Blood Disorders

While Miami Cancer Institute treats hematologic malignancies (blood cancers), Baptist Health also offers a clinic to treat patients with benign hematologic conditions, or non-cancerous blood disorders.

If you have been diagnosed with a benign blood condition, you will be referred to this clinic, the Benign Hematology Clinic, for further testing and treatment, so you can live a full and healthy life.

Doctors at the Benign Hematology Clinic have special training in treating all types of blood and clotting disorders. The clinic team also includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical assistants and lab technicians, who all specialize in treating benign blood disorders.

What type of blood conditions are treated at Baptist Health?

Our team specializes in treating a variety of non-cancerous blood problems, including:

• Anemia, including iron deficiency anemia
• Blood clots, coagulation problems or thrombosis
• Hemophilia
• Low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) or high platelet count (thrombocytosis)
• Low or high red blood cells
• Low or high white blood cells

How are benign hematology conditions diagnosed?

To help determine your exact diagnosis, you may undergo additional blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) or bone marrow biopsies. The majority of these tests can be done in our clinic, so you will get fast results and won’t have to travel to another facility.

If for some reason you are diagnosed with blood cancer at the clinic, we will refer you to a Miami Cancer Institute hematologist/oncologist, who specializes in hematologic malignancies.

What treatments are available for benign blood diseases?

Your treatment will vary depending on the type of benign blood condition you have. Treatments may include:

• Oral medicine, including anticoagulants (blood thinners) or thrombolytics (clot busters)
• Changes to your diet
• Medicines, such as iron infusions or immunosuppressants, given through an IV

If you need IV treatment, you will get this treatment at Miami Cancer Institute, but your follow-up appointments will still be scheduled at the Benign Hematology Clinic.

Who will I see during appointments at the clinic?

When you come to the Benign Hematology Clinic for treatment, you will first meet one of our doctors who specializes in benign blood conditions. During this visit, the doctor will evaluate your condition and decide whether any additional tests are needed to determine your exact diagnosis.

Once we’ve diagnosed your condition, the doctor will also develop a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs. When you come for follow-up appointments at the clinic, you will see an advanced practice provider — either an advanced registered nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. These individuals are also experts in benign blood conditions and will be able to consult with the doctor about your condition and treatment.

Location

The Benign Hematology Clinic is located in Suite 601 of the South Miami Hospital Medical Arts Building, located at 6200 Sunset Drive.

Referral Guidelines

We look forward to seeing your patients in the Benign Hematology and Platelet Disorders Clinic. Please use the guidelines below to identify patients who are eligible for admission.

Clinic eligibility criteria

Known history of platelet disorders, such as:

• Thrombocytopenia with absent radius (TAR) syndrome
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
• Platelet release and storage pool defects
• Bernard Soulier disease
• Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
• Hermansky Pudlak syndrome
• Jacobsen syndrome
• Lowe syndrome
• Family history of bleeding problems that suggest a hereditary coagulation defect
• Patients with anemia and neurologic abnormalities including aphasia, hemiplegia, mental status changes, seizures, paresthesia and visual disturbances
• Patients with epistaxis, gingival bleeding and/or menorrhagia
• Abnormal prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT) or ristocetin cofactor activity
• Prolonged bleeding during dental procedures or surgery
• Patients whose laboratory testing does not definitively indicate a platelet disorder, but clinical suspicion remains

If you have a question about eligibility or how the Platelet Disorder Clinic may benefit your patient, please call 786-596-2000 or visit MiamiCancerInstitute.com.