Welcome to the Pass the Pearls Web Site

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our new website. It represents the hard work of many people who are dedicated to informing women about their surgical options, spreading the word about minimally invasive laparoscopic hysterectomy and helping women gain access to these procedures. This site is a work in progress, as it continues to grow and evolve there will be even more opportunities to get involved. The Pass The Pearls jewelry collection will soon be available in our on-line store and you’ll also have the ability to make donations directly to our non-profit organization. Thanks for visiting. Please share the wisdom collected on this website with your friends and family and…pass the pearls.

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month

Female Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery: Allentown, PA

Recently I spent a day with Dr. Vincent Lucente and Dr. Cristina Saiz who specialize in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Lucente and his fellow, Dr. Saiz are dedicated to providing excellent surgical care to their patients. They are willing to share their techniques with others and I greatly benefited from being in the operating room with them for the day. They are able to perform life changing procedures for women using minimally invasive methods. Dr. Lucente is very passionate about healthcare issues for women and he has agreed to join the board for Pass the Pearls and help with our mission to educate women about minimally invasive surgery options. Thank you Dr.s Lucente and Saiz for sharing! Lori Warren

To learn more about pelvic organ prolapse read below from Dr. Lucente’s website or visit his the site. http://fpminstitute.com

If you suffer from urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control) or pelvic organ prolapse, you are not alone. This problem occurs in women of all ages. Sadly, many women try to hide the problem and limit their lives because they are not aware that urinary incontinence and prolapse can be treated very effectively. Most often, incontinence is not an isolated problem but an interconnected one. Loss of bladder or bowel control or prolapse (“dropping”) of the uterus or other pelvic organs tend to occur in clusters and affect each other. Many women experience pelvic pressure, fullness or a bulging sensation within the vagina due to pelvic organ prolapse. In fact, the term “dropped” is misleading, as the true problem is a defect in vaginal support. During the past decade, women have benefited from a subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology called urogynecology. The subspecialty was recently renamed female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery to more accurately describe the scope of diagnosis and treatment of female pelvic support disorders. The subspecialist evaluates all the structures and systems of the female pelvis, including organs, nerves, ligaments, muscles and blood vessels. The result is a much higher quality of care for you.

A Message From Dr. Jon LaPook, Chief Medical Correspondent, CBS Evening News

Congratulations on the launch of your new website for Pass the Pearls. With your expanded site you will connect to more women and physicians and be able to pass more pearls…Best of luck with your educational mission!”

In 2008, I interviewed my friend, Dr. Lori Warren, for a segment on the “CBS Evening News.”  She passionately explained how hundreds of thousands of women were getting unnecessary abdominal hysterectomies each year instead of having a much simpler laparoscopic procedure.  The viewer response was something she tries to avoid during surgery but welcomed while trying to raise awareness: she struck a nerve.

Her choice of the phrase “Pass the Pearls” tells you a lot about Lori.  The term “clinical pearl” is one doctors use when referring to a piece of wisdom passed from one physician to another.  For example, a professor might explain to a student to have patients lie on their right side during the abdominal exam in order to increase the odds of detecting an enlarged spleen.  Clinical pearls are traditionally not meant for patients; they are inside baseball.  But Lori believes information is power and that with a careful explanation, women can understand the main issues involved in making surgical decisions about their own bodies.  She’s determined to empower women not only to know their surgical options but to find the right doctors.  So she’s sharing the pearls, passing them to as many people as possible – both doctors and patients.

Knowing Lori, I expect she won’t rest until her pearls have propagated to every surgical suite in America.  I’ll be rooting for her – and passing some of her pearls along myself.

Jon LaPook, MD
Chief Medical Correspondent
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
Professor of Medicine
NYU Langone Medical Center

Dr. Lori Warren Launches Pass the Pearls

Dr. Lori Warren launched Pass the Pearls on February 11, 2012 at the Pearls and Pumps Fundraiser. She discussed the need for education and awareness about quality surgical care for women. Pass the Pearls is a way to brand minimally invasive surgery for women and help women gain access to less invasive surgery. Pass the Pearls is thrilled that Baptist Hospital Foundation has the same mission for improving women’s health. It was a great collaboration! This was the first fundraiser in the country dedicated to improving minimally invasive surgery for women!