Media Kit

Click here for our press kit in PDF format.

MEDIA CONTACT

For assistance in arranging interviews with physicians, please contact Kim Parker at 919-303-4458 or email: kpparker@wakerad.com.

Note: High-resolution photography of each office interior/exterior, each modality and for each physician. Contact Alan Scott at 919-788-7896 or email: ascott@wakeradiology.com for all graphic materials.

OVERVIEW

Wake Radiology is the largest radiology group in the Triangle, with 58 radiologists performing more than 665,000 procedures each year at 16 freestanding outpatient imaging centers and 11 area hospital locations in four counties — Wake, Orange, Franklin, and Vance counties. The practice provides a comprehensive approach to care that includes the most advanced technology administered by highly trained technologists. Radiologists, who interpret tests and treat patients, are certified by the American Board of Radiology. Their range of expertise encompasses nine subspecialties, offering patients and referring physicians high-quality care in diagnostic and therapeutic radiology. The goal of the practice is to provide the highest quality service to all patients in the community.

Comprehensive Radiology Services, including:

• Digital mammography and women’s imaging
• Advanced Breast MRI
• Laser treatment for varicose and spider veins
• Cancer consultation and radiation treatment
• Advanced MRI
• Bone densitometry
• Pediatric imaging
• Ultrasound
• Coronary calcium scoring and heart CT
• Orthopedic and sports imaging
• Brain and spinal cord imaging
• CT scan
• PET·CT

WAKE RADIOLOGY LOCATIONS

Wake Radiology History

Procedure and Modality Highlights

The following is an overview of our core procedures and modalities. Greater depth and detail of many other procedures is available upon request.

Bone Densitometry

Osteoporosis is a chronic condition that occurs when there is a depletion of bone calcium and protein. The results are loss of bone mass, increased bone fragility, and increased risk of fracture. More than 25 million people in the United States have osteoporosis.

Detection is simple through the use of a DEXA—dual energy x-ray absorptiometry—scan. This 15- to 30 minute, painless scan is offered at five Wake Radiology locations and the West Raleigh Office’s Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence. Exams are performed by the region’s only dually certified ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) and International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) radiologic technologists. Joseph Melamed, MD, a fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist, who is also a certified clinical densitometrist, heads the program. He is joined by two musculoskeletal radiologists who interpret every DEXA exam.

This level of expertise, combining DEXA technologists and subspecialty musculoskeletal radiologists, is not offered anywhere else in the North Carolina. Our musculoskeletal services office is also home to the Triangle’s first specialized iDEXA machines, the latest in bone densitometry technology that produces highresolution images of all skeletal sites. This equipment reveals detail never seen before in the bones.

Wake Radiology Breast Imaging Services

Located in Cary, this service combines specially trained technologists and radiologists who have a special interest and expertise in mammography, ultrasound and interventional breast diagnostic procedures and are certified by the American College of Radiology.

Exams include digital mammography with computer-aided detection, high-resolution ultrasound—used for further evaluation of a palpable or mammographic abnormality—and fine-needle biopsies to remove fluid from a cyst. Following diagnostic mammography or ultrasound, women see a radiologist to review their exam results.

The program also offers the area’s only Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) program. This nuclear medicine study is designed to reveal areas of malignancy in the breast. The procedure is performed by injecting a small amount of radioisotope tracer into the breast. This isotope tracer reacts positively with cancer cells, identifying the tumor and allowing them to be seen by the small gamma cameras designed for the breast.

Radiologists also perform ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy, which removes a small amount of tissue from a breast lesion, and galactography, which can detect defects within a single duct within the breast.

Note: All Wake Radiology offices offer digital mammography, which provides clearer, more highly detailed images of the breast and is faster and considered more comfortable for women.

Breast MRI

A Breast MRI is a highly specialized study of the breast when an abnormality is detected during a mammogram.

By looking deeply into the breast we are able to identify atypical areas by combining advanced MRI technology, a state-of-the-art bilateral breast coil, and utilization of high-level computer processing power. It is useful in examining women with dense breast tissue, determining the extent of a known cancer, differentiating between surgical scarring and recurrent cancer, identifying cancer in high-risk patients, and evaluating response to cancer treatment.

CT Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring

Recognized as the single best predictor of heart disease by the American Heart Association, a cardiac CT scan is a non-invasive exam that shows the location and amount of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries. This build-up composed of fat, calcium, and other substances, can eventually result in the narrowing or closing of the arteries.

Since calcium is a strong indicator of coronary artery disease, the amount of calcium seen in a CT scan can help physicians determine if a patient needs a medical, surgical, or lifestyle intervention. The test is recommended by the American Heart Association for men older than age 45 and women older than 55 who are at intermediate risk for heart attack, meaning that they have one or more major risk factor for coronary heart disease: high blood pressure, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, low HDL (good) cholesterol, strong family history of heart attack, smokers, and ex-smokers, and diabetics.

Wake Radiology offers this examination at five locations in the Triangle: North Hills in Raleigh, Northwest Raleigh, Cary, Garner, and Chapel Hill.

CT Scan

Computed Tomography (CT) produces images of the body in cross-sectional views of organs, bone, soft tissue, and blood vessels. A computer helps process the information and provides clear images that are stored for viewing and interpretation by radiologists. Exams include head, neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis, performed with or without intravenous contrast solutions. Spinal and extremity scans do not require IV contrast; however, CT angiography requires injection of a contrast agent.

CT Angiography (CTA)

This exam uses the most advanced CT scanners to produce images of the coronary arteries that are similar to those produced by a traditional heart catheterization. CTA is very accurate in excluding coronary artery disease, is non-invasive, and is more cost effective than a heart catheterization. It is also considered the best test to evaluate for anomalous coronary artery, often associated with myocardial infarction and sudden death. A contrast agent, along with a medicine to slow the heart rate, is given prior to the procedure.

Wake Radiology Interventional Services

Wake Radiology Interventional Services is headquartered in Cary and is adjacent to Wake Radiology Oncology Services, WR Comprehensive Breast Imaging Services, WR MRI Cary, WR PET·CT Imaging, and the general medical imaging office. The outpatient location for interventional services offers:

• Minimally invasive cancer therapies—consultations for management of liver tumors, bone lesions, and biopsies, along with placement of catheters for chemotherapy delivery, fluoroscopic and ultrasound-guided biopsies, and pleural effusion and ascites drainage.
• Dialysis access management—placement and removal of dialysis access catheters and hemo- dialysis access, angiography and angioplasty procedures.
• Vein ablation—a minimally invasive procedure using imaging guidance and laser technology, it provides relief from varicose vein discomfort by closing off the great saphenous vein in the thigh, which helps shrink the varicosed branch veins and allow healthier veins to take over to carry blood flow.
• Sclerotherapy—used to treat smaller surface veins, this therapy injects saline into a vein causing it to close up, allowing other veins to then take over its work.
• Ambulatory phlebectomy—recommended for medium and large varicose veins, this treatment removes them through tiny puncture holes in the skin. The vein is hooked through the small opening and pulled out of the leg one section at a time.
• Cosmetic laser technology—used to improve the appearance of spider veins and broken capillaries by infusing energy to the veins from the laser and then collapsing the vein, producing immediate results.

More advanced interventional procedures are performed at WakeMed Raleigh Campus and include:

• Uterine artery embolization—a minimally invasive, non-surgical treatment for uterine fibroids, benign growths in the uterus. The interventional radiologist makes a small incision in the patient’s groin and inserts a catheter, which is tracked using fluoroscopy, into an artery that winds its way to the uterus. Tiny plastic particles are injected into the artery that supplies blood to the fibroid tumor, cutting off the blood flow and shrinking the fibroid.
• Kyphoplasty—a technique that allows for the restoration of vertebral height. Using fluoroscopy guidance, a balloon is inserted into the affected vertebral site and is inflated to the height of the fractured bone. The balloon is removed and replaced with bone cement, which in injected into the site. This procedure stabilizes the vertebrae and usually brings immediate pain relief to the patient.
• Vertebroplasty—a similar procedure to Kyphoplasty, as cement is injected directly into the vertebral space, but does not use a balloon to restore the height of the bone.

MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) creates images from the water in a patient’s body using high-field magnets, allowing the body to receive radio waves and echoes them back. A computer uses the information within the echos bounced back from your body to create images. MRI is used to scan the brain and spine, bones and joints, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and blood vessels. MRI has the ability to image in any plane or orientation, so it is helpful in uncovering small tumors, those with complex anatomy and malignancies. It is also the best method for depicting the joints as it can clearly show ligaments, tendons and cartilage. Newer advances allow for detection of heart disease as MRI can show a beating heart and determine if a patient needs bypass surgery. MR Angiography (MRA) is newer technology that can show the major arteries and blood vessels throughout the body. The latest in MRI technology helps patients avoid more invasive conventional angiography.

Nuclear Medicine

Using radioisotope tracer induced into the body either by injection, inhalation, or ingestion, a special camera can detect how certain organs function, and diagnose and determine the extent of disease in patients. Wake Radiology performs bone, thyroid, liver, kidney, chest, and abdomen, and hepatobiliary (liver, gallbladder, common bile duct and small bowel) scans. SPECT imaging provides three-dimensional computer-reconstructed images of multiple views and function within organs to provide a higher degree of resolution and accuracy than traditional planar imaging.

Radiation Oncology Services

Offering the Triangle’s first freestanding, full-service outpatient radiation therapy center, Wake Radiology Oncology Services (WROS) in Cary combines the newest technology and three-dimensional radiation therapy with the expertise of specialty-trained staff. A PRIMUS linear accelerator produces X-rays and electrons, offering optimal treatments for surface tumors and deep-seated tumors such as lung or prostate cancers. The computer-controlled linear accelerator is connected to a network of monitors that verifies every aspect of each patient’s treatment.

• 3-D conformal therapy (3DCRT)—used to treat lung, breast, prostate, head and neck cancers, 3-D targets radiation directly to malignant tumors while minimizing the risk to surrounding tissue. This CT-based system helps radiation oncologists determine the exact location of the cancer to deliver optimal radiation to the site.
• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)—a more advanced 3-D system that spares even more of the normal tissue. Wake Radiology Oncology Services is one of two facilities in the state offering this cutting-edge technology, under the guidance of WROS co-director Scott Sailer, MD. IMRT is used to treat prostate cancer, head and neck cancers, and spinal tumors.
• Brachytherapy—internally delivered radiation therapy. WROS is one of the few centers in the region that offers this medical specialty for liver, prostate, and breast cancer.
• Liver microsphere therapy—reintroduced by Andrew Kennedy, MD, WROS co-director, places radiation filled microscopic spheres into the liver, destroying cancerous cells while preserving adjacent healthy tissue. The radiated microspheres deliver a continuous radiation dosage over 14 days. Patients who have not had success with chemotherapy or are not able to have surgery are candidates for the therapy. The WROS site is one of only two facilities in North Carolina offering this treatment option.
• MammoSite® Radiation Therapy (RTS)—uses advanced technology to directly deliver radiation inside the breast close to the tissue most at-risk for tumor recurrence. This type of radiation therapy, which is administered in just five days, is appropriate for patients who have undergone a lumpectomy and need follow-up radiation.

Ultrasound

Abdominal, pelvic, obstetrical and endovaginal, vascular color Doppler, musculoskeletal, and abdominal exams are performed using high-frequency sound waves to produce images of soft tissue and internal organs. Ultrasound enables physicians to accurately diagnose conditions and diseases without the risk of surgery or radiation. During an exam, a technologist runs a transducer over the skin of the exam site. This produces sound waves that bounce back and provide clear images for physicians to use for interpretation.

Radiology Subspecialization

The following radiologists are specialty trained in their area of expertise and are available for print, broadcast and radio interviews to discuss both general and subspecialty radiology.

Breast Imaging/Mammography

Kerry E. Chandler, MD Appointments: Director of Breast Imaging  Special Clinical Interests: Breast imaging, Breast MRI Memberships: American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, North Carolina Medical Society, Johnston County Medical Society Medical School: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, NJ Residency: Cooper Hospital–University Medical Center, Morristown, NJ Fellowship: MRI - Neuroradiology, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY

Susan L. Kennedy, MD Special Clinical Interests: Women's imaging, mammography Memberships: Radiological Society of North America, North Carolina Medical Society Medical School: Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA Residency: Presbyterian University Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA Fellowship: Musculoskeletal, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

Breast MRI/body Imaging

G. Glenn Coates, MS, MD Appointments: Director of Body Imaging, Co-Director of Breast MRI  Special Clinical Interests: advanced applications of body MRI and MRA; Cross-sectional Imaging; Image Processing, Rendering, Computer Assisted Imaging; Cardiovascular CTA and MRI and Breast MRI Member: Society of Magnetic Resonance, American Roentgen Ray Society Medical School: University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA Graduate Degree: University of California College of Medicine at Irvine, Physiology and Biophysics Residency: University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals; Virginia Mason Medical Center, Chief Resident, Seattle, WA Fellowship: Body MRI and MRA, Mallinckrodt Radiological Institute–Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Duncan P. Rougier-Chapman, MD Appointments: Co-director of Breast MRI Services Memberships: American Roentgen Ray Society, American Medical Association Special Clinical Interests: Breast MRI and Body Imaging Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC Residency: Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC Fellowship: Body Imaging Fellowship, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Bone Density (DXA) Scanning

Joseph W. Melamed, MD Appointments: Chairman, Department of Radiology, Maria Parham Hospital, Henderson, NC; Chairman, Department of Radiology, Franklin Regional Medical Center, Louisburg, NC.  Special Clinical Interests: Musculoskeletal Imaging Memberships: Radiological Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society, International Society of Clincal Densitometry Medical School: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Residency: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC Fellowship: Musculoskeletal Imaging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Cardiac Imaging – CT Cardiac Calcium Scoring and CT Angiography

M. Rans Douglas, MD Appointments: Director of Cardiac CT  Special Clinical Interests: Cardiovascular CT and MRI Memberships: American Roentgen Ray Society, Radiological Society of North America Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA Residency: University of Colorado, Chief Resident, Denver, CO Fellowship: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Long Beach Memorial Hospital, Long Beach, CA

Interventional Radiology

Carroll C. Overton, MD Appointments: Director of Interventional Services Special Clinical Interests: Vascular and Interventional Radiology Certificate of Additional Qualification: Interventional Radiology Memberships: Society of Interventional Radiology Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC Residency: General Surgery, Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh; Diagnostic Radiology, Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Fellowship: Interventional Radiology, Alexandria Hospital, Alexandria, VA

Susan M. Weeks, MD Special Clinical Interests: Vascular and Interventional Radiology Memberships: North Carolina Medical Society, Society of Interventional Radiology, Radiologic Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC Residency: University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC Fellowship: Vascular/Interventional Radiology, University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC

Musculoskeletal Imaging

Russell C. Wilson, MD Appointments: Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging Special Clinical Interests: Musculoskeletal Sports Medicine Memberships: American College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, North Carolina Medical Society, Radiological Society of North America, Society of Interventional Radiology Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC Residency: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA Fellowship: Musculoskeletal Imaging, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Neuroradiology

Philip R. Saba, MD Appointments: Co-director of Neuroradiology Special Clinical Interests: Neuroradiology  Memberships: American Society of Neuroradiology; Radiological Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society  Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA  Residency: Child Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA; Diagnostic Radiology, The Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA  Fellowship: Neuroradiology, The Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ

Michael L. Ross, MD  Appointments: Co-director of Neuroradiology Special Clinical Interests: Neuroradiology  Memberships: American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Society of Neuroradiology, and the American Medical Society. Medical School: Northwestern University Medical School Residency: Chief Resident, Diagnostic Imaging, Duke University Medical School Fellowship: Neuroradiology, Duke University Medical School

Pediatric Radiology

Margaret R. Douglas, MD Special Clinical Interests: Pediatric Radiology Memberships: Radiological Society of North America, Society for Pediatric Radiology and Southern Society of Pediatric Radiology; Council Member, Wake County Medical Society Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA Residency: Pediatrics, University of Alabama Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, AL; Diagnostic Radiology, University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, VA Fellowship: Pediatric Radiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO

Radiation Oncology

Andrew S. Kennedy, MD Appointments: Co-director, Wake Radiology Oncology Services Special Clinical Interests: GI Cancers, Breast Cancer, Brachytherapy and Radiation Implants (microspheres); instrumental in reestablishing microsphere therapy for liver cancer in the United States  Memberships: American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology; American College of Radiation Oncology; American Society of Clinical Oncology; American Association for Cancer Research Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA Residency: Radiation Oncology; Chief Resident, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC Fellowship: Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC

Scott L. Sailer, MD Appointments: Co-director, Wake Radiology Oncology Services Special Clinical Interests: Breast Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, GI and Lung Cancer Memberships: American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology; American College of Radiology; American College of Radiation Oncology; American Society for Clinical Oncology; American Brachytherapy Society; North Carolina Medical Society; North Carolina Chapter of the Council of Affiliated Regional Radiation Oncology Societies (former President and Vice-President) Medical School: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Residency: Radiation Therapy, Chief Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Positron Emission Tomography · Computed Tomography (PET·CT)

Holly J. Burge, MD Appointments: Director of Nuclear Medicine, Director of PET·CT Imaging  Special Clinical Interests: Cross-sectional Body Imaging; Nuclear Medicine, PET  Memberships: American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and North Carolina Ultrasound Society, North Carolina Medical Society, Wake County Medical Society  Medical School: Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH  Residency: University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC  Fellowship: Abdominal Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology —Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Wake Radiology At a Glance

16 outpatient office locations and affiliations with 11 hospitals in the region offering digital mammography and women’s imaging, advanced MRI, breast MRI, laser treatment for varicose and spider veins, cancer consultation and radiation treatment, bone densitometry, pediatric imaging, ultrasound, coronary calcium scoring and heart CT, orthopedic and sports imaging, brain and spinal cord imaging and CT.

Specialty offices including Wake Radiology Oncology Services, Wake Radiology Comprehensive Breast Imaging Services, Wake Radiology Interventional Services, Wake Radiology Pediatric Imaging, and Wake Radiology Musculoskeletal Services.

Wake Radiology is the largest multi-site medical practice in central North Carolina.

58 radiologists, two radiation oncologists, one physicist and 300 technologists, nurses, professional, and administrative staff perform more than 665,000 procedures a year at all of our locations.

Charitable Giving

Wake Radiology is committed to community outreach and support of many charitable organizations— both through physical volunteer programs and financial contributions. We are annual supporters of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life and Raleigh Roundup; Pretty in Pink, a foundation that benefits uninsured and under insured breast cancer patients; the Raleigh Junior League – A Shopping Spree!; Arthritis Foundation Walk, the Triangle Komen Race for the Cure and numerous health fairs in the Triangle area.

Corporate Management