Medical Services

Septoplasty straightens a deviated (crooked) septum. The septum separates the right and left sides of your nose. It’s made of cartilage and bone and lined with a thin mucous membrane.

A normal septum is straight and centered. A deviated septum is bent or off-center. The deviation can happen:

• During development before birth
• As your nose grows
• After an injury

A deviated septum can cause a range of problems. A bent septum can disturb your sleep and breathing, and in some cases may lead to sinus infections and headaches.

Tuberous sclerosis, also called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), is a genetic, life-long condition that causes lesions and benign tumors in your organs (mainly the brain, eyes, heart, kidney, skin and lungs). These lesions and tumors grow because your body's cells reproduce when they shouldn’t. The tumors may have been present when you were born or may develop at any time throughout your life.

When an illness or cancer affects your throat or vocal cords, you’ll likely need more than medical treatment alone. These problems can affect your ability to swallow, speak, and sing naturally and without pain. At UVA health, you have access to the highest level of expertise in voice and swallowing therapy to get you back to where you belong.

Our specialized care can help you return to activities like eating, drinking, talking with friends, and singing, both for fun or at a professional level.

The Need for Kidney Donations

In the US, we have more people on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant than we have available kidneys. The wait time for a donor kidney averages about five years. Data shows that people have an approximately 50% chance of surviving the five-year wait.

That’s why, at UVA, we’re doing everything we can to get organs to donors. We’re applying our expertise and experience to use kidneys other centers can’t to save more lives.

Unused Kidneys

Transplant centers, for good reason, choose donor kidneys that will most likely succeed in transplant recipients. This means that many kidneys are rejected, deemed too worn and old to promise much use. Other rejected kidneys come from donors with:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Scarring from biopsy

By themselves, these kidneys don’t have the ability to work for a recipient for very long.

Children usually have healthy, pristine kidneys. Unlike many adults, babies and children haven’t lived long enough to develop high blood pressure, diabetes or complicating exposures.

UVA kidney transplant surgeons have expertise in transplanting kidneys from infants. This very unique procedure helps us save as many lives as possible and make the best out of heartbreaking loss.

Since most transplant centers do not offer this option, we receive these kidneys from all over the country that would otherwise be thrown away.

Respiratory failure occurs when your lungs have trouble getting oxygen into your blood or carbon dioxide out of it. This can make it hard to breathe and feel really scary. At UVA, you'll find experts who will help ease the fear and the symptoms.

Respiratory Failure Types: Acute & Chronic

From airway blockages and brain damage to spine or chest abnormalities, a number of injuries or diseases can result in breathing problems.

Respiratory failure can occur:

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDD) affect the immune system. PIDD can damage either of your immune system’s two main functions, hurting your ability to:

Your heart is the strongest muscle in your body, and it has one of the most important jobs. That's why maintaining heart health is critical. But health issues involving your heart sometimes require more than diet, exercise, and medication. When the heart itself is damaged or not functioning correctly, heart surgery may be best to get you back on track. 

If you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender-nonbinary or queer, odds are, you've faced barriers to healthcare. Studies show that most LGBTQ+ people have. Discrimination includes denial of service, harassment, and bias in healthcare settings. Many healthcare professionals lack information about the healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ patients.

Like others, you may have chosen to stay silent. You've hidden your sexual orientation or gender identity when visiting the doctor. Or, like many people in the LGBTQ+ community, you haven’t seen a doctor at all.