Internist-rheumatologist Prof. Dr. Dušan Stefanović
(Last Updated On: September 30, 2020)
Rheumatology diseases usually lead to changes in the function of the osteoarticular and muscular structure, but the consequences of the disease can also affect other organs and systems of the organism. Depending on the type of rheumatic disease, clinical pictures are diverse. The disease is more present in the elderly but some forms of the disease do not bypass the young, either. In the spectrum of different symptoms, a common feature of these diseases is, practically, an exhaustive path to a true diagnosis, which can take years.
Internist-rheumatologist Prof. Dr. Dušan Stefanović
For a proper diagnosis, the patient should be listened to carefully. As he is speaking about what he feels, the patient tells you the diagnosis!
In the rheumatology outpatient clinic Dr. Stefanović, a reliable diagnosis is established during the first or second visit. This is often without additional analyses and tests, since these patients have already visited doctors and have medical documentation of their health condition. They say that, in order to make a correct diagnosis, it is essential to listen to the patient. A good anamnesis is half the diagnosis. And a correct diagnosis is more than half the job of effective recovery and treatment.
Common features of rheumatic diseases:
– They are permanent, lifelong;
– They are successfully controlled by treatment.
According to the nature and genesis of the disease and the consequences for different systems and organs, rheumatic diseases can be:
–DEGENERATIVE, which are the most common companion of old age. There are changes in the spine and supporting joints, hips, knees, then the joints of the fingers or toes, as well as the vertebrae and discus, which are in the function of the shock absorber. They often affect the nerve roots, which leads to chronic or acute pain in the neck or lumbar region of the spine. The problems can be related to being overweight because, under the pressure of the bodyweight, the joints suffer more damage and consequent problems can occur. They can be hereditary.
–INFLAMMATORY, among which the most significant are the so-called connective tissue diseases that also affect young people: rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis or scleroderma, polymyositis, Sjögren’s syndrome, mixed systemic connective tissue disease, and a large group of inflammations of blood vessels (vasculitis). These are the so-called autoimmune diseases because the body begins to attack itself for certain reasons (hereditary factors, viral infections, stress, or the influence of female sex hormones). They are characterized by the appearance of autoantibodies in the blood, which leads to inflammation of tissues, organs, or certain organ systems: skin, joints, heart, lungs, central and peripheral nervous system, kidneys, which is why they are called systemic connective tissue diseases. Fortunately, these diseases are not common.
In old age, in addition to degenerative diseases, metabolic diseases often occur, including osteoporosis and gout. Every tenth patient has gout, and there is an epidemic of osteoporosis. It affects menopausal women and people after the seventh decade of life. It is being successfully treated.
– METABOLIC, which occur as a consequence of altered metabolism. Gout and osteoporosis, which is very present in women after the reproductive period, are most often mentioned.
There are a several systemic diseases. Their appearance on different systems gives distinct clinical pictures. To illustrate:
–Rheumatoid arthritis: symmetrical pain and swelling of the joints, usually of the hands and feet
– Systemic lupus: redness of the skin on the cheeks in the shape of a butterfly
– Sjögren’s syndrome: dry mouth, the feeling of scratching under the eyelids and sand in the eyes
– Scleroderma: thickening of the skin on the fingers, they become like a pencil, often with painful sores on the cheekbones
–Raynaud’s phenomenon: fingers sensitive to cold, skin changes color from white through blue to red.
Out of ten women who come for an examination, one of them has rheumatoid arthritis. But, they are all scared when they come to the office. They are also afraid of osteoporosis, which causes bone curvature and fractures of bones and vertebrae. But these diseases are successfully treated today. It is better to get sick from something that is successfully treated, than from a disease for which there is no cure.
Rheumatic diseases are often manifested by pain, weaker locomotion, and mobility of the body. The patient loses the opportunity to function independently, to move, to work and earn income, which disrupts his everyday life. It brings him into a state of irritability, sadness, and depression, practically in a vicious circle.
A common feature of rheumatic diseases is that they are permanent. This is because there is no one-time therapy that leads to a complete cure. However, the process of treatment achieves that patients live normally:
– They have NO pain
– They are MOBILE
– They work NORMALLY
I have been monitoring some patients for three decades. We managed to overcome the crisis moments, they function normally with the therapy, they do not have any feeling of discomfort.
The Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic Prof. Stefanović is the most successful clinic in the region in the treatment of a wide range of rheumatic diseases.The patients come from the Balkan countries as well as the EU.
The Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic Prof. Stefanović is a lifeline for many people in terms of diagnosing the disease and a reliable address where an expert diagnosis can be obtained.
Prof. Dr. Dušan Stefanović is a long-term doctor of the Military Medical Academy (MMA), and a former head of the Rheumatology Clinic of the MMA. He was a professor at the Medical Faculty of the Military Medical Academy, and a consultant to several private clinics in the region. He has published about 500 papers in his field. Dozens of them are in the most eminent scientific journals. He is the author of several textbooks.
The formula for success in the treatment of Prof. Dr. Stefanović is based on experience, knowledge, and trust. His principle in treatment is: the patient is right even when he is wrong!
Ethical principles are patience and understanding of a patient, values to which the rheumatology outpatient clinic Prof. Stefanović owes its success in the work as well.
Common features of rheumatic diseases:
Out of ten women who come for an examination, one of them has rheumatoid arthritis. But, they are all scared when they come to the office. They are also afraid of osteoporosis, which causes bone curvature and fractures of bones and vertebrae. But these diseases are successfully treated today. It is better to get sick from something that is successfully treated, than from a disease for which there is no cure.
