Sophisticated
Technology, Highly Trained Staff Bring New Hope for Brain, Spinal
Disorders
No surgery is minor when you are the patient.
Neurosurgery can be an especially stressful prospect because it involves
critical areas of the body -- the brain, spinal cord and nervous system.
Patients who come to Methodist for neurosurgery can be assured that they will
receive exceptional care before, during and after their procedure. They will
benefit from cutting-edge technologies, as well as surgical and neurodiagnostics
teams that include a highly trained and skilled neurosurgeon, technologists,
nurses and others.
Services
Patients may receive treatment for conditions including...
A wide range of procedures are performed at Methodist such as...
Tumors are classified as
malignant, benign or metastatic. Malignant tumors are cancerous, while benign
tumors are not. Metastatic tumors are those that have spread from their original
location.
Malignant brain tumors tend to grow rapidly and invade normal tissue.
Treatment usually is complex and involves several consulting doctors on
Methodist's medical staff: a neurosurgeon, medical oncologists, radiation
oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, neurodiagnostic specialists, the patient's
primary care doctor, and others. Treatment varies significantly depending on the
size, location and type of tumor, as well as a patient's age and other medical
problems. The most widely used treatments are surgery, radiation, and/or
chemotherapy.
Most benign tumors are not life-threatening, and they do not generally return
after surgical removal. When the brain or spinal cord is involved, however, they
may be quite serious.
Vascular neurosurgery involves the
repair of damaged or abnormal blood vessels in the brain. Examples include
aneurysms and vascular malformations.
An aneurysm is a protrusion in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms may form
in any artery, but most occur in the aorta - the body's largest artery, which
travels from the heart to the center of the chest and abdomen and eventually
splits into two arteries. The seriousness of an aneurysm depends on its size and
location, as well as the patient's age and health. While small aneurysms often
may be left alone, treatment should be considered for larger aneurysms because a
rupture can quickly become life-threatening.
A traumatic brain injury is a blow
to the head or a penetrating
head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. It can occur
when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object violently
pierces the skull.
Symptoms range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of damage to the
brain. Mild cases may result in a brief change in mental state or consciousness,
while severe cases may result in extended periods of unconsciousness, coma, or
even death.
Fifty years ago, spinal cord injuries were usually fatal because few
treatments were available. We still cannot reverse the damage of a partial
spinal cord injury, but advances in recently years have improved the recovery
rate.
The symptoms of spinal cord injuries depend on the location and severity of
the injury. Common causes are motor vehicle accidents, violence, falls, sports,
and diseases.
If you suspect that someone has a back or neck injury:
- Call 911
- Keep the person still
- Hold the head and neck still until emergency personnel arrive
- Stop any bleeding, make the person comfortable, and perform other first aid.
Emergency personnel trained in treating people with traumatic head and neck
injuries immobilize the spine before transporting the patient to Methodist
Medical Center of Oak Ridge. An emergency room doctor may order x-rays, a CT
scan, and an MRI, and in emergency situations, a neurosurgeon at Methodist may
stabilize the spine to prevent additional pain and deformity.
A number of patients with cervical
spine disorders require surgery to relieve pain. Cervical, in this context,
refers to an area in or around the neck. When people reach age 30, the
gelatin-like centers of vertebrae in the spine begin to dry out and flattened,
causing the vertebrae to lose their healthy resilience. With this degeneration,
the vertebra move closer together and irritate the nerves. The result of is
often a painful herniated cervical disk, also known as a ruptured or slipped
disk.
The center of the disk bulges and presses on a nerve, resulting in neck or
arm pain, or weakness in the arm. A neurosurgical procedure called cervical
fusion is performed at Methodist to relieve the pressure, stabilize two or more
vertebrae in the spine by locking or fusion them together, prevent vertebral
motion, and relieve the pain.
Lumbar fusion surgery may help
patients with degenerative disc disease, a weak or unstable spine, fractures, or
deformities such as scoliosis. A neurosurgeon at Methodist replaces a damaged
spinal disc with bone, which eventually heals in place.
This type of surgery has been performed for more than 40 years, but the
techniques and technologies are constantly advancing. Only a few years ago, this
type of surgery was major and painful, and almost half of the procedures failed.
Today, minimally invasive lumbar fusion surgery results in less pain and better
outcomes for patients.
Peripheral nerve surgery involves
evaluating and surgically treating disorders that affect the body and its
extremities. Not all peripheral nerve disorders require surgery, but several
often do. They include: