NSU CDM Impressions Fall/Winter 2019

30 | COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE Lina M. Mejia, D.D.S., M.P.H., likes to say life is a journey, not a guided tour. Mejia’s peers describe her sharp diagnostic instincts as a “North Star” leading to successful outcomes, including saving a teenage boy’s life. “The oral medicine specialty combines my love for medicine and my passion for dentistry,” said Mejia, an associate professor in NSU’s College of Dental Medicine (CDM) Department of Oral Medi- cine and Diagnostic Sciences who teaches both predoctoral students and postgraduate residents. Mejia’s clinical work focuses on soft-tissue diseases. This includes taking and sending biopsies to a patholo- gist with whom she discusses the case and manages the patient’s condition with appropriate treatment and medications. On any given day, Mejia may be working with cases related to precancerous and cancerous lesions, patients who are medically com- promised by an autoimmune condition, and side effects from medication and a systemic condition. At any point, she will pursue the thinnest threads if a presumptive diagnosis does not sit well with her. SEEKING ANSWERS “By the time patients come to me, they have already seen many different providers for the issue they are presenting,” Mejia said. “As a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine, I am the only one currently accepting referrals in South Florida.” Mejia is credited for saving the life of a 16-year- old Haitian boy with multiple nodular soft-tissue masses over his mouth and lips. Mejia provided the differential diagnosis of focal epithelial hyperplasia (Heck’s disease). Based on information available, an initial diagnosis of oral florid papillomatosis was presumed. A biopsy was recommended to ensure that the human papilloma virus involved in this case was not an oncovirus (cancer-causing virus). Mejia was concerned about the esthetic impact of treatment on the young man. After consulting with dermatologist Anna Fallabella, M.D., Mejia began treatment with a topical medication, as well as systemic medications. When the patient did not respond to therapy, she decided to continue looking for answers. Mejia consulted with Maria Pilar Gutierrez, M.D., a pediatric infectious disease physician at Memorial Regional Hospital South in Hollywood, Florida, to do a further evaluation of the case. Eventually, it was discovered the boy had GATA2—a rare immuno- deficiency disorder. The boy’s case was referred to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he was able to obtain addi- tional medical help. The NIH ran a genetic profile to obtain more information for future diagnostic benefit. Mejia noted the boy’s mother had died a few years Insights from an American Board of Oral Medicine Diplomate BY CAROL BRZOZOWSKI FACULTY IMPRESSIONS FACULTY Impressions Follow Your Own North Star (continued on page 32)