That a young woman found and thanked the neurosurgeon who had saved her life 18 years before is remarkable. That he would then become her choice to walk her down the aisle at her wedding is a powerful testament to the impact neurosurgeons have on the lives of their patients.
This compelling story was just one of the more than 30 entries in the first-ever AANS Neurosurgical Patient Stories Contest conducted last fall by the AANS Public Relations Committee. The top three entries selected by the judges are highlighted in press releases that promote the Third Annual Neurosurgery Awareness Week, which coincides with the 2006 AANS Annual Meeting in San Francisco April 22-27. Only patients treated by AANS neurosurgeon members were eligible to participate, and the three patients whose stories were chosen each received a $200 honorarium.
The competition was developed to educate the public about the role of the neurosurgeon in treating a wide range of medical disorders and to demonstrate to neurosurgeons that the media can be a useful tool in furthering their work.
“While it is true that media attention has recently been focused on such topics as medical liability and neurosurgeon shortages, there is great opportunity to publicize the hundreds of success stories unfolding every day at hospital neurosurgery departments across the country,” said Alex B. Valadka, MD, FACS, chair of the AANS Public Relations Committee.
The contest entries covered the spectrum of neurological conditions and included stories about brain tumors, spina bifida, scoliosis, craniosynostosis, epilepsy, Tarlov cyst and traumatic brain injury. The age of patients ranged from newborn to 82 years. The depth and variety of submissions illustrated the breadth of neurological conditions being treated by neurosurgeons and negated the old adage that “neurosurgeons are just brain surgeons.” A common theme in all of the submissions was the genuine gratitude and admiration expressed by patients toward their neurosurgeons.
Neurosurgical Patient Stories Contest Winners
PATIENT: Ariel Nelsen, age 4, craniopharyngioma
NEUROSURGEON: Monica C. Wehby, MD
For about six months, Ariel Nelsen had been experiencing headaches that were getting increasingly worse, accompanied by bouts of nausea. Just one day after her fourth birthday, Ariel underwent brain surgery at Emanuel Children’s Hospital. Her entire four-centimeter tumor was successfully removed, leaving the pituitary stalk and gland intact. Like the majority of patients with craniopharyngiomas, Ariel is on hormonal replacement therapy, but she is doing remarkably well.
PATIENT: Sylvia Lee, age 45, cerebral aneurysm
NEUROSURGEON: Jeffrey E. Thomas, MD, FACS
For four days, Sylvia Lee experienced an excruciating headache and vomiting. On the fourth day, she went to the emergency room at her local hospital, where she was diagnosed with a small, ruptured cerebral aneurysm. She was transferred to California Pacific Medical Center, where she underwent surgery to clip her aneurysm. She went back to work six weeks after surgery and feels great.
PATIENT: Sister Claire, age 82, trigeminal neuralgia
NEUROSURGEON: Mark R. McLaughlin, MD
Sister Claire suffered from the excruciating pain of trigeminal neuralgia for two years while she was unsuccessfully treated solely with medication. When the condition became unbearable, she was referred to Dr. McLaughlin. Sister Claire underwent microvascular decompression surgery at St. Mary Medical Center to alleviate the pain caused by a small blood vessel touching the trigeminal nerve. Now pain-free, she has returned to St. Matthew’s Catholic School and is celebrating her 57th year of teaching.
These patient stories are posted in their entirety in the “What Is Neurosurgery” area of www.NeurosurgeryToday.org, the public Web site of the AANS.
Who Walked His Patient Down the Aisle?
That would be Joel Singer, MD. His patient had been diagnosed with an “inoperable” brain tumor at age 6 in 1981. He operated on the little girl, removing the entire cerebellar hemisphere that had been overtaken by tumor. Despite the odds, she grew up to become a high school soccer star and later a marathon runner. She was so touched by her experience that she tracked Dr. Singer down and traveled from California to Virginia to thank him in person for saving her life. A few years later, he made the cross-country trek himself and proudly gave his patient away on her wedding day.
These patient stories represent the thousands of tales yet untold. Given this fact and the robust participation in the first AANS Neurosurgical Patient Stories Contest, the competition is expected to become an annual event.
“I hope that the number of entries next year grows considerably,” added Dr. Valadka. “I encourage each and every one of you to ask your patients to submit stories highlighting their successes when next year’s contest is announced.”
Betsy van Die is AANS director of communications.