The Gulfshore's Top Doctors 2006

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), sleep disorders

Rheumatology

Allan M. Goodwin, M.D.

Physicians Regional Medical Center, Department of Rheumatology

6101 Pine Ridge Road

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis

Catherine Kowal, M.D.

1855 Veterans Park Drive,

Suite 102

Naples, FL 34109

(239) 596-5220

Surgery

Jacob H. Goldberger, M.D.

13685 Doctors Way, Suite 210

Fort Myers, FL 33912

(239) 274-7600

Jeffrey W. Lewis, M.D.

16400 HealthPark Commons Drive

Fort Myers, FL 33908

(239) 278-5200

Mark A. Liberman, M.D.

Physicians Regional Medical Center, Department of

General Surgery

6101 Pine Ridge Road

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: laparoscopic surgery, obesity/bariatric surgery

Michael D. McPhee, M.D.

Physicians Regional Medical Center, Department of

General Surgery

6101 Pine Ridge Road

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: cancer surgery, melanoma

Thoracic Surgery

Michael P. Metke, M.D.

Gulf Coast Cardiothoracic Surgeons

8010 Summerlin Lakes Drive, Suite 100

Fort Myers, FL 33907

(239) 939-1767

Special expertise: cardiac surgery

Dennis J. Stapleton, M.D.

Gulf Coast Cardiothoracic Surgeons

311 Ninth St. N., Suite 301

Naples, FL 34102

(239) 649-0440

Special expertise: cardiac

surgery

Urology

James Borden, M.D.

507 Del Prado Blvd. S.

Cape Coral, FL 33990

(239) 772-0500

Nicholas Franco, M.D.

Physicians Regional Medical Center, Department of Urology

6101 Pine Ridge Road

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: female urology, pelvic reconstruction

Jonathan K. Jay, M.D.

Physicians Regional Medical Center, Department of Urology

6101 Pine Ridge Road

Naples, FL 34119

(239) 348-4000

Special expertise: voiding dysfunction, incontinence, female urology

Kendall L. Wise, M.D.

Naples Medical Center

1044 Goodlette-Frank Road N.

Naples, FL 34102

(239) 261-5400

Six-month-old luke vallieres is an easygoing ball of a baby who basks in the adoration of his sister, four-year-old Alexis, and parents Lori and David. The family recently convened at the office of obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Jeffrey Heitmann, who delivered Luke at North Collier Hospital last November through a planned Caesarean section.

"This is a couple who really feels that it is a spiritual gift to have a child," says Heitmann, who has been delivering babies in Naples for 18 years. "But with all that joy come a lot of issues."

Lori had an extreme bout of morning sickness that required hospitalization four times for dehydration in her first trimester. In the early stages of her pregnancy, Lori says Heitmann's reassurance helped ease her mind.

"He kept us well informed the entire time," Lori says. "He would even joke with me to make me feel more comfortable."

Heitmann says this specialty allows him to not only educate patients with healthy, preventive lifestyle choices, but also develop close relationships with them over the years, connecting with them as their doctor and a fellow parent-he has three children of his own. His practice, A Woman's Place, specializes in high-risk pregnancies and infertility issues with the collaborative efforts of other area specialists and cutting-edge technology such as four-dimensional ultrasound and bone-density testing. It has also recently achieved multigenerational status.

"I've delivered babies to babies I once delivered," Heitmann says. "That's kind of eye opening."

fire ants are pesky to most residents of southwest Florida, but for North Fort Myers' Ray Miller, they're life-threatening. With venom described as the most potent in the world, fire ants can put their victim in anaphylactic shock, which is exactly what happened to Miller in 2001.

"I was trimming the bushes, and I didn't know I'd gotten bit," says Miller, a 61-year-old retired Ford Motor Company supervisor. But in a 10-minute period, his breathing became difficult, he broke out in a rash and his throat started to close. "I thought I was having a heart attack-I had no idea what was going on."

He recovered from the emergency, but had to get five shots per week to build his immunity to the ants and ward off sneezing attacks caused by mold and pollen allergies.

In October 2005, his physician in Michigan referred him to Dr. Mark Greenberg, a Fort Myers allergy and immunology specialist, who revamped Miller's treatment plan. It now includes just one shot every few months and a nasal spray.

"A lot of folks don't have to be on injections [for the nasal allergies]," Greenberg said. "It's a form of preference. Mr. Miller was happy to come off the injections, and that's a classic example of what happens when you give patients information and options."

Greenberg, who is also the corporate medical director at Lee Memorial Health System, says patients are able to make more informed decisions about their care when their physicians provide information and patients take it upon themselves to learn about their conditions.

"The mantra I live my life by is this: 'Treat my patients as I would treat myself or a family member,'" Greenberg says.

Glaucoma steadily began impairing Patty Strong's vision in her late 40s. The first time she received treatment, she had hopes to save what vision she had left. But the procedure, which entailed creating a filter in her right eye to drain the built-up fluid, caused her so much irritation that

it overshadowed

any benefit.

"It was like having a dozen eyelashes in your eye that you can't get out," says Strong, now 57. "Every single blink was extremely uncomfortable."

That was 2002. Two years later, after she gave up her career as a hospital administrator, she met Dr. Mimi Groom, a Physicians Regional Medical Center (formerly the Cleveland Clinic Florida Naples) glaucoma specialist. Groom eventually convinced Strong to redo the procedure.

"As soon as they woke me up, I blinked a couple of times and the difference was phenomenal," Strong says. "Now I can blink and never even know it's there."

Groom says the procedure has successfully controlled the glaucoma in her right eye, and now she and Strong are prepared to do the same on the left eye. Groom says Strong has already lost 80 percent of her vision in her right eye and 90 percent in the left.

"We're trying to hold on to what vision she has left," Groom says. "Glaucoma is a chronic disease, and patients live with it for years. It's a challenge and rewarding to help increase the odds of keeping their vision."

Groom also performs cataract surgery and other general ophthalmology procedures.

Marco santos thought he'd partied a little too much while on vacation in Brazil a few years ago. It was either that, or he had an ulcer, he decided, after a similar sickness during New Year's 2005. He was popping antacids and was a bit concerned when he saw blood in his stool. His primary physician ordered blood tests to rule out possible causes.

The initial blood tests showed Santos was anemic, which sent his physician into action, and he sent Santos to Dr. Scott Harris, a Cape Coral gastroenterologist, for a colonoscopy.

"When the tests came up, right then and there [Harris] said, 'Look, we found a mass in your colon,'" Santos says. "To tell you the truth, I didn't believe it-he said [the mass] was pretty big."

The symptoms for the then-28-year-old were so vague that they could have been discounted as hemorrhoids or reflux, Harris says. "Statistically we don't advise a colon cancer screening until 50, but it was unusual for an otherwise healthy male to be anemic."

After surviving the rigors of colon cancer, which included surgery and six months of chemotherapy, Santos is now back to work and able to complete more physically demanding work than he ever had done before. He'll schedule a colonoscopy every three years from now on.

Harris says the once taboo subject of colon cancer is now widely discussed, making colonoscopy screenings more commonplace. They're the first step toward early detection and increased chance of survival.

"[Discussing colon cancer] has been taken out of the doctor's office and brought out into everyday life," Harris says. "That's huge in helping us make it understood that it's a silent killer."