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Providing the regions most comprehensive oral careAt the New Ulm Medical Center, doctors specialize in a variety of areas – family practice, obstetrics and internal medicine -- to name a few. But many residents might not even realize there is a doctor on staff who treats patients dealing with problems of the mouth and jaw, known as the maxillofacial region. Dr. Hintz, who joined the medical center staff about 8 years ago, is a doctor of dental surgery as well as a medical doctor. He performs patient assessments; outpatient procedures involving anesthesia; dentoaveolar surgery, which is removing impacted wisdom teeth and extracting teeth; facial reconstruction trauma surgeries; and skin biopsies. “A huge advantage of having oral and facial surgeries performed at the medical center is the availability of doctors in other areas to provide consultations,” Hintz said. “And most oral surgeons who practice out of a medical facility find it easier to perform procedures requiring general anesthesia or intravenous narcotics because of the simple fact that we’re in the middle of a hospital.” Being surrounded by medical support allows Hintz to provide care to patients who have medical conditions that might otherwise prevent them from receiving the oral and maxillofacial care they require. “One of the most important services we have to offer at the medical center are oral surgeries and procedures for medically compromised patients,” Hintz said. Patients receiving chemotherapy and cumadin therapy and those with pulmonary conditions and blood anemia are examples of patients whose care is uniquely tailored at the medical center. In addition to scheduled procedures, Hintz performs emergency operations – such as setting the jaw of an individual injured in a car accident. “Repairing some of the facial fractures I see is gratifying in that I am able to restore both the function and cosmetic aspects for my patients,” Hintz says. Many times, these repairs involve grafting skin to the face from areas around the thigh or above the collarbone. Hintz not only treats patients with mouth and jaw problems. He also specializes in helping those with skin cancer. In fact, about 25 percent of his practice consists of treating skin cancers. “Some of my most dramatic cases have been skin cancer cases,” he said, adding that he urges anyone with persistent skin lesions that have scaly or scabby surfaces, bleed or change shape and color to schedule an examination with their physician. A pioneering technique Hintz uses on patients with skin cancer is called open wound therapy. For many years, some surgeons believed this method wasn’t as useful in treating skin cancers because of an increased risk of infection or bleeding. The therapy involves removing the area of cancer, for example the region surrounding a skin lesion, and allowing the wound to remain open. A pathologist then determines the extent and depth of the cancer. With this information, the doctor is able to go back to the affected area and remove additional tissue if the biopsy indicates that the cancerous area had not been completely removed. With traditional surgery, the wound would be sutured closed. If the pathologist discovered that cancer remained in the facial tissue, the wound would have to be re-opened and the surgeon would have to guess where the remaining cancer was located. Treating medical problems of the mouth, jaw and facial skin has been interesting to Hintz since he completed his medical training at the Mayo Clinic in 1969. “Focusing on providing medical care for the head, neck and mouth is fascinating. Everything in the head – all of the facial bones – is tied into the mouth. My work allows me to restore a patient to health, sometimes in a very visible way,” said Hintz.  Back to Health Edition |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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