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Jersey Shore Doctors Diagnose a Rare — And Serious — Disease
Tom Freund of Ocean
Grove was feeling lousy
for a couple of weeks.
His body did not respond to
antibiotics prescribed by his
primary care physician. Tom's
physician sent him for a chest
X-ray, and the results were serious
— Tom was referred to
the emergency department at
Jersey Shore University Medical
Center. Tom remained at Jersey
Shore for 17 anxious days, surrounded
by a team of specialists
who were working to understand
the cause of his condition.
"It was a difficult time," says
Tom. "There were tons of doctors,
residents, and nurses coming
in and out of my room. But
Dr. Miskoff was excellent. He
had a straightforward approach
and could relate to me." Jeffrey
A. Miskoff, D.O., a pulmonologist
who is board certified in
four areas of medicine, established
a medical regimen as
Tom's breathing became more
labored and the pain worsened.
"We ruled out pneumonia,
but our specialists needed to
work together to rule out a
host of conditions," explains
Dr. Miskoff. "Wegener's disease,
which we ultimately diagnosed
for Tom, is an inflammation of the blood vessels,
but it resembles an infectious disease in
many ways and can affect different organs
in the body." According to Dr. Miskoff, Wegener's granulomatosis is a very rare
disease — there are only about 500 cases
diagnosed in the country each year.
Upon diagnosis, Tom started treatment
and his condition quickly improved. His
continued medical care is progressing very
well, and results from a pulmonary stress
test and X-ray after his hospital stay determined
that Tom's lungs were back up to 90
percent capacity.
"I see Dr. Tang about once a month,"
says Tom about Xiaoyin Tang, M.D., a board
certified rheumatologist. "She manages my
medication and reads my blood work. She
has everything covered and communicates
well with me about what will happen next."
"I see Dr. Tang about once a month,"
says Tom about Xiaoyin Tang, M.D., a board
certified rheumatologist. "She manages my
medication and reads my blood work. She
has everything covered and communicates
well with me about what will happen next."
"I've got additional treatment," says
Tom, "but right now I feel normal."
 – Ryan Younger
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