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Brain Conditions

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Dawn Evans’ Patient Story

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  • Dawn EvansPatient
Last updated: July 17, 2024
In 1973, when I was seven years old, I had a series of grand mal seizures. My parents took me to a handful of neurologists to find out why. Because the […]
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Bradley Horton’s Patient Story

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  • Bradley HortonPatient
Last updated: July 17, 2024
Neurosurgeon: William Chandler, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Patient: Bradley Thomas Horton, Benign Brain Tumor On Dec. 9, 2007, I celebrated my 40th birthday. That same day marked 27 years […]
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Adult-onset Hydrocephalus

By:
  • AANS Neurosurgical Members
Last updated: July 15, 2024
The term hydrocephalus is derived from two words: “hydro,” meaning water, and “cephalus,” referring to the head. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the ventricles (fluid-containing cavities) […]
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Elizabeth Erman’s Patient Story

By:
  • AANS Neurosurgical Members
Last updated: July 3, 2024
Neurosurgeon: Ralph G. Dacey Jr., MD, Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Patient: Elizabeth Erman, age 38, Ophthalmic Segment Internal Carotid-artery Aneurysm In mid-September 2004, two weeks before my […]
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Lisa Klok’s Patient Story

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  • AANS Neurosurgical Members
Last updated: July 3, 2024
Neurosurgeon: Gail L. Rosseau, MD, FAANS, Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch, Chicago Patient: Lisa Klok, age 25, Chiari Malformation Lisa Klok has a condition called Chiari malformation. Since the age of […]
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Recovering From Brain Surgery…The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By:
  • Janet CahillPatient
Last updated: July 17, 2024
Neurosurgeon: H. Hunt Batjer, MD, FAANS, and Bernard M. Bendok, MD, FAANS, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago Patient: Janet Cahill, age 54, Cerebral Aneurysm Never in a million years would I believe this […]
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Epilepsy: Electrocorticography (ECoG)

By:
  • AANS Neurosurgical Members
Last updated: July 3, 2024
If an epilepsy case is unresponsive to medications, there are alternative, surgical treatments that  may be an option. To determine this, the treating neurologist may obtain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) over prolonged periods […]
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Epilepsy Surgery: Vagus Nerve Stimulation

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Last updated: June 26, 2024
The vagus nerve is one of the cranial nerves that originates in the brain and is part of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body functions. The nerve begins at the brainstem and passes through the […]
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Claire Snyman’s Patient Story

By:
  • Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, MD, FAANS
  • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
Last updated: June 26, 2024
Patient: Claire Snyman, 36, Colloid Cyst In 2009, Claire Snyman began to notice she was having difficulty with her short-term memory. Things that she normally had no problem remembering became harder […]
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Cerebrovascular Imaging

By:
  • Michael Gigliotti, MDPenn State College of Medicine at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Penn.
  • Scott Simon, MD, FAANSPenn State College of Medicine at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Penn.
Last updated: June 26, 2024
The majority of cerebrovascular problems can be identified through diagnostic imaging tests. These allow neurosurgeons to view arteries and vessels in and around the brain and brain tissue itself. While […]