Hematology in Victoria Texas

HEMATOLOGY

Our office is dedicated to the care of individuals with blood disorders in Victoria and the Crossroads area.

We provide patients with the latest in diagnostic and treatment options in a caring and compassionate environment.

Many people have undergone blood tests or donated blood, but hematology – the study of blood – encompasses much more than this. Doctors who specialize in hematology (hematologists) are leading the many advances being made in the treatment and prevention of blood diseases. If you or someone you care about is diagnosed with a blood disorder, your primary care physician may refer you to a hematologist for further testing and treatment.

Blood Basics

Blood is a specialized body fluid. It has four main components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Blood has many different functions, including:

transporting oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and tissues

forming blood clots to prevent excess blood loss

carrying cells and antibodies that fight infection

bringing waste products to the kidneys and liver, which filter and clean the blood

regulating body temperature

The blood that runs through the veins, arteries, and capillaries is known as whole blood, a mixture of about 55 percent plasma and 45 percent blood cells. About 7 to 8 percent of your total body weight is blood. An average-sized man has about 12 pints of blood in his body, and an average-sized woman has about 9 pints.

Hematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases. Blood diseases affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, the mechanism of coagulation, etc.

Hematology is a distinct subspecialty of internal medicine, separate from but overlapping with the subspecialty of medical oncology. Hematologists may specialize further or have special interests, for example in:

Abnormal bleeding (for example, hemophilia) and clotting

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Benign and malignant disorders of the blood cells, a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from anemia to leukemia.

Other hematologic malignancies such as Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma,

lymphoma and leukemia

The science of blood transfusion

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation

Treatment

Treatments can include:

Diet advice

Oral medication - tablets or liquid medicines

Anticoagulation therapy

Intramuscular injections (for example, Vitamin B12 injections)

Blood transfusion (for anemia)

Venesection also known as therapeutic phlebotomy (for iron overload or polycythemia)

Bone marrow transplant (for example, for leukemia) done at transplant centers

All kinds of anti-cancer chemotherapy

Radiotherapy (for example, for cancer)

This office will use laboratory tests and imaging to diagnose and create a treatment plan tailored for your need and provide management of your condition.