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The clinical
Neurosurgical Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital
continues to grow. By January 2003 we should be running
five operating rooms two days a week and four operating
rooms three days a week and one or two rooms on Saturday.
Even with these changes we will be utilizing far more than
our allotted block time. With recent additions to the clinical
staff, there is no shortage of procedures to perform. The
new Director of the Operating Rooms, Dr. Richard Wiklund,
has worked hard with members of the Neurosurgical Service
to accommodate the increase in volume and the sometimes
special needs of neurosurgery.
The Intensive
Care Unit remains a vital part of our service. The ICU is
now staffed 24 hours a day by an Intensive Care Unit Fellow
or neurosurgical resident, and there is full coverage by
attending staff. There is a full ICU fellowship available
for two individuals. Dr. Walter Koroshetz of Neurology and
Dr. Brooke Swearingen direct the unit. There are several
ongoing clinical studies including the use of hypothermia
in vasospasm, hypothermia in stroke, as well as several
stroke protocols. The Neuro Intensive Care Unit nurses remain
one of our strongest resources-many have worked in the ICU
for years and continue to facilitate movement of patients
through the ICU as well as delivering excellent care to
the patients who are in the Intensive Care Unit.
One of the
biggest developments for our residency program is the change
to an 88 hour work week for the |
resident
staff. There is a national mandate that this change be in
effect by the summer of 2003, and the Neurosurgical Service
is working hard to accommodate these changes. Our goal is
to preserve the excellence in education and foster the progressive
development of neurosurgical expertise. As in the past, residents
will rotate through the various services, with graduated responsibilities
both in and out of the operating room as the years of progress.
Dr. Paul
Chapman, Director of the Residency Program, is working hard
to incorporate the 88 hour work week in such a fashion as
to minimally disrupt excellence in patient care and maximize
resident experience both in and out of the operating room.
Currently
finishing his residency is Dr. Jonathan Brisman, who plans
to pursue an endovascular fellowship with Dr. Alex Berenstein
in New York City. Dr. Ed Smith, current North Service attending,
will further his interests in pediatric neurosurgery through
a pediatric fellowship at Children's Hospital Medical Center,
Boston.
One exciting
development on the Neurosurgical Service was the recruitment
over a year ago of a neurosurgeon to perform endovascular
procedures. Dr. Johnny Pryor completed his neurosurgical training
at Washington University at St. Louis and then undertook an
endovascular fellowship with Dr. Alex Berenstein and remained
on staff for five years. He was recruited to the MGH as part
of the Neurosurgical Service to perform neurointerventional
procedures. Dr. Pryor works in close collaboration with Dr.
Jim Rabinov of |
the Radiology Service to cover neuroendovascular procedures.
Radiology and Neurosurgery work closely together, and are
currently recruiting a third individual for endovascular management
of neurologic disease.
The Brain
Tumor Center at MGH comprises multiple physicians in a multi-disciplinary
effort to combat tumors of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral
nerve. It is located in the Cox Building Room 315, where offices
for physicians, nurse practitioners, neuro-oncology fellows,
and clinical and research assistants can be found. Patient
examining rooms and a conference room are also within this
space. Dr. Robert Martuza has been the director of the Brain
Tumor Center since 2000, taking the reins from Dr. Robert
Ojemann.
The neurosurgical
staff in the BTC is composed of Dr. Fred Barker, Dr. Bob
Carter, Dr. Paul Chapman, Dr. E.A. Chiocca, Dr. Rees Cosgrove,
Dr. Emad Eskandar, Dr. Brooke Swearingen, and Dr. Robert
Ojemann. The center's neuro-oncologists are Drs. Tracy Batchelor
(the center's executive director), Dr.Allison O'Neill, Dr.
John Henson, and Dr. Fred Hochberg. Radiation oncology expertise
is provided by Dr. Jay Loeffler, Dr. Arnab Chakravarti,
and Dr. Annie Chan. Neuropathologic expertise is available
through Dr. Tessa Hedley-White, David Louis, and Matt Frosch.
The BTC also offers social work and psychological expertise
to our patients.
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