Categories
Posts
Posts
Helping People with Neurological Diseases
Support
2ND Tuesday of the Month in January, February, April, May, July, August and October
TIME: 5:30–6:30 pm
Place: Neurological Surgery, P.C. Conference Room
1991 Marcus Avenue, Suite 108
Lake Success, NY 11042
(Granite Building #2 across from Pathmark on Marcus Avenue)
No meeting in November
Joint Neurological Support Group Meetings in March, June, September and December.
Dates may change due to holiday or religious observances, inclement weather or scheduling conflicts.
Registration is required.
Call Jovanna Little at 516-442-3527 or e-mail jlittle@lmni.org with your name and any guest name(s) no later than 5:00pm the day before the meeting, or to be added to the monthly neurological support group mailing list.
“Good Samaritan” Accident Victim Works With Neurosurgeon Who Saved Her Life Nearly Six Years Ago Has Made Outstanding Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury
Jenna Poulos has always believed in helping others. This explains why, on the way home from work November 28, 2004, she stopped on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway to help a motorist broken down in the left lane. The 21-year-old North Massapequa resident became involved in a devastating chain-reaction accident that nearly killed her. Now, almost six years later, despite having suffered a serious traumatic brain injury she is doing remarkably well – and working in the office of the neurosurgeon and physician’s assistant who saved her life.
“We thought Jenna would never be able to speak and do many of the things she was able to do before,” says neurosurgeon Donald S. Krieff, DO, FACOS, who operated on Jenna. “Many people who suffer a brain injury like Jenna’s are not able to live a normal life, but she is doing just that – working full-time, living independently, and enjoying her friends and family.”
At the time of Jenna’s accident, Dr. Krieff was Chief of Neurosurgery at Nassau University Medical Center, where Jenna was taken after the accident. He is now affiliated with Neurological Surgery, P.C., a private practice of leading neurosurgeons. Jenna has been working as a receptionist in the practice’s West Islip office since February 2009. The accident caused bleeding on the left side of Jenna’s brain, her dominant area. This created a very dangerous, touch-and-go situation. “She was not well off,” Dr. Krieff says.
Dr. Krieff, physician assistant Keith M. Burger, RPA-C and the team performed a decompressive craniectomy, a last-resort procedure in which half of the skull is removed for a time in order to allow the brain to swell. Without a craniectomy, the skull compresses the brain and restricts blood flow, leading to potentially dangerous and even fatal results.
An estimated 17 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Considered the “signature wound” of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, nearly a third of serious brain injuries lead to permanent disability. TBI can cause a range of short and long-term changes that affect thinking, sensation, language and emotion. Although estimates vary, up to 80 percent of people with severe traumatic brain injury do not return to work.
Jenna is one of the lucky ones, but her road to recovery has not been easy. In addition to her brain injury, she suffered severe injuries to much of her body. Dr. Krieff put her into an induced coma right after her surgery to protect her brain and reduce intracranial pressure. While in the ICU, Jenna experienced numerous complications, including sepsis – a very serious blood infection – and pneumonia, and was ventilator dependent throughout her initial hospital stay.
Jenna left the ICU after a month, spent another month at a TBI unit at the medical center, then spent many more weeks in inpatient rehabilitation, followed by months of outpatient rehabilitation.
When Jenna first came out of the coma, she had to relearn how to walk and couldn’t get off the bed, she says. She had problems formulating sentences, and then started having seizures, for which she again had to be hospitalized.
Dr. Krieff helped Jenna and her family throughout this ordeal. In a letter, Jenna’s parents, Terry and Bruce Poulos, say that Dr. Krieff and Keith Burger, “checked on Jenna twice a day and always let us know what her condition was, in a compassionate and truthful way. You made yourselves very accessible to us at the most difficult time in our lives.” Mrs. Poulos reports that Dr. Krieff responded to their questions and concerns throughout, giving them his beeper number and helping them navigate the health care system.
Jenna needs to take many medications to deal with the aftermath of the accident, but is “living as normal a life as anyone,” she says. “I feel good, exercise and enjoy hanging out with my friends, watching movies and reading. I’m just glad to be alive.” She still enjoys helping people, including the patients she greets and assists as they arrive at the Neurological Surgery office, many with very serious health problems.
Now age 26, Jenna loves her job, and is thrilled to be working with Dr. Krieff and Keith Burger. “It is so awesome to be working with them,” she says.
The feeling is mutual. “Jenna is great to work with – the quickest wit in the office,” says Dr. Krieff. “We’re all glad that she made this recovery.”
PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY
We specialize in the latest and most effective neurological procedures for: PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY
Abnormal Baby Head Shapes
Brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injuries
Brain and spinal cord trauma
Brain and spinal cord tumors (pediatric neuro-oncology)
Cerebrovascular disorders (Moya Moya)
Congenital and developmental spine abnormalities
Congenital brain anomalies
Craniofacial anomalies
Deformational or positional
plagiocephaly
Hydrocephalus
Intracranial and spinal cysts
Kyphosis
Scoliosis
Spinal dysraphism (Spina Bifi da)
Brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injuries
Brain and spinal cord trauma
Brain and spinal cord tumors (pediatric neuro-oncology)
Cerebrovascular disorders (Moya Moya)
Congenital and developmental spine abnormalities
Congenital brain anomalies
Craniofacial anomalies
Deformational or positional
plagiocephaly
Hydrocephalus
Intracranial and spinal cysts
Kyphosis
Scoliosis
Spinal dysraphism (Spina Bifi da)
WATC-TV! Check It Out
Dr. Jay Adlersberg from WABC-TV will be interviewed Dr. Ettinger, and a patient of his Oct 29h. The story focus’s on the patient’s case, and Dr. Ettinger will discuss the case and a major study in The Lancet that shows long-term success from epilepsy surgery.
YOU ASK-> WE SHOOT WITH ANSWERS LIVE!
Dear Fans, our Neurosurgeons and NSPC Specialty Doctors will now be able to answer your question’s through a short video clip! We need your help by starting to post on our page with question’s relating to Neurosurgery. (Please note that it can take up to a few days to post with answers. Please be patient as we will try are ultimate best to get you with answers sooner) Thank you for being such great fans and supporters of our Doctors! -NSPC
LANCET PAPER SHOWS EPILEPSY SURGERY CONTROLS SEIZURES FOR MANY YEARS, RECOMMENDS THAT SURGERY BE CONSIDERED EARLIER
Long Island Woman Benefits from Surgery Following Intensive Search for Answers About Her Uncontrolled Seizures
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – October 26, 2011 – The largest and longest duration study to date on epilepsy surgery has shown that nearly half of those who undergo surgery remain seizure free for 10 years. Study authors demonstrated that more patients should be candidates for surgery earlier in the course of their disease, if medications don’t adequately control seizures. The study, which appears in the October 15 Lancet, tracked 615 adult patients for up to 19 years.
“Patients should not needlessly suffer for years, being switched from medication to medication, when surgery early on might be more effective,” says Alan B. Ettinger, M.D., a neurologist specializing in epilepsy and director of epilepsy for Neurological Surgery, P.C. (NSPC).
“This study confirms what those of us in the field know: that surgery for epilepsy is not just a ‘last resort’ and can help many patients unresponsive to medications live far more normal lives,” says Brian J. Snyder, M.D., attending neurosurgeon with Neurological Surgery, P.C., who specializes in surgery for adult epilepsy, movement disorders and chronic pain.
Charisse Lofton of Bay Shore, NY, is among those who have new reasons for optimism following successful epilepsy surgery with Dr. Snyder. Lofton, 33, started experiencing devastating seizures when she was 28, repeatedly losing consciousness and even suffering nonstop seizures for a prolonged time (status epilepticus), and was even placed in a drug-induced coma during one particularly severe episode. She went to numerous doctors, who put her on medications that did not solve the problem and had horrendous side effects. Rounds of tests did not reveal either the cause of her seizures or the location of abnormal brain activity. Doctors had given up on her, leaving her in a state of ill health and desperation.
Three years after the start of her seizures, she contacted Dr. Ettinger. She heard that he had a track record of solving the most baffling cases, and successfully treating these patients.
Dr. Ettinger, Dr. Snyder and their colleagues began a painstaking search for answers, lasting more than 16 months. “Her case was very complicated, as earlier tests did not indicate brain abnormalities or show the location in her brain of the seizure activity,” Dr. Ettinger says. “We knew we needed an intensive, multidisciplinary approach to find out how to treat Ms. Lofton safely and effectively.”
Dr. Ettinger first tried newer types of epilepsy medication, to determine whether they would make a difference. Not seeing any benefit from these drugs, the team, which included neurologist David Friedman, M.D. and neuropsychologist Gad E. Klein, Ph.D., began a series of tests to help determine the best and safest surgical approach.
Lofton participated in long term video-EEG monitoring, in which her brain waves were monitored and seizures recorded on camera. Functional MRIs provided a map of her brain, showing areas responsible for critical functions that must be avoided in surgery. She underwent a “Wada” test, which determines what side of the brain controls language function and how important each side of the brain is with regard to memory function.
Dr. Snyder was brought in early, as it was obvious that it would be difficult to locate the source of Lofton’s seizures and that she needed invasive diagnostic tests only available at major epilepsy centers, done by highly skilled neurosurgeons. He performed a three-part procedure at Winthrop University Hospital in which he surgically placed electrodes directly on the exterior and interior of Lofton’s brain to identify both the general and specific location of Lofton’s seizures, and to further improve both the efficacy and safety of planned surgery.
These exhaustive tests pinpointed the area of Lofton’s seizures – an area in the back of her temporal lobe – and helped Dr. Snyder avoid areas that were responsible for vital functions. Using a high level of skill, experience and judgment that comes from performing many epilepsy surgeries, Dr. Snyder conducted a multipart procedure that removed a small portion of Lofton’s brain’s from the outside and back of her temporal lobe – an area that is not typically resected in treating epilepsy. (Lobectomies, the most commonly used type of epilepsy surgery, are usually done in the inside and front of the temporal lobe, a part of the cerebral cortex where seizures typically originate.)
A month after Lofton’s final surgery, she appears to be seizure free, and she is beginning to go back to the normal life she had before seizures started five years ago. The mother of three reports she recently went pumpkin picking with her kids, and hopes to start working soon, maybe even entering a medical field. She is grateful for the care she’s received from Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Snyder, and she looks forward to marrying her fiancé and living without fear of losing consciousness due to epilepsy.
Alan B. Ettinger, M.D. is a nationally known epilepsy specialist who has dedicated his life to helping individuals with seizures and related disorders. One of only two neurologists selected this year for New York magazine’s 2011 “Best Doctors” list, he is a member of the national professional advisory board and executive board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America, as well as president of the professional advisory board of the Long Island Epilepsy Foundation. On November 19 he will be honored by the Leslie Munzer Neurological Institute for his work on behalf of people with epilepsy.
Brian J. Snyder, M.D. is a neurosurgeon who specializes in treating seizure disorders and epilepsy, as well as movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia. He is a leading practitioner of deep brain stimulation (DBS), having trained under Dr. Andres Lozano, perhaps the world’s foremost DBS authority. He has extensive expertise in vagal nerve stimulation and procedures for mapping, recording and identifying seizure foci in the brain, and in the surgical resection of these foci. He is certified in both Gamma Knife® and CyberKnife® radiosurgery.
Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Pile-Spellman named in New York Magazine’s “BEST DOCTORS 2011” list
DR. ETTINGER AND DR. PILE-SPELLMAN NAMED IN NEW YORK MAGAZINE’S
ROCKVILLE, CENTRE, NY, July 1, 2011 – John Pile-Spellman, M.D., F.A.C.R, and Alan Ettinger, M.D., have been named to New York Magazine’s 2011 “Best Doctors” list. Dr. Ettinger is one of two Long Island neurologists selected for the list, while Dr. Pile-Spellman is the only Long Island-based interventional neuroradiologist chosen. Both are attending physicians with Neurological Surgery, P.C., one of the Northeast’s leading practices of neurosurgeons and allied specialists.
“We congratulate Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Pile-Spellman on this honor,” said Michael H. Brisman, M.D., F.A.C.S., a senior partner at Neurological Surgery, P.C. “Their selection for ‘Best Doctors’ is further validation that our practice provides the most advanced university-level care in a community setting.”
Dr Pile-Spellman
Dr. Pile-Spellman is an international leader in interventional neuroradiology, a field of medicine that uses image-guided catheter-based techniques to treat diseases of the blood vessels of the brain and spine. He joined Neurological Surgery, P.C. from Columbia University Medical Center, where he was vice-chair of research and director of interventional MRI. With more than 150 peer review scientific papers to his name, Dr. Pile-Spellman is actively involved in stroke research. He chairs the board of directors of H.O.P.E. for Stroke, a nonprofit organization that provides support to stroke victims and their caregivers.
Dr. Ettinger is a nationally known epilepsy specialist who has dedicated his life to helping individuals with seizures and related disorders. He is a professor in the Department of Clinical Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and has performed landmark research on enhancing the quality of life of people with epilepsy.
Dr Ettinger
He has published widely in peer-review journals, has edited several journal supplements and textbooks, and is on the editorial board of a number of epilepsy journals. Dr. Ettinger is president of the Long Island Epilepsy Foundation’s professional advisory board and is a member of the national professional advisory board and executive board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America.
The names on the magazine’s “Best Doctors” list are provided by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a New York City research and information company. Castle Connolly publishes an annual guidebook, Top Doctors: New York Metro Area, which lists those Castle Connolly has determined to be in the top 10 percent of the region’s physicians—more than 6,000 in all. Castle Connolly provides New York Magazine with a shorter version of this list for the magazine’s “Best Doctors” issue. Space prohibits New York from publishing the full list; this year, the doctors on the list number 1,144.
To select the physicians, Castle Connolly sends out 12,000 nomination forms to medical professionals in New York City, Westchester County, Long Island, and portions of New Jersey and Connecticut. The recipients include randomly selected board-certified physicians; all physicians listed in the previous edition of Castle Connolly’s annual guidebook; and, from every hospital in the area, the president or CEO, the vice-president of medical affairs, and up to eight chiefs of service in departments from surgery to pediatrics. Recipients of the forms are asked to nominate physicians who they judge to be the best in their field and related fields— especially those to whom they would refer their own patients and family members.
Newsweek Dr. Brown Feature!
October 31 2011 Edition: Dr. Jeffrey Brown is named as 1 of 15 leaders in Neurosurgery! NSPC is proud to share this wonderful news.
NSPC’s Spine Center
Neurological Surgery, P.C. (NSPC) is Long Island’s expert in treatment of Spine Disease.We offer all the latest management options, focusing on conservative and minimally invasive procedures like Microdiscectomy, Kyphoplasty, X-Stop™ and Interventional Pain Management, rather than major surgery whenever feasible.
nspc.com
Long Island Brain Tumor Support Group-THIS THURSDAY!
Hi Fans! Hope you all had a great weekend. Wanted to keep you informed of a support group this thursday!
Long Island Brain Tumor Support Group
4th THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH
TIME: 7:00–8:00pm—Meeting
PLACE: Neurological Surgery, P.C.
1991 Marcus Avenue, Suite 108
Lake Success, NY 11042
(Granite Building #2 across from Pathmark on Marcus Avenue)
And
Neurological Surgery, P.C.
353 Veterans Memorial Highway, Suite 303
Commack, NY 11725
(Across from Seven Eleven)
Please RSVP to Jovanna Little, MT (Ret) CFRE at 516-442-3527 or email her at jlittle@lmni.org
