Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture
‘Girls can be surgeons, too!’
Dr. Yekaterina Karpitskaya breaks barriers while fixing broken bones
After watching her first knee-replacement surgery, Dr. Yekaterina Karpitskaya was hooked.
A self-described “operating room junkie” in medical school, Karpitskaya lingered after lectures in hopes that surgeons would let her watch their procedures — or even participate. She seized any opportunity to develop skills and be as helpful as possible, but it was an orthopeadic operation that sealed her fate.
“Every surgery is like Christmas for me, and I remember every single one,” says the doctor, who has practiced with Bienville Orthopaedic Specialists for 13 years and is the official doctor for the Mississippi Sea Wolves hockey team. “I believe that I was put on this planet to use my abilities to make people’s lives better, to help them with mobility, to fix the broken and to improve the quality of my patients’ lives.”
FULFILLING THE AMERICAN DREAM
A native of Russia, Karpitskaya arrived in the United States at age 14 not knowing the language. Once an aspiring artist, she decided to take an alternate path upon arriving in her new country.
“I have always been fascinated with physiology and the medical books that my dad had,” Karpitskaya says. “With my father being a physician, (going into medicine) was a natural choice.”
The first few years in the U.S. were a struggle, Karpitskaya recalls, until her parents found steady jobs and the family finally could afford a small house and a car, “thus fulfilling the American Dream.” She got a full ride for her undergraduate education at Washington University in St. Louis, where her father was a professor and worked in a research lab.
Needing a way to pay for a competitive medical school, Karpitskaya opted to serve her new country as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. She was accepted to the Health Professions Scholarship program and continued her education at Washington University, where she obtained her medical degree before completing her residency at UCLA. Prior to joining Bienville, she practiced for four years at Keesler Air Force Base.
NOT QUITTING TILL THE WORK IS DONE
As a female orthopedic surgeon, Karpitskaya is an anomaly; in fact, women comprise only 7.4 percent of specialists in her field.
“Being a female, I had to work harder than the boys to achieve the same level of recognition and respect, she says. “Moving to the South and establishing a patient population and a thriving practice was another challenge.”
Karpitskaya has cleared those hurdles while being a single mom to her two children, Lucas and Abigail, training for triathlons and battling the inflammatory disease, lupus, with which she was diagnosed in 2021.
The success Karpitskaya has enjoyed, she says, has come from “not quitting till the work is done.”
“I use this in all aspects of my life,” she says. “When things get hard, I put my head down and keep on moving forward.”
GIVING 110%
That approach has led Karpitskaya to get 16 Ironman races under her belt, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. For all her professional gravitas, she loves a good dad joke and doesn’t take herself too seriously.
When it comes to her patients, she tries to treat them with utmost empathy and takes their outcomes personally. Some standout cases include a high school football player who broke his tibia during a tackle, who is now back to playing, and a young man who was wheelchair-bound due to debilitating arthritis but now can walk.
While she accepts that she can’t be “everyone’s cup of tea,” Karpitskaya will always give 110% to help her patients rebound after an injury or setback.
“With my own health issues and injuries in the past few years, I have learned that no one is immune from the vicissitudes of life,” she says. “What makes you stronger is overcoming them.”
‘I want to help others’
Dr. Belinda Alexander brings the human touch to medicine
The adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover” resonates with Dr. Belinda B. Alexander, who knows how it feels to be underestimated.
“I learned earlier in life that people can intentionally or unintentionally put you in a box and try to determine what you can or cannot do,” says the Biloxi native, an internal medicine physician with Memorial Physician Clinics. “My parents always encouraged me to do my best and speak up with respect.”
Her mom and dad, Woodrow and Mary Alexander, were teachers in the Biloxi School System. The youngest of three children, Alexander also was inspired by her siblings: Dr. Myrna Alexander Nickens and Deacon Woody Alexander.
“Thinking back, my siblings and I saw how other students and parents responded to my father and mother as teachers …,” she says. “They were respected because they showed respect and compassion to the community and family.”
Now having practiced internal medicine on the Coast for 26 years, Alexander still remembers her teenage struggle to overcome self-doubt, despite being in advanced classes. Support from her family and church helped her quash those insecurities and fulfill her destiny.
“Everyone will encounter obstacles, yet how we deal with them can make or break you,” Alexander says. “Those challenges made me the voice for the voiceless; speak up when someone or something is treated wrong or unfairly.”
‘THE ART OF MEDICINE CAN’T BE REPLACED WITH AI’
Intrigued by science from her youth, and with a natural desire to serve, Alexander gravitated toward medicine.
“I was blessed to have parents who loved and raised me to do whatever I want and (said) the sky was the limit,” she says. “I want to help others.”
After graduating from Biloxi High in 1982, Alexander earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana. From 1987 to 1991, she practiced pharmacy full time in the Decatur-Atlanta area before graduating from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta in 1995 and completing her internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, in 1998.
During this time, Alexander once again had to contend with and dispel others’ assumptions.
“When I moved away from home, I realized, unfortunately, that some think that Mississippians are ignorant and thus doubt our intelligence” she recalls. “Again, I had to teach many more not to be judgmental based of what they have heard about the state of Mississippi.”
Initially, experiencing such prejudice frustrated Alexander, but later, she used it as an opportunity to teach and to demonstrate something about herself: “Yes, I’ve got a mind, but I’m not arrogant.”
“These challenges allowed me to be more open in listening to my patients and other colleagues that I interact with on both a professional and personal (level),” she says.
As a pharmacist in the ‘80s, Alexander realized how essential hearing patients out and observing their behavior were to choosing the best therapy.
“Yes, it takes time to listen, but it saves lives and improves outcomes, too,” she explains. “I say to others that ‘the art of medicine cannot be replaced with AI.’”
FOSTERING CONNECTIONS
Nearly three decades into her career, the doctor’s dedication to those who count on her remains steadfast. As the attending physician at Memorial Physician Clinic at Pass Road Internal Medicine, Alexander enjoys taking care of others and resolving or improving their medical issues.
“My heart and my mind really obtain fulfillment when a positive outcome occurs,” she says, “or I simply (get) a smile of thanks or hug from a patient or loved one who knows I have given my all to care for him or her.”
Bringing a signature blend of humor and warmth to her work, Alexander urges patients to convey actual symptoms and to avoid self-diagnosis. For instance, many are surprised to learn their so-called allergy was COVID-19, and shortness of breath can be caused by anything from being out of shape to pneumonia to congestive heart failure.
“You can delay your treatment by trying to be a ‘Google doc,’ or as I say to some of my patients, ‘Oh, you got your MD from Sears Roebuck,” she jokes. “Discuss what’s going on, and ask your clinician why, how, etc.”
In a time where healthcare sometimes feels impersonal, Alexander emphasizes that compassion, empathy and a relentless commitment to others’ wellbeing lie at the heart of medicine. She’s now focused on exemplifying that truth and ensuring that the kindness and care she learned from her parents are present in every patient interaction.
“I feel our society is ignoring a daily need we should feel: human kindness,” she says. “I pray that my patients and my staff feel and know the sincerity of this connection.”
‘Get your mammogram!’
A survivor herself, Dr. Amber Colville’s cancer fight gives her credibility
When Dr. Amber Colville urges women to get their mammograms, she speaks not just as a physician, but as a patient.
After she became very ill with COVID-19 in October of 2020 and was quarantined for two weeks, the internal medicine doctor thought things couldn’t get worse. But just before Thanksgiving that year, her routine breast cancer screening led to a devastating diagnosis.
“I’ll never forget reading that report: invasive lobular carcinoma. Oh, my God, I’ve got cancer,” Colville recalls thinking. “How am I going to do this? My youngest kid is only 10. How am I going to keep my business going? I was overwhelmed to say the least.”
No stranger to hardship, the Coast native relied on the can-do attitude that has seen her through hurricanes, the struggles of studying abroad and 20 years of practicing internal medicine. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy, followed by five months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation and a hysterectomy/oophorectomy. Afterward, she had to wait a few months before starting breast reconstruction.
All told, Colville had five surgeries in 14 months. Her husband, Lewis Sims, helped her bathe when she couldn’t move her arms and shaved her head so she wouldn’t have to worry about bald spots when her hair fell out.
The ordeal has given her even greater empathy for her patients — some of whom added her to prayer lists, brought her meals and otherwise lifted her spirits.
“I’m better at delivering the news of their cancer and supporting them through the process of getting all the appointments and encouraging them to remain hopeful …” she says. “And because I’ve been through it myself, I believe that gives me credibility.”
‘I WAS DETERMINED’
Colville credits her uncle, a diabetic who died at the age of 56, with inspiring her career path.
“It was through tending to him during those formative years that I decided I wanted to spend my life in medicine,” she says.
She went on to the University of Southern Mississippi, followed by Ross University School of Medicine. Upon deciding to pursue medical school, Colville admits, “I really had no idea what I was in for.”
“I did not come from a family of doctors, and therefore did not have the luxury of a tour guide,” she adds. “In undergraduate school, I had professors and deans who tried to convince me to pursue other avenues, but I was determined.”
One day, she saw an ad on a bulletin board urging students to “study medicine abroad.” At the young age of 22, the fledgling doctor packed her bags and moved to the Caribbean island of Dominica, where water and electricity were unreliable at best.
“I learned the art of light reflection — that is, placing candles in front of mirrors to produce more light with less heat; this was (done) to be able to study by candlelight,” she recalls. After three hurricanes struck in two weeks, she lost water service for 23 days and grew adept at collecting rainwater.
Colville completed her last two years of clinical rotations in New York City and Washington, D.C., where she got a taste of working in large metropolitan hospitals. While in residency, she was placed on the pediatric and neonatal transport team, which involved transporting critically ill children.
“Because I can’t seem to do anything simple, I choose two disciplines of medicine: adult medicine and pediatrics,” she says. “I was in New York during the 9/11 tragedy, where we had to show out ID to be able to enter the highway; if you weren’t emergency or medical personnel, you were not allowed to get on the major roadways on 9/12 — a very sad time indeed.”
ADVOCATING FOR PATIENTS
Colville isn’t sure if she picked internal medicine or vice versa, but upon returning to Jackson County, she joined an internal medicine practice and quickly became busy. She eventually opened her own practice, New Wave Internal Medicine Clinic PLLC, which is affiliated with Ocean Springs Hospital and Singing River Health System.
Things went well, but in 2016, Colville had to give up her inpatient practice after her then-business partner moved away. Around this time, she fell in with some fellow doctors who were concerned about the broken parts of medicine — sparking her own passion for advocacy.
“I began taking trips to Washington, D.C., and meeting with other doctors and legislators; we began to educate senators and congressmen about some of the things that were making medical care in America so expensive,” Colville says. “I also became involved with the Mississippi State Medical Association, joining forces with other physicians around the state to address the issues that face our state specifically.”
GET SCREENED — AND WEAR SUNSCREEN
When the world shut down in 2020, Colville quickly devised a plan for serving her patients.
“For a few weeks, I was doing telemedicine, but I learned that internal medicine was hard to practice this way because I really needed to lay hands on people to make many diagnoses,” Colville says. “So, I put a plan together for sanitation and minimal touch and opened the office back up after four weeks.”
Some families Colville has been seeing for multiple generations, and she knows all their names. They, in turn, feel a connection to Colville and her family, including her husband and three children: Mckinley, 17, Mallory, 16, and Austin, 14.
“I think it is important to establish that relationship where we are more like family,” she says. “I find it important to do the things you say you will do. If you tell someone you will call them back, then actually do it.”
Colville made a point of being transparent with her patients about her own cancer experience, and now, she has no evidence of disease. Even before her own battle, she managed to convince some reluctant women to get screened.
“But now, having had my disease diagnosed … and not even being able to feel it after we knew it was there; it gives me street cred,” she says. “And wear sunscreen!”
Patients are his priority
Dr. Vincent J. Pisciotta takes persistent, yet humble, approach to medicine
Far from considering himself a miracle worker, Dr. Vincent J. Pisciotta says, “I am just the guy in the middle.”
“The standouts are those patients that God puts in the office, and we discover something outside the scope of our practice,” says Pisciotta, a physician with Coastal ENT Associates and Integrated Sleep Solutions.
For instance, one man came in for dizziness. After ruling everything else out, Pisciotta and his team suspected that the cause could be cardiac — leading to the discovery of a 90% blockage of the “widow-maker” artery.
“His wife still hugs me at every visit,” Pisciotta says.
What the doctor loves most about the ear, nose and throat specialty is that it lets him treat a full range of patients, from newborns to centenarians. During clinic, he may have a patient in room one with a head-and-neck cancer diagnosis, someone in room two with seasonal allergies and an energetic 3-year-old in room three who recently underwent ear-tube surgery.
“The patient is the most important person in the room, not my ego,” Pisciotta says. “I think doctors sometimes forget that. If a doctor gets upset because you want a second opinion or ask questions, then they are the wrong doctor.”
A KNACK FOR ‘FIXING THINGS’
A self-described “poor county kid” from Tickfaw, Louisiana, Pisciotta grew up surrounded by cows, chickens and pigs, and vacations were spent in a tent on the beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana. His dad was a mechanic, and his mom was a school nurse. Both encouraged him to work hard and stay in school.
“My dad was wise but was an eighth grade-educated mechanic,” Pisciotta says. “He took me to work with him during the summers for $5 a week.”
Not many resources were available from the Louisiana public school system at the time, but Pisciotta still managed to find his calling in the fourth grade. His inspiration was a rural family doctor “who took care of everyone.”
“He made you feel better just by talking to you,” Pisciotta recalls. “I chose surgery because it allows me to work with my hands and fix things, and I really enjoy the challenge.”
While attending Southern Louisiana University, he worked two jobs — one in construction and the other in the research lab. Next, he finished his medical education at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and completed his head-and-neck-surgery residency at LSU-Charity Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
For his achievements, Pisciotta credits three factors: discipline, determination and blessings.
“I suspect I was supposed to be a mechanic,” jests the doctor, who drove his 1966 Chevy Chevelle until 1994, “and maybe I am anyway.”
TREATING PATIENTS LIKE FAMILY
Technological advances have changed how Pisciotta and his fellow ENT specialists operate, bringing some sinus surgeries into the office. For instance, patients walk in and out of balloon sinus surgery and function relatively normally the next day. CT scanners in Pisciotta’s office give the doctor 3D images in just 30 seconds.
“We were also the first in South Mississippi to perform the Inspire procedure for intolerance of CPAP machines for sleep apnea,” Pisciotta says, referring to a surgery in which a device is implanted that monitors breathing and keeps the airway open during sleep.
While Pisciotta is not particularly fond of the business and bureaucracy side of medicine, he delights in helping patients and using his natural aptitude for fixing things.
“It is great to have someone say, ‘This is the best I could ever breathe,’ or a wife say, ‘He doesn’t snore anymore,’ or a mom tell me, ‘She’s talking now,’” Pisciotta says. “It is great to deliver news to a patient like, ‘You don’t need a CPAP anymore, or ‘There is no evidence of recurrent disease.’”
Whatever concerns bring patients to Pisciotta’s office, he pledges to treat them and their families as he would his own.
“I also like to apologize in advance if we are running behind,” he says. “If you have trouble getting in, we have an open-door policy; just come in, and tell them I told you to come in.”
‘TWO PLUS TWO IS NOT ALWAYS FOUR’
On difficult days, Pisciotta takes comfort in his own family, which includes Dr. Michele Q. Pisciotta, a retired OB-GYN, and their children, Laurie, Cara, twins Vincent and Quinlan, and Sophia. If he is lucky, his days begin with daily mass and end at the dinner table with his loved ones.
“I have five children and a wife I am responsible for,” he says, “so there are lots of people not to let down, including great employees.”
Pisciotta acknowledges that doctors are not perfect, but they strive for perfection. Each patient is unique, he adds, which means “in medicine, two plus two is not always four.”
Pisciotta’s hallmark is persistence.
“We will not stop trying to help a patient; we do not turn anyone away,” he says. “If we cannot figure it out, then we will try to find someone who can. This includes doctors outside of our specialty.”
Along with breakthroughs, modern medicine has brought many complications, Pisciotta says, and often prioritizes the bottom line over patient care. Nonetheless, he vows to keep his values at the forefront.
“In the past, your doctor was usually your doctor for most of your life. We plan to stay true to our patients,” Pisciotta adds. “We hope to finish our careers in private practice and fortunately have found like-minded partners for the future.”