The Prevent Defense
Flu Shot Protects Against Seasonal Flu

Fall and winter are a time for holidays, family gatherings and good times. Unfortunately, they also are the seasons for the dreaded flu virus.

More than simply a painful cold, the flu is a serious illness that each year sends more than 200,000 people to the hospital and kills between 3,000 and 49,000 people in the United States alone. It is characterized by symptoms that include fever, sore throat, stuffy nose and muscle aches.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu shot each season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends vaccinations for everyone 6 months and older. The vaccine releases antibodies into your body that provide protection against infection from the flu virus.

Inova’s highly trained nurses can help protect you and your children with the flu shot. Unlike some other providers, we can vaccinate children as young as 6 months. We also offer a nasal flu vaccine known as FluMist^® if you or your child struggles
with shots.

New inova.org — More Than Just a Facelift
The new inova.org website launched on Aug. 1, but it wasn’t just a simple change in appearance. Here’s why:

• We improved the site to help our Web visitors get the health and wellness information they need faster and easier.
  
• Looking to get or stay healthy? With the new website, Inova launched the “Wellness OnDemand” page — one-stop access to health and fitness tips, classes, videos, newsletters and other wellness information.
  
• Need to talk to someone? Now you can find our contact information easier. Call us, email us or chat with us online.
  
• Checking our site from your smartphone? Whether you have a large or a small screen, you can now more easily see and interact with our website.

Take us for a test drive. The future of health is now online.

Good as New
New Restorative Procedure Preserves Breast’s Appearance

Women undergoing breast surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital now have exciting, new options for preserving their breasts’ natural appearance immediately following surgery. By combining breast cancer surgery with advanced reconstructive techniques, patients are able to undergo treatment with little or no aesthetic difference in their breasts. “While treating the cancer always comes first, our goal is to make each patient feel whole from a cosmetic point of view,” says Costanza Cocilovo, MD, Medical Director, Inova Breast Care Program.

New Options

The medical team at Inova Fairfax Hospital offers a variety of restorative procedures that can be performed immediately following breast cancer surgery. Women who undergo a lumpectomy, which involves removing a tumor while preserving the breast, may be candidates for oncoplasty, the reshaping of the remaining breast tissue to create a smooth, natural-looking breast. This leading-edge procedure is most effective in women with larger breasts who prefer a reduction and lift.

For women who undergo a mastectomy, which involves removing the entire breast, the surgeon can perform immediate augmentation with an implant or tissue from another area of the body. Patients with smaller breasts are often excellent candidates for an innovative procedure called nipple-sparing mastectomy, which preserves the skin covering the breast.

Team Approach

To tailor treatment to each individual patient, the highly skilled medical team at Inova uses a team approach. Prior to surgery, a patient meets with her radiation oncologist, breast surgeon and plastic surgeon to develop the best treatment plan.

“Using a multidisciplinary approach improves outcomes, but more importantly, it improves patient satisfaction,” says Dr. Cocilovo. “We try very hard to help patients be in a place where they’re as happy with their results as possible.”