Brain surgery through a straw
source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_612404.html
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- nursediesel
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Surgery through a straw
By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Buzz up!
In 1978, Dr. Amin Kassam's mother complained that her head hurt.
"She just awoke one day with a horrible headache," said Kassam, chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "And then she was in a coma for the next 13 years."
Kassam later found out that what eventually killed his mother was a deeply buried colloid cyst, a benign tumor that blocked spinal fluid from draining out of her skull, putting pressure on her brain.
Really, I'm just happy to have my life back. It's like I've been freed."
— William Byrd III
Photo Gallery
He dedicated his medical career to finding a way to access such hard-to-reach tumors.
Initially, Kassam pioneered a surgery-through-the-nose technique, removing tumors through the sinuses and nostrils. In the past decade, UPMC doctors have performed more than 1,000 such surgeries. Patients fill the operating rooms every week, some traveling from as far as India.
Now the UPMC team is gaining recognition for surgery through a straw.
"As their techniques are improved and become more widespread, I think this may become first-line treatment for certain abnormalities, like colloid cysts and benign tumors located down in the depths of the brain," said Dr. Alan R. Cohen, chief of pediatric neurosurgery and surgeon-in-chief at Case Western Reserve University's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
"In many cases, it can enhance the safety of the operation and shorten recovery time for the patient," he said.
aRead the rest of this fascinating story!
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
Proud scar
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
Team effort
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Buzz up!
In 1978, Dr. Amin Kassam's mother complained that her head hurt.
"She just awoke one day with a horrible headache," said Kassam, chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "And then she was in a coma for the next 13 years."
Kassam later found out that what eventually killed his mother was a deeply buried colloid cyst, a benign tumor that blocked spinal fluid from draining out of her skull, putting pressure on her brain.
Really, I'm just happy to have my life back. It's like I've been freed."
— William Byrd III
Photo Gallery
He dedicated his medical career to finding a way to access such hard-to-reach tumors.
Initially, Kassam pioneered a surgery-through-the-nose technique, removing tumors through the sinuses and nostrils. In the past decade, UPMC doctors have performed more than 1,000 such surgeries. Patients fill the operating rooms every week, some traveling from as far as India.
Now the UPMC team is gaining recognition for surgery through a straw.
"As their techniques are improved and become more widespread, I think this may become first-line treatment for certain abnormalities, like colloid cysts and benign tumors located down in the depths of the brain," said Dr. Alan R. Cohen, chief of pediatric neurosurgery and surgeon-in-chief at Case Western Reserve University's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
"In many cases, it can enhance the safety of the operation and shorten recovery time for the patient," he said.
aRead the rest of this fascinating story!
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
Proud scar
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
Team effort
JC Schisler/Tribune-Review
click to enlarge
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nursediesel
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I apologize, don't know why all the photos didn't download... they're on the link site. It's quite amazing they can go into the brain and remove these growthes that they couln't remove before!
- 3 years ago
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nursediesel
