‘A phenomenal experience’

APPROXIMATELY ONE million people in the United States are living with a primary brain tumour, and an estimated 94,390 new cases are diagnosed each year. Brain tumours can significantly impact a patient’s life, often leading to serious complications.

One such condition, a sphenoid wing meningioma (SWM), is a slow-growing brain tumour that forms at the base of the skull. Though benign, its growth can cause severe symptoms, including headaches, seizures, visual disturbances, facial numbness and bulging of the eye.

A recent case at Memorial Healthcare System demonstrates the successful treatment of a large SWM, restoring the patient’s quality of life. Dr Simon Buttrick, a leading neurosurgeon at Memorial Healthcare System in South Florida, performed a groundbreaking craniotomy on Kathy, a patient diagnosed with a particularly large tumour located on the left side of her brain, the dominant hemisphere that controls vital functions such as language and memory.

“This was a challenging case due to the size and location of the tumour,” said Dr Buttrick. “Kathy’s tumour was large and pressing on critical areas of her brain, which explained her symptoms. However, we were fortunate that the tumour was soft and not attached to any major blood vessels, making the surgery relatively safe and successful,” he added.

Memorial Healthcare System is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the United States and has served South Florida since 1953. Since, the South Florida community has benefited from compassionate healthcare delivered according to the service vision of Deeper Caring, Smarter Healthcare.

Memorial has six hospitals and more than 150 employed physicians, who compose the Memorial Physician Group, a nursing home, home health services, research, and primary and urgent care centres and the South Broward Community Health Services.

In 2013, Memorial Health Network led the way in putting the clinically integrated healthcare delivery model into action. By expanding on this new framework, Memorial will continue to improve the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the services they proudly provide.

Dr Buttrick and his team were able to remove the tumour through a craniotomy, a procedure where an opening is made in the skull to access and remove the growth. The surgery was a success, and Kathy’s recovery was swift. Within days of the procedure, she began feeling significantly better.

Reflecting on the experience, Kathy and her husband, Bob, shared their gratitude: “Everything went fantastic. Two or three days after the operation, all the grandkids came, and Connor said, ‘Oh, Mimi’s back.’ Our family is really grateful for how everyone took care of us. Memorial West provided a phenomenal experience.”

“I understand that the day a patient comes to see a neurosurgeon is often one of the worst days of their life. My goal is not only to offer the best surgical treatments but also to provide hope and minimise the trauma associated with these life-changing events,” Dr Buttrick said.

Memorial Global Health provides personalised coordination of specialised and emergency medical services for adult and paediatric international patients. Memorial Healthcare System offers premier clinical expertise throughout their six hospitals including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, exclusively dedicated to the care of children.

For more than 60 years, the physicians, nurses, specialists and healthcare professionals at Memorial have placed patients and their families at the heart of everything they do. The skilled team at Memorial offers patient-and-family-centred care by partnering with patients and their families.