If you or a loved one live with a blood disease or a bleeding disorder
not related to cancer that affects proper clotting, the right treatment
makes a difference in how you feel every day and can even save your life.
That’s why you want to get your care from OU Health in Oklahoma
City. At OU Health, you’ll find a dedicated team of hematology experts
who can help you stay healthy and live a productive, independent life.
Nationally Recognized Care for Blood Diseases & Disorders
When you choose OU Health to help you care for a blood disease or disorder,
you gain access to Oklahoma’s only comprehensive center for hemophilia
and thrombophilia care. As one of approximately 140 such centers in the
United States, OU Health offers specialized care recognized by the National
Hemophilia Foundation and as part of a nationwide network supported by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Specialized Care for Common & Rare Blood Conditions
In addition to expert care from OU Health’s hematologist-oncologists
for blood cancers such as
leukemia,
lymphoma and myeloma through our Stephenson Cancer Center, you also benefit from
specialized treatment for
anemias, disorders of white blood cells,
sickle cell disease, platelet disorders,
hepatitis, bone marrow failure and more than 100 rare blood diseases and bleeding
and clotting disorders, including
hemophilia and
thrombophilia.
Hemophilia
With hemophilia, blood lacks standard factors needed to clot properly and
prevent your body from losing too much blood. Often diagnosed during childhood,
the three most common types are:
Hemophilia A – Classic hemophilia; blood lacks clotting factor VIII
Hemophilia B – Christmas disease; clotting factor IX deficiency
While symptoms of hemophilia can vary, signs include bleeding into joints,
easy and unexplained bruising, excessive bleeding from minor cuts or injuries,
frequent nosebleeds or heavy menstrual bleeding.
Thrombophilia
With thrombophilia, excess clotting blocks blood vessels, which can cause
deep-vein thrombosis or
pulmonary embolism. The two types of thrombophilia are:
Venous thrombosis – Happens when a blood clot blocks a vein that carries blood from
the body back to the heart
Arterial thrombosis – Happens when a blood clot blocks an artery carrying oxygen-rich
blood away from the heart and into the body
Your doctor may perform a blood test for thrombophilia if you have a family
history of thrombosis or if you experience more than one blood-clotting
event, thrombosis in unusual areas of your body, recurrent miscarriages
or trouble conceiving a baby.
Personalized Services & Treatment from Hematology Experts
At OU Health, you can take advantage of personalized, family-centered services
and treatments for bleeding and clotting disorders that involve ongoing,
consistent supervision of all medical and psychosocial aspects of your
condition. Your OU Health team of hematology experts works with you and
your family to develop an individualized treatment plan designed to address
all aspects of your life – your physical health, as well as emotional,
psychological, educational, financial and career components – to
ensure you receive the most appropriate care for your specific situation.
The Treatment Center Difference
Your treatment at OU Health gives you access to the latest medical care,
as well as innovative treatment options from extensive research, funded
by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and from Phase I clinical
trials conducted in our Oklahoma City facilities. Depending on your particular
condition, you and your doctor may choose medical approaches, gene therapy,
advanced CAR-T and T-cell therapies or Oklahoma’s only stem cell
transplant and cell therapy program accredited by FACT, the Foundation
for Advancement in Cancer Therapy.
In addition, you benefit from our participation in the national network
of Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTC), where experts deliver comprehensive
treatment for blood-related diseases and disorders. Treatment at HTCs
has been shown to significantly improve quality of life by lowering complications,
providing cost-effective, long-term care with 40 percent fewer hospitalizations,
and allowing a more independent and productive way of living.
Continuous Communication & Comprehensive Care
During every visit, you and your family talk extensively with your physicians
and nurses about how the condition affects your lives. This continuous
communication helps address specific health and safety issues you face
at every age. A typical visit with your care team includes:
Blood draw
Infusion
Dental evaluation and care
Pain control consultation
Reviews of your medical records and financial and insurance circumstances
Orthopedics consultation and movement assessment
Occasionally, your care team visits your school, workplace and home for
a firsthand view of your environment that offers important insight and
provides helpful advice and effective coordination of services with your
primary care doctor.
Factor @ Home
You and your OU Health Physician may choose continuous hemophilia care through
Factor @ Home, a program affiliated with our program that allows you to use clotting-factor
replacement therapy at home to manage bleeding problems. Prompt, ongoing,
in-home treatment helps you avoid serious complications from hemophilia
while decreasing pain, dysfunction and long-term disability.
Your Expert Blood Diseases Team
At OU Health, you and your family benefit from a compassionate, multidisciplinary
team-based approach to identifying and delivering the best possible options
to care for you and your specific situation.
Your highly trained and extensively experienced team members may include
board-certified hematologist-oncologists, certified hemophilia and thrombophilia
physician assistants (PAs), nurse coordinators, social workers, physical
therapists and a wide range of experienced OU Health healthcare professionals
from among our 450 medical specialties available to consult on your care.
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