Well, I'm officially a Bend-ite as my household goods arrived last week. And, my hospital priveleges are official as of tomorrow am, so now I can actually start operating instead of just watching. Of course, when you watch someone whose surgical technique is so different than most (translation - better), you can learn a lot just by watching. Dr. Redwine is actually a very good teacher, and explains his rationale for why he does what he does along with explaining what he's doing. I actually have done quite a few of the surgical techniques in Hawaii that I learned from him last fall when I was visiting Bend. It's difficult and requires skill and perseverence, but it's so rewarding to have patients come back and say their pain is gone after you've removed their endometriosis. I met with some physical therapists today who specialize in womens health and pelvic PT, which is also very important for some women in relieving all of their pain. Sometimes pain starts from a stimulus like endometriosis, or surgical incisions, then muscle spasm sets in, then nerve irritation from the spasm, then more pain, and on and on. When you remove the initial stimulus, ie the endometriosis, in most people the pain goes away, but in those women who have started the cycle with muscle spasm, they continue to have some pain, usually a little different than before their surgery, but still bothersome. That's where the PT comes in. These therapists are experts at finding out exactly which muscles are in spasm, even the deep internal muscles of the pelvis, and then getting them to relax, which usually results in long lasting pain relief of the rest of the pain. I realized firsthand how important this was a few years ago after having my appendix out. I went back to work 3 days after my surgery (typical doctor) and started having terrible muscle spasms of my right side. I tried to fix it on my own, but I was unsuccessful. After a few visits to my trusty PT friend, I was dramatically improved. I strongly believe in a team approach to caring for patients. Whether it's regarding pain management or for incontinence, working with other professionals with a slightly different skill set and a different approach, yet the same ultimate goals, I think gives patients a better outcome, and that's what it's all about.
Well, although the movers came and went last week, I still have a house full of boxes begging to be unpacked, so I better go answer their calls. A Hui Ho...

Aloha,
My name is Cindy Mosbrucker and I'm going to be Dr. Redwine's "clone", as he calls me. I just moved to Bend from Hawaii where I was in private practice for 8 years as an OB/GYN. I've been doing quite a bit of surgery in Hawaii, both for endometriosis as well as for pelvic prolapse and incontinence, but now I'll be able to "learn from the master" and operate with Dr. Redwine on a daily basis. I guess I've been destined to be a surgeon since I was little. When I was in the 3rd grade, Carly Simon's song "You're so vain" was a big hit. My teacher asked us if we knew what it meant, and I raised my hand and said "it's kinda like an artery..." Then when I was in high school, I worked on a ranch and always helped the vet take care of the animals that were injured. We had a sheep with a big abscess ( like a huge zit) on it's back, a horse that ripped the skin off his leg, and various animals who had to get "fixed". I loved being in on the action. I went to Medical school in Chicago at Northwestern, and because it was quite expensive applied for and received a Navy scholarship. My last year of med school I went to Pakistan for 3 months to work at a little mission hospital. What an experience that was - patients would come in extremely sick, and we knew that we had to operate on them even though we didn't know exactly what we'd find, but if we didn't do anything, they would surely die. I'll tell you more stories about this later. I did my residency at Bethesda Naval Hospital, which is where President Reagan was operated on a few times, and had some great experiences there, as well as opportunities for doing a lot of surgery. It helped that I had done quite a few cases in Pakistan, because it gave me more experience than any of the other interns, so I was given more surgeries and more responsibility at an earlier time than most. After residency, I went to Guam for 3 years. It was a nice break from residency where I was working 80 -100 hour weeks. We worked hard and played hard - diving, fishing, golfing, etc. I started doing urogynecology there, where I worked closely with a urologist friend of mine doing complex cases. Then, I moved to Pensacola, Florida, to complete my obligation to the Navy. After a year there, I moved to Hawaii where I was in private practice in Windward Oahu. There I continued my quest to master pelvic reconstruction procedures and curing, or at least improving incontinence in women. As time went on, I refined my procedures to optimize the longevity of the repairs, so that the likelihood of recurrence of the prolapse was less likely. I became the referral gynecologic surgeon for my hospital and although I was still doing some OB, the main focus of my practice was surgical. The biggest reward I get is my patients being so happy after realizing that their small surgery relieved the suffering they'd been enduring from leaking urine, or being uncomfortable from their prolapse. I was happy because I was good at what I did, and could make a difference in the lives of my patients, but I still felt that there was more that I could accomplish. I thought about doing a fellowship in Urogyn, but as I researched this, I realized that I already knew 90% of what I would learn. As I continued my quest to optimize my potential I considered moving from Hawaii, somewhat for family reasons, and partially because I felt that it was time to come closer to home. Then I met Dr. Redwine, and my life changed forever. More later.......