All articles tagged with #pediatric neurosurgery
Fifteen-year-old Aedan Jones, a Fort Lauderdale High School volleyball player, saw a routine sinus infection escalate into a brain infection, prompting emergency surgery on Christmas Eve and a long hospital course at Holtz Children’s Hospital with multiple surgeries, intensive care, antibiotics, and ongoing therapies as doctors study why such cases are rising in youths; his community has rallied with fundraising and support.
Doctors in Southern California have shut down half of a 6-year-old girl's brain in a 10-hour surgery to treat Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare brain disease causing daily seizures and motor skill deterioration. By disconnecting the non-functioning part of her brain, the medical team hopes to stop the disease completely and potentially cure it. While the girl may experience some loss of peripheral vision and fine motor skills in her left hand, physical therapy is expected to help her regain normal function. The girl's family has been documenting her recovery on Instagram and she is expected to make a full recovery.
Doctors at Loma Linda University Health in Southern California performed a life-changing surgery on 6-year-old Brianna Bodley, disconnecting half of her brain to treat her rare condition called Rasmussen's Encephalitis. The disease caused debilitating seizures and learning disabilities. By disconnecting the nonfunctioning part of her brain, doctors hope to stop the disease and potentially cure it. Although Brianna may experience some loss of peripheral vision and fine motor skills, with physical therapy, she is expected to regain her normal life, free from seizures.
The CDC is investigating a cluster of rare and serious brain abscesses in children in and around Las Vegas, with doctors from other parts of the country reporting similar increases. The number of brain abscesses in kids tripled in Nevada in 2022, rising from an average of four to five a year to 18. Disease detectives are trying to figure out what is driving the increase, with some theories including the pandemic's impact on children's immune systems. Brain abscesses are pus-filled pockets of infection that spread to the brain and can cause seizures, visual disturbances, or changes in vision, speech, coordination, or balance.
The CDC is investigating a cluster of rare and serious brain abscesses in children in and around Las Vegas, Nevada, and doctors from other parts of the country say they may be seeing a rise in cases, too. In 2022, the number of brain abscesses in kids tripled in Nevada, rising from an average of four to five a year to 18. Pediatric neurosurgeons like Dr. Taryn Bragg, who treated the cases, are rare. She is the only one for the entire state of Nevada, and because she treated all the cases, she was the first to notice the pattern and to alert local public health officials.