“Jean Queen” honored at SNCH gala
For eight years, Diane Gilman, the fashion designer known as the “The Queen of Jeans” on television’s HSN and QVC home shopping networks, suffered with a pelvic floor disorder.
She had successful surgery in April at South Nassau Communities Hospital. “My mission is to get pelvic floor disorders out in the open,” says Gilman. “Years ago, breast cancer was hush-hush, but now it’s socially acceptable to talk about it; we need to be honest and open about pelvic floor disorders, too.”
That’s why Gilman is supporting the hospital’s effort to raise funds for a free- standing women’s center that would serve the entire South Shore. She is determined to become a national spokesperson and role model for women who have pelvic floor disorders.
Ms. Gilman and her surgeon, Dr. Alan Garely, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology and director of urogynecology at South Nassau, were the honorees of the first annual Denim & Diamonds South Nassau Winter Gala Dec. 10. Funds raised at the gala will be used to development of a full-service, comprehensive healthcare center designed for the unique health and wellness needs of women.
When she was first diagnosed Gilman saw a doctor who specialized in treating pelvic floor disorders, which includes the deep abdominal muscles that support the female reproductive organs, bladder and rectum. He explained that her cervix had dropped into her vaginal canal due to a weakened pelvic floor caused by aging, and that implanting a surgical mesh to support her pelvic organs — a procedure that had spawned a rash of lawsuits — could result in serious complications. “He told me I would have to live this way,” recalls Gilman, “and that life as I knew it was over.”
Online research was how she found Dr. Garely, at South Nassau.
Pelvic floor disorders affect an estimated one in four women in the United States. Some patients may leak urine or stool, have a frequent need to urinate, or have unexplained pain in the pelvic or genital area due to aging or childbirth or both. Dr. Garely and his team did not use transvaginal mesh to fix pelvic disorders, a procedure that sometimes results in serious complications. Instead they fix pelvic floor disorders with an abdominal approach, utilizing small incisions. Dr. Garely said, “The success rate is between 95 and 99 percent.”
The women’s center will reduce the amount of time women spend searching for the specialized healthcare services they need, while making it more convenient for them to schedule vital healthcare or wellness appointments. The center will offer services gynecological services urogynecology, colorectal surgery, urology, and pelvic floor therapy.
