Complex Spinal Surgery Leads to Relief
Image Credit: Brown University Health
“Ziya Gokaslan, MD, neurosurgeon-in-chief at Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals, stood before his patient, a 24-year-old woman. She arrived at the Rhode Island Hospital emergency department the previous night, trembling with excruciating pain, a loss of balance and migraine…
Once there, doctors recognized a compression of her brain stem. Felicia Sun, MD, a neurosurgery resident in her fifth year, promptly ordered additional imaging. The results were extremely complex…
Despite the complicated diagnosis, Isabel was optimistic. The doctors explained that surgery would align her body and reconfigure her skull and spine, permanently. ‘I was excited that something was getting done and they diagnosed the problem,’ she remembers. ‘I was hoping that it was fixable. Everyone was so confident.’ She slept in the Halo, an intimidating-looking device that provides temporary comfort for patients with spinal deformities and injuries. “I had the best nine-hours of sleep of my life,’ she recalls of that overnight in the emergency department…
Within hours after surgery, Isabel was able to walk about the floor where she was recovering. Four days later, she went home for a few months-long recovery. Six months after surgery, at her follow-up appointment with Dr. Gokaslan, she told him, ‘I feel better than I have in 10 years. It’s like nothing happened.’
Until she needed it, Isabel acknowledged that she never realized the high-level of care that was available right in her home state. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t have to be airlifted out of state. People are flying (to Rhode Island) from other countries to come here for these great facilities.’
Dr. Gokaslan, who came to Rhode Island following a decades-long career with some of the country’s top hospitals, seconds Isabel’s opinion. ‘The quality of the healthcare we provide here is second to none. We feel very privileged that she really trusted us, and we were able to take care of her.'”
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