Kosovo, where he will be-serving the troops for general Internal Medicine-until late Spring. We miss him, as do the patients but we are proud of him, and of our (small) role in service to our country. He promises to send us updates. He did speak to Dr. Valle and say it is very, very cold. In the meantime, our other docs are taking good care of his patients.

UPDATE ON FIRST TRANSPLANT OF 2012

Dr. Valle informed me today Mary's transplant at University of Miami was actually a pre-emptive kidney-pancreas transplant done by the wonderful Dr. George Burke at The University of Miami. Happy to report she did great.

FIRST KG KIDNEY TRANSPLANT OF 2012

Congratulations to Dr. Valle's patient, Mary H., who received a kidney transplant at The University of Miami this week, our first of 2012. She received it without ever being on dialysis. This stresses why early intervention and referral to a transplant center is important. We are hoping for another great year. We transplanted nearly 4 times the National Average of patients on dialysis in 2011 and the rate among our peritoneal dialysis program was 11 times the national average. Congratulations to Mary!