Neurological Surgery

Neurological Surgery

During the course of this program, I have had the opportunity observe several different treatments for the same illness. I was able to observe a carotid endarterectomy and brain tumor resection, which were particularly interesting because I have observed the alternative endovascular treatments for each, carotid artery stenting (CAS) and embolizing the vessels feeding the tumors. Though I have written about the advantages of CAS over endarterectomies in the past, I was able to directly observe the vast improvement that CAS provides in terms of time and invasiveness - unlike in carotid endarterectomies where blood flow is cut off through one of the carotid arteries that feeds the brain for close to 40 minutes, CAS does not require blood flow to be cut off at all. Similarly, the endovascular method to deprive tumors of blood is much less invasive than the surgical technique which requires a craniotomy. In the case I observed, the doctors had to be very careful about avoiding damage to a major artery and the optic nerve while removing the tumor. In terms of biomedical engineering contributions, technology that could decrease invasiveness and improve precision in treatments would be very useful.

I also have been working on my clinical research project evaluating effectiveness of two different treatments for aneurysms, and have obtained some interesting results. I will be presenting my research project in the seminar meeting in Ithaca in the fall.

Overall, I gained a lot from this experience, especially in terms of realizing that there are many areas that still need technological improvements. I would like to thank my clinician mentor, Dr. Riina, and also Dr. Gobin and Dr. Chapple.