Dr. Martin Rutkowski's patient Wendy Johnson
Her doctor in Albany sent her to AU Health. They knew whatever was going on would need complex surgery. Dr. Martin Rutkowski suspected it was a benign tumor outside the brain stem.
鈥淚n this case it was actually a lesion or a mass inside the brain stem itself. I was pretty surprised to see that, and at that point, the operation would be that much more complicated,鈥� said Rutkowski, a neurosurgeon at AU Health...
Dr. Fernando Vale & epilepsy patient Sy Raulerson
A Thank You From His Family
I just wanted to show y'all the man who has taken such wonderful care of my husband. Dr. Fernando Vale has been more than amazing!!! Well him & his entire staff. So many prayers have already been answered & I just want to thank everyone who continued to pray for Sy. Our family appreciates every single one of you.
- Wife of the patient.
Toni Phillips & neurosurgeon Dr. Martin Rutkowski
North 麻豆国产AV woman, hardened by faith, survives lengthy surgeries, emergency birth.
Rutkowski actually cleared his schedule that morning to meet with them because he could tell it was urgent. Toni had an epidermoid tumor, where a cell makes a wrong turn and begins reproducing as a skin cell inside the skull and forms a tumor.
While it is not cancerous, "they grow and they create problems because they put pressure on the brain," Rutkowski said, which was the cause of her symptoms.
In Toni's case, it was a massive problem.
"Hers was by far the biggest I鈥檝e ever seen," Rutkowski said, about nine centimeters 鈥� around 3.5 inches.
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Shawn Neal with Students
Three weeks after having brain surgery to remove a rare type of tumor at Wellstar MCG Health, Shawn Neal was incredulous at how quickly her life was returning to normal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy! Like, I鈥檒l be walking around my house and I鈥檓 like, 鈥業 just had brain
surgery.鈥� It鈥檚 just hard to believe,鈥� she said.
Despite an eight-hour surgery, she only leaned on painkillers twice to manage her pain afterward, when it became significant.
Otherwise, her regimen consisted of acetaminophen and ibuprofen.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 unheard of! I mean, just incredible. Here I鈥檝e had an eight-hour brain surgery, and I鈥檓 just using Tylenol and ibuprofen,鈥� she said.
Within a month, Neal returned to her job as a dental hygienist at the Dental College of Georgia at 麻豆国产AV completely cancer free.