An Interdisciplinary Team of Sub-Specialists
The interdisciplinary team approach to patient care at the Tallwood Institute sets us apart from other urology and kidney care services in the area. Our fellowship trained urologists cover six specialty areas including: Men’s Health & Sexual Function, Pelvic Health & Incontinence, Chronic Kidney Disease, Kidney Stones, Prostate Disease, and Urologic Cancer.
The following teams comprise the Tallwood Urology & Kidney Institute:
Our urologists assess and treat a number of common urology problems and, when needed, are able to bring in experts for those with more complex conditions.
More than 20 million American adults have some level of chronic kidney disease.
Our Kidney Team, led by Terrance Oder, MD, includes the services of endocrinology, dialysis, nephrology, medicine, nutrition, interventional radiology, and transplant surgery.
Kidney stone disease has been on the rise over the last two decades, likely due to diet and lifestyle changes. Approximately 8.8% of the population will have a kidney stone at some time in their lives.
Our Kidney Stone Disease Team, led by Jeffrey Morganstern, MD, includes the disciplines of nephrology, urology and nutrition. In addition to procedures such as lithotripsy, ureteroscopic stone removal and percutaneous nephrostomy, patients participate in a comprehensive approach to manage their kidney stone disease.
Accurately diagnosing the cause of incontinence is vital to effective treatment. Our Pelvic Health Team is co-led by urologist Richard Kershen, MD and urogynecologist Christine LaSala, MD.
Urinary incontinence and bladder dysfunction are treated in conjunction with urology, colorectal surgery, physical rehabilitation and psychology services. Whether it’s an advancement in robotic surgery, reconstruction or another treatment technique, this team’s goal is to promote overall pelvic health with individualized comprehensive treatment plans.
Men are 24 percent less likely than women to visit a doctor annually, and getting treatment for erectile dysfunction is obviously emotionally difficult for most men.
James Graydon, MD leads our Men’s Health & Sexual Function team. This includes endocrinology, cardiology, urology and psychology. Dr. Graydon’s team is also developing programs to maintain prostate health, assess endocrine and cardiac function as well as address infertility and erectile dysfunction.
As many as 15% of reproductive age couples will have difficulties conceiving within the first year, an estimated 6 million Americans annually. Men should be evaluated by a urologist, which can help ensure they’re up to date on other men’s health issues. This is important because fertility issues are sometimes linked to other medical disorders such as diabetes or heart disease.
Our Fertility team is led by Jared Bieniek, MD, treating patients with problems like low sperm counts, sperm morphology issues, hormonal imbalances, and anatomical issues like varicoseals. A differentiating factor in our Fertility program is the close link with the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, as men of reproductive age diagnosed with cancer have options to pursue in advance of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. We are one of the few places in Connecticut to have physicians who are fellowship trained in Male Reproductive Medicine.
Tallwood’s Urology Oncology team is also part of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, a charter member of the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Alliance. This gives urologic cancer patients access to state of the art clinical trials closer to home, and we are the leaders in treating urologic cancers in Connecticut.
Urologic Oncology is led by Anoop Meraney, MD, treating patients who have cancer of the kidney, bladder, prostate or testes.
Many of this team’s surgeries are performed robotically to spare as much of the organ as possible, minimize blood loss and chance of infection and promote a quicker recovery via smaller incisions.
A Continuous Network of Care
The Tallwood Institute is part of an extensive preferred provider network. This means patients get the very highest standard of urology and kidney care at every level of treatment – beginning in the hospital, and extending to their continuing care at home. With excellent and comprehensive communication throughout the network, every healthcare provider involved in your care uses the very best practices to care for you post-surgically.
Special Concern for Your Comfort & Education
An important component of caring for urology patients and kidney patients is taking care of their emotional needs as well as their physical problems. People can be reluctant to talk about urology and kidney diseases, and the things that concern them about their treatment. We know that some patients have tried treatments that have not worked, and many feel very frustrated – even hopeless. We also know that there is hope, even for the most complex urologic problems. We solve them every day.
Our dedicated Patient Navigator helps to ease these difficult conversations and keep your treatment moving in the best direction. Our physicians and surgeons also do a lot of community education work, helping to make it easier for people to talk about a topic that can feel uncomfortable.
You and your family are also well supported after you leave the hospital, with the same high quality care you received as an inpatient. With our wide network of care, you can also access that top level of urology and kidney care right in your own community.