Helen S. Te, MD, explains what makes the section of Non-Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease care unique.
DR. HELEN TE: I think the most unique thing about the way we practice here at the University of Chicago Medicine is the multi-disciplinary approach that we assume as well as the innovations that we do. So for some of the liver diseases, we have to gather everybody in the room, consisting of the various disciplines that have to provide input into the care of the patient. So we have our conferences where the surgeon, the hepatologist, the interventional radiologist, as well as the oncologist-- all are present together to discuss specific cases and to map out the plan for the management of those patients, which could actually go across the board, not just involving one person but multiple modalities of intervention. Then our tendency to take innovation farther and farther ahead and apply that to the patient's needs is definitely one of the unique things that we do here. We do not sit on what is conventionally believed to be standard of care only if our patients are beyond those interventions. And we are willing to take calculated risks that are considered to be worthwhile to provide the best care we can for our patients.
