Archive for neurosurgery
Amelia makes a special connection with her EEG tech
Amelia arrived at Boston Children’s Hospital in August with a present in her small hands. The gift was for one of Amelia’s favorite people at the hospital, electroencephalographic (EEG) technician Katie Tucker. Tucker has been Amelia’s primary EEG tech since she was just 7 months old. “We first traveled up to Boston Children’s from New ... Read More about Amelia makes a special connection with her EEG tech
Tagged: epilepsy, neurology, neurosurgery
Finding the best care for Zeeva
When our 8-year-old daughter, Zeeva, giggles and runs in her walker to the swing set, it’s like watching pure childhood joy. Understanding what it has taken to get her to this point, though, is close to unimaginable. Zeeva is one of fewer than 150 people in the world with a rare disease called Gould Syndrome ... Read More about Finding the best care for Zeeva
Tagged: epilepsy, neurology, neurosurgery
Saif looks ahead to life after spine surgery
Saif and his mother, Khawha Abbas, both had questions for Dr. Daniel Hedequist. For the past nine months, the family had lived in Boston while Saif underwent treatment for a severe spinal deformity. They were scheduled return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that evening, but first, Saif wanted to know if he would be ... Read More about Saif looks ahead to life after spine surgery
Back from the brink: How Boston Children’s saved my life
I was first rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital on my very first night of summer vacation in June 2015. I had been at an eighth-grade graduation party when a brain aneurysm caused by an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) ruptured. All the blood and swelling in my head generated the worst headache I had ever felt. I ... Read More about Back from the brink: How Boston Children’s saved my life
Grace: Developing her inner ninja after brain surgery
The McGuigans were enjoying a family dinner at a favorite restaurant last October when their lives took an unexpected turn. In the middle of their meal, 4-year-old Grace suddenly developed a strange look on her face and started rhythmically moving her wrist. When she didn’t respond to her name, her parents, Christina and Nathan, knew ... Read More about Grace: Developing her inner ninja after brain surgery
Tagged: cavernous malformation, neurosurgery
Jasmine and the puffy tumor: A diagnosis in the nick of time
The Dominique family had just returned from a wonderful trip to Disney World in 2017 when 7-year-old Jasmine came down with a sinus infection. She was in a lot of pain, so her parents took her to their local urgent care center. “They prescribed antibiotics, but even after a week they didn’t seem to be ... Read More about Jasmine and the puffy tumor: A diagnosis in the nick of time
Tagged: neurosurgery
Neurosurgeon’s pioneering technique helps thousands of children
Michael Scott, MD, was a 29-year-old neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston when he saw a patient with a condition he hadn’t learned about in medical school: a narrowing of the blood vessels entering the brain. It was 1970, and though Japanese doctors had described the condition a few years earlier, it would ... Read More about Neurosurgeon’s pioneering technique helps thousands of children
Gracie’s complex spine
Halloween 2018 was no ordinary ghouls’ day for Gracie Neef. She and both her parents dressed up as the witches from “Hocus Pocus.” To Gracie’s delight, her father’s costume included a long, blonde wig. Even more unusual, Gracie was an inpatient at Boston Children’s Hospital. “The fact that Gracie was going to spend Halloween in ... Read More about Gracie’s complex spine
Do antibiotic-impregnated shunts reduce infection in hydrocephalus?
Every year, nearly 400,000 children worldwide develop hydrocephalus, in which excess fluid accumulates in the brain. Many of these children have shunts placed to allow this fluid to drain. Antibiotic-impregnated shunts are widely championed as the best choice, but a recent study calls their necessity into question. The study, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery ... Read More about Do antibiotic-impregnated shunts reduce infection in hydrocephalus?
Tagged: antibiotics, hydrocephalus, neurosurgery
Enjoying life, finally free of seizures
Kristen Grip stood in the middle of the basketball court, motionless. Around her, the action continued as usual — the smack of the ball on the polished wood floor, the rush of her teammates as they darted back and forth, the satisfying swish and shout of victory as someone made a basket. Yet the high ... Read More about Enjoying life, finally free of seizures
Tagged: epilepsy, neurosurgery, seizures