RONCEVERTE W.Va. (WVDN) – Greenbrier County has one more thing to add to its list of things to be proud of – Christi Hughart, DO, the first in West Virginia to perform the Bulkamid urology procedure for stress incontinence or urinary leaking.
Hughart is a 2005 graduate of WVSOM and is currently practicing at CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center Urology in Ronceverte. She is a resident of Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Originally from Summersville, she realized she loved Lewisburg when she was doing her medical school training at WVSOM. Hughart found out there was an opening locally in urology and jumped at the chance. That was approximately 3 and a half years ago. Hughart went on to explain that she found out from a patient that her ancestor was a settler of a nearby community that predates Lewisburg so, in her words, “So, I guess I belong here.”
Hughart started in vascular surgery. She started a general surgery residency with plans for a vascular fellowship. She explained she liked instant gratification too much to go into vascular so she started looking into other options. She said she was lucky that she had done a urology elective in the second of three years of general surgery. Hughart went on to say that she loves urology for the combo of elderly patients, gratifying surgery and continuity of care throughout their lives allowing her to see many patients during their entire lifetime. She said urology is also a fairly friendly profession to a life outside of medicine. Hughart’s husband is an RN, BSN who works in the recovery room at the same hospital. They have an 8-year-old daughter and in their downtime enjoy attending festivals and outdoor activities.
Hughart treats both male and female patients. She also treats some pediatric patients for urology issues. Her main training was in male urology. The doctor said one of her high-volume procedures is for enlarged prostates, followed closely by kidney stone procedures for men and women. Hughart also provides hormone treatments, she noted that hormone treatments in women are relatively new to urology and she explained that the way she treats women will have little to no side effects compared to procedures they are receiving elsewhere.
Hughart explained that Bulkamid for stress incontinence in women is a minimally invasive alternative to pessary devices or sling/mesh surgery. There’s no downtime other than the first 24 hours after surgery and most women go home without a catheter compared to other procedures. Since being the first urologist in West Virginia to perform Bulkamid, Hughart went on to say, “I’ve never heard ‘You changed my life,’ more. It is a very rewarding way to help women.”
