Meet Tamara Ramage, intraoperative MRI patient

2012/02/07

When Tamara Ramage started waking up in hot and cold sweats and constantly felt nauseous, she knew something was wrong. She was a very healthy, fitness-minded young woman in her mid-20′s who took pride in how well she took care of her body.

Her father took her to the emergency room, and she was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor. So rare, in fact, that she was one of only seven people in the world ever diagnosed with her type of tumor. Upon hearing that, she expected the worst.

However, when she met with her neurology team at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, their recommendation was surgery and their outlook was positive. They would be using a new technology called intraoperative MRI, or iMRI, which involves doing a brain scan during surgery to make sure the surgeons had removed as much of the tumor as possible. This allowed her surgeons to remove the tumor, the first time, without harming healthy tissue.

Thanks to this breakthrough technology and the Washington University neurosurgeons, Tamara is back to the picture of health she was prior to the diagnosis, and soon you’ll be able to see her in new advertisements around the St. Louis area.

To learn more about the lifesaving technology of iMRI, click here.

 


Dr. Greg Zipfel, Neurosurgeon

2012/02/06

Dr. Greg Zipfel, a Washington University neurosurgeon here at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, likes a lot about being a neurosurgeon. One of his favorite things is just how innovative it can be.

Specializing in brain tumor removal, Dr. Zipfel has used a technique that allows him to access and remove tumors through a patient’s nose. That’s right – a very small camera and operating tools are inserted through the nose, which allows for the physician to get as much of the tumor as possible. This type of endoscopic surgery, called endonasal, doesn’t leave an external scar, which is a bonus for the patient.

To learn more about what makes Dr. Zipfel tick, and other innovations in neurosurgery, watch his interview below:

 


Material From Kitchen Sponges Stop Nosebleeds In New Procedure

2012/01/27

Nosebleeds are common. In fact, 60 percent of us have them at some point, but for some it can be very serious. Primarily for those with high blood pressure or on blood thinners, nosebleeds may require medical treatment.

Our Colin Derdeyn, MD, director of the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Jewish Hospital, recently presented data at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy finding that a treatment involving the same material in kitchen sponges can make these nosebleeds a thing of the past.

In the procedure, Dr. Derdeyn, an interventional radiologist, performs a minimally invasive embolization, in which polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles (the material in kitchen sponges) are injected into the blood vessels to the nose. To do this, he threads a tiny tube called a catheter into a groin artery and advances it through the body to one or more of the four arteries that supply the nose, injecting the PVA particles.  The particles temporarily stop the blood flow, halting the nosebleed and allowing the area to heal. PVA has been used safely in the body medically for about 50 years.

You can read more here in USA Today or watch this interview with KSDK’s Kay Quinn:

For more about Dr. Derdeyn, watch this video here:

-Jason Merrill


Fast treatment can aid in recovery from an ischemic stroke

2012/01/24

Senator Mark Kirk

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk recently underwent surgery for an ischemic stroke, and his physicians report that a complete recovery isn’t likely.

A stroke can happen anytime, anywhere. The warning signs come on quickly:

  • Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, usually on one side of the body
  • Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye
  • Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
  • Sudden severe headache with no apparent cause
  • Sudden episodes of unexplained dizziness or unsteadiness

Time is critical when it comes to stroke treatment. Rapid treatment can help reduce the symptoms and aid in a full recovery. If the FDA-approved drug tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) is provided within three hours of the onset of symptoms, the patient has a better chance at recovery.

According to Dr. Colin Derdeyn, Director of the Stroke, Cerebral and Vascular Center at the Washington University Medical Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, described the procedure used on Kirk, a hemi-craniectomy, as a last-ditch procedure. To watch his interview on KSDK yesterday, go here.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital is a comprehensive primary stroke center which has treated many types of stroke using tPA and surgical procedures. To get a look at how we’ve streamlined our process of treating stroke patients, watch the video below:

 


Physician of the Week – Dr. Ralph Dacey, Neurosurgeon

2012/01/03

Dr. Ralph Dacey, a Washington University neurosurgeon here at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, is our physician of the week.

He helps to diagnose and treat patients who have brain tumors, aneurysms, and vascular malformations of the brain. Dr. Dacey and his team use innovative techniques and tools that minimally displace the brain and nerves, which results in a gentle approach to neurosurgery.

Dr. Dacey was also recognized as a “Best Doctor ” in the August 2011 issue of St. Louis Magazine.

To learn more about what advances our neurosurgery department utilizes when it comes to brain surgery, watch the video with Dr. Dacey below.

 


Erin Kelley’s Christmas card to her physicians

2011/12/15

We first introduced Erin Kelley to you in 2009 when she became the first patient in St. Louis to have a surgery broadcast via Twitter. KSDK’s Kay Quinn tweeted the surgery to remove a pituitary tumor that in part affected her Cushing’s Disease diagnosis. Cushing’s is a hormone disorder that, according to our health library, can cause obesity, high blood pressure and fatigue. After she had surgery (a procedure where rather than cutting open Erin’s face, surgeons went through her nose to remove the tumor), Erin talked about her case in this video:

How is Erin today? She passed along this Christmas card she sent to her physicians, neurosurgeon Ralph Dacey, MD, otolaryngologist Richard Chole, MD and internist Michael Bavlsik, MD.

Congratulations to Erin. You can’t quibble with ten pant sizes. For more information about the endonasal procedure Erin had, visit our website here, listen to this podcast or watch this video:

-Jason Merrill