Tinika Montgomery, MD, is a nephrologist with expertise in chronic and end-stage kidney disease.
“I practice general nephrology and subspecialize in uronephrology, which is a new field that represents the intersectionality between urology and nephrology,” Dr. Montgomery explains. “Urologists are our surgical counterparts, and uronephrologists deal with the medical and metabolic aspects that affect the kidneys with urologic surgery, including what we can do to prevent the occurrence of kidney stones and hopefully minimize some of the surgical interventions for stones.”
Dr. Montgomery says she was drawn to nephrology because it incorporates basic science and math. “There is a complexity to it that you don’t have in other fields. I joke that I still need to know the periodic table as I need to be able to calculate how much sodium a patient is intaking and excreting,” she says.
If a patient is facing a diagnosis that will likely lead to needing dialysis, Dr. Montgomery says she assures them that she will do all that she can to delay the progression of disease and have them live the fullest life possible.
“My favorite part of my job is educating a patient so they can maintain proper renal health and improve upon it so they don’t have to see me so often, or no longer see me at all,” she says. “Because that means we—the patient and I—have ‘cured’ the problem. I emphasize education because when you are dealing with renal disease, you really have to know what is going on in a patient’s life and work with them.”
Dr. Montgomery’s research interests include uric acid kidney stone disease.
