PATIENT HIGHLIGHTS
Meet Joseph Leroy
Neurosurgeon removes spinal tumor, relieves patient of extreme numbness
Unfortunately for Joseph Leroy, a walking cane had become his best friend. The weakness in his legs was too much to bear unassisted. He also experienced stints of leg and abdominal numbness, as well as left arm weakness.
Examinations at UF Health Jacksonville showed that Leroy, 65, had kidney cancer, also known as renal cell carcinoma, which had spread to other parts of his body. A tumor was found on his spinal cord at the point where the neck meets the chest. The tumor was compressing his spinal cord, which was the source of the numbness and weakness. It also led to urinary dysfunction.
“It’s pretty common for tumors to spread – or metathesize – to the spine. We see it quite a bit,” said Sassan Keshavarzi, MD, interim chair and assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville.
Keshavarzi performed two surgeries to address Leroy’s spinal tumor. He first entered the back of Leroy’s neck to take pressure off the spinal cord and remove as much of the tumor as he could from the rear. He then installed screws and hardware to stabilize the spine.
The above is an excerpt from an patient highlight originally posted by the University of Florida Health on May 27, 2015 Author: Jesef Williams
Meet Betty Johnson
“Betty had multiple levels of high-grade spondylolisthesis, leading to a very abnormal posture. She was in excruciating pain and had been in such pain for a long time.”
Poor posture no more: Neurosurgery team relieves Jacksonville woman of debilitating back pain
Betty Johnson’s lower back pain was so intense that a short walk from her bedroom to the bathroom left her in tears. She was unable to hold her grandchildren and couldn’t stand long enough to cook.
These limitations were part of Johnson’s eight-year history of debilitating back pain and extremely poor posture. Her condition left her depressed. If surgery could relieve some of the pain, she wanted to pursue that option. However, doctors had told her she couldn’t have spine surgery because of her medical history, which included open-heart surgery.
But Sassan Keshavarzi, MD, interim chair and assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, has an extensive record of treating patients with various chronic conditions. He determined that Johnson’s medical history and current issues would not prevent her from having an operation.
Johnson, 55, had an unstable lumbar spine and had developed high-grade forward slips of two lower-back discs, a condition known as spondylolisthesis. That led to sagittal deformity, which is marked by a poor, slumped-over posture.
The above is an excerpt from an patient highlight originally posted by the University of Florida Health on Apr 7, 2015 Author: Jesef Williams
Betty Johnson is also featured in an article by University of Florida Health- College of Medicine. Read more, here.
Meet Leeann Caridi
Port Orange woman regains strength, mobility after successful spine operation
Caridi had extreme discomfort in her left leg all the way down to the bottom of her foot. She even felt pain in her lower back and buttocks. She was limited in what she could do physically. It was so bad that she had to sit on a stool while taking a shower. Tasks such as vacuuming and washing dishes were major challenges.
““It was very clear that this was almost-debilitating lower back pain, and she had it for 20 years.”
During an exam, Keshavarzi noted that Caridi, now 45, had lost about half of the sensation in the bottom of her left foot. An MRI showed that she had degenerative disc disease in her spine, resulting in disc herniation, as well as abnormal narrowing (stenosis) of the spinal column. Caridi also had disc cartilage protruding through her vertebra, a condition known as Schmorl’s nodes.
The above is an excerpt from an patient highlight originally posted by the University of Florida Health on Feb 09, 2015
Meet Delores Lewis
“I see myself as a survivor.”
Spine and skull base surgery corrects Delores Lewis’ balance issues
It was nearly impossible for Delores Lewis to walk in a straight line. Within seconds, she would veer to the left or right and sometimes wobble in both directions. She knew her equilibrium was off, but didn’t know what was causing the imbalance and dizziness.
Medical imaging revealed that Delores, 67, had a tumor at the base of her skull and degenerative disc disease in her neck. UF Health Jacksonville neurosurgeon Sassan Keshavarzi, M.D., said both conditions were likely contributing to Delores’ balance problem and that a dual surgery was required to correct it.
“It was pushing on her spinal cord pretty profoundly,” Keshavarzi said of the tumor, which was in front of Delores’ brain stem and spinal cord — at the junction where the base of the skull meets the neck.
Meanwhile, the deterioration of the discs in her neck was crushing the spinal cord. Putting off surgery could have ultimately led to more balance issues, bowel and bladder problems, paralysis and respiratory dysfunction.
The above is an excerpt from an patient highlight originally posted by the University of Florida Health
Home | About | Global Outreach | Videos | Publications | Patient Highlights | Testimonials