In the News

Dr. Roberto Heros to Receive Prestigious Harvey Cushing Medal

Roberto C. Heros, M.D., professor and co-chair of neurological surgery and residency program director, has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Harvey Cushing Medal.

The Cushing Medal is the highest honor given by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) to a neurosurgeon. The award, established in 1976 and given annually since 1977, recognizes an AANS member for distinguished service in the field of neurosurgery.

In his award letter, AANS president Troy M. Tippett, M.D., praised Heros for his selfless dedication to medicine and neurosurgery. "Your contributions to neurosurgical education, your efforts in helping to bring the XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery to fruition, and your personal traits, scientific honesty... are models for all neurosurgeons and deserve the highest recognition our specialty can bestow," Tippett wrote.

Dr. Heros, who is internationally known in his field, joined the Miller School in 1995. He served as president of the AANS in 2002-2003, and is a past president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Heros also recently completed a four-year term as president of the World Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

"The Cushing Medal is arguably the most prestigious award an American neurosurgeon can receive," said Dr. Heros. "I am humbled but very honored by this recognition from my peers."

In congratulating Dr. Heros, Barth A. Green, M.D., professor and chairman of neurological surgery, says Heros is "truly the prototype of a Œneurosurgical Renaissance man.'"

"What a wonderful role model for the generations of residents, fellows and students who have benefited from being on board during his long, productive and distinguished academic journey from Boston to Miami," said Dr. Green. "Roberto's work ethic, academic genius and unblemished integrity have now been appropriately topped off with this prestigious recognition. His home team at the Miller School is enormously proud of his selection for the Cushing Medal."

Dr. Heros will receive the Cushing Medal at a special ceremony on May 3 during the annual AANS meeting in Philadelphia.

Dr. Roberto Heros

Congratulations to the 2009 Resident SANS Challenge Finalists!
The competition was fierce - 38 programs participated during the two-week qualifying rounds and these top-scoring programs will be sending two residents to participate in the live rounds at the 2009 CNS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana!

• University of Miami

*Dr. Ted I. Brindle and Dr. Hamad I. Farhat*

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
• Mayo Medical Center
• National Capital Consortium Neurosurgery Service
• The Neurological Institute of New York
• University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
• University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic
• University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center

These top teams will compete live in the preliminary game show-style competition where, again, questions will be based on SANS content. The preliminary rounds will take place from 3:00 - 6:00 PM, Sunday, October 25, 2009. The winning team from each of these three rounds will then move on to compete in the championship round, which will be held Tuesday, October 27 at 5:00 PM. The top three teams will compete for a cash prize of $2500 for their program!

Come cheer on your fellow residents!

Retinoblastoma, un destello fatal
By COLOMBIA PAEZ

Published Tuesday, September 22, 2009 in el Nuevo Herald
Publicado el martes 22 de septiembre del 2009

Ruth Katsouris jamás imaginó que detrás del luminoso destello que desprendía la mirada de su hija Christina, de siete años, se escondía la amenaza de que la niña quedara ciega y que su condición llegara a ser fatal. Sin embargo, gracias a una nueva técnica aplicada por primera vez en un menor y desarrollada por investigadores del Jackson Memorial Hospital y del Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, se logró salvar la vista y la vida de la pequeña.
Los ojos de Christina, color avellana, llamaron siempre la atención de cuantos la conocían, pues de ellos ``se desprendía un brillo tan luminoso que cautivaba'', recuerdan sus padres. Lo que ellos no sabían era que ese brillo anunciaba la presencia de un tumor canceroso que, poco a poco, le estaba creciendo dentro del cerebro.
``Una tarde me llamó la atención ver su ojo derecho un poco desviado y con Andres, mi esposo, pensamos que se trataba de un caso de estrabismo, ya que su hermana gemela, Alicia, ya lo padecía'', cuenta Katsouris. ``Andreas llevó la niña al oftalmólogo y del consultorio me llamó para darme la devastadora noticia de que le habían diagnosticado dos tumores cancerosos''.
Los tumores crecían detrás del nervio óptico con la amenaza de esparcirse por todo el cerebro y finalmente causar la muerte de la niña, una condición conocida como retinoblastoma.
``Estos tumores son muy agresivos y crecen detrás del ojo dejando ciego al paciente; crecen hacia dentro del cerebro, destruyéndolo hasta causar su muerte. De hecho, muchos niños mueren por esta causa en los países del tercer mundo; aquí se les da quimioterapia, pero esto les causa muchas molestias, como pérdida del cabello, vómito, náusea, pérdida de peso y el niño se ve obligado a permanecer con ese tratamiento hasta por un año. Cuando la quimioterapia deja de funcionar, entonces hay que extirpar el ojo para prevenir que el tumor se esparza al cerebro o abarque el otro ojo'', explica el neurocirujano Ali Sultan, director de la división Neuro-Endovascular del Jackson Memorial Hospital-Universidad de Miami.
``Lo que empezamos a hacer fue tratar la enfermedad desde un ángulo distinto'', dice el médico y explica que ya que la quimioterapia es como un veneno que va por la sangre y por consiguiente a todo el cuerpo, decidieron aplicar la quimioterapia dirigiéndola únicamente a la parte afectada.
``Ordenamos unos catéteres especiales en Francia, casi del tamaño de la pasta conocida como `cabello de ángel'. Lo siguiente fue insertar el catéter por la arteria femoral hacia arriba, hasta llegar al cerebro, y allí, por el pequeño vaso que suple el ojo, colocamos la quimioterapia directamente, para que la niña no sufriera algún efecto secundario'', cuenta Sultan.
Al día siguiente Christina estaba ya en su casa y a las pocas horas de haber llegado jugaba con su gemela. En las dos semanas siguientes, el tumor prácticamente desapareció. ``De esto hace ya seis meses. Este procedimiento lo hicimos con el doctor Timothy Murray, oftalmólogo oncólogo e investigador del Instituto Bascom Palmer'', cuenta el experto. ``La quimioterapia que se le administró a la pequeña es un tipo de agente que no se acostumbra para los menores porque es muy fuerte, y es la misma que se administra en caso de trasplantes de órganos'', explica.
De hecho, ésta es la base de este nuevo procedimiento: administrar este tipo de quimioterapia directamente en el tumor hasta destruirlo, sin que se afecte ninguna otra parte del cuerpo.
  

Christina Katsouris (centro) rodeada de sus padres, Andreas y Ruth, y su hermana Alicia, con los doctores Ali Sultan (extremo izquierdo) y Timothy Murray (extremo derecho)        - Cortesia familia Katsouris

Extremely Rare, New Surgery Helps Children with Eye Cancer
( Click here to view the news report)
( Click here to view the news report in Spanish)

Broward 7-year-old shares her story of survival 
When Andreas Katsouris noticed his daughter Christina¹s right eye was crossing, he didn¹t think it was anything serious. Still, he brought his 7-year-old to the ophthalmologist for a check-up. The doctor confirmed something was wrong and referred them to specialists at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. After undergoing several tests and meeting with Timothy Murray, M.D., director of ocular oncology at Bascom Palmer, Christina was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare childhood cancer that occurs in the retina of the eye. Each year about 300 to 400 cases of retinoblastoma are diagnosed nationwide. 

In the past, treatment options included removal of the eye and using radiation therapy and chemo to attack the tumor, which often led to blindness. But a team of three doctors at the UM/Jackson Memorial Medical Center worked together to implement a new, rarely used technique to treat children with retinoblastoma. Rather than using traditional chemotherapy on the entire body ­ which often causes side effects, such as nausea, hair loss and bone marrow suppression ­ these doctors are directly injecting lower doses of the chemo straight into the artery that feeds the eye. To do this, Ali Aziz-Sultan, M.D., director of neuroendovascular surgery at UM/Jackson, inserts a super thin catheter ­ about the size of a piece of angel hair pasta ­ through the groin. The catheter is then threaded up to the aorta, bypassing the heart, into the blood vessels in the neck and brain, and then toward the artery in the eye. The 30-minute procedure, which is performed in coordination with Dr. Murray and Cristina Fernandes, M.D., a pediatric oncologist at Holtz Children¹s Hospital, is done under general anesthesia. Most of the patients are discharged from the hospital the next morning and have no side effects from the chemo.           &nbs p;              
Mohammad Ali Aziz-Sultan, M.D., assistant professor of neurological surgery, Jacques J. Morcos, M.D., associate professor of neurological surgery, and neurological surgery residents Mohamed Samy Elhammady, M.D., and  Hamad Farhat, M.D., authored a case report published in the March issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.  In the case report titled³Isolated unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy secondary to an atlantooccipital joint juxtafacet synovial cyst:  Case report and review of the literature,² the authors report on the third such case in the literature of juxtafacet cysts of the atlantooccipital joint that present with isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy, which are rare and may mimic more common pathological entities. One of the original illustrations from the case, created by the department¹s media producer, Scott Spradley, was chosen as the cover art for the issue.
  

 

 "The aneurysms were close to her optic nerves and in a dangerous location, and we didn¹t want to risk damaging her vision. We now have a less invasive option... The outcome was excellent,"  said Ali Aziz-Sultan, M.D., a neurosurgeon and director of neuroendovascular surgery.
- Connections, May 2009

 Click here to read the full article
 

"In practical terms, the real question about surgery for sciatica is not which technique should be used but whether surgery should be done, said Dr. Michael Y. Wang, an associate professor of neurological surgery and rehabilitation medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine."
- HealthDay, July 7, 2009

Click here to read the full article.

Dr. Heroes Awarded AXA Advisors Lifetime Achievement Award
 
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Health Care Heroes awards program is celebrating its 12th year of honoring individuals, institutions, professionals, students, volunteers and programs who through their individual or collective actions have made an extraordinary impact in the South Florida health care community.

The AXA Advisors Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Barth A. Green, M.D., Professor & Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Health System/University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Co-founder and Chairman of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Co-founder of Project Medishare for Haiti.

The AXA Advisors Lifetime Achievement Award is designed to honor an individual, who, over his/her lifetime, has made a significant impact or changed history in the health care industry in South Florida. The winner of this award is selected by the judges from all nominees submitted for this award and is announced prior to the event.

(Click on the picture to view the video) 

Dr. Barth Green Among Humanitarians of the Year Honored by March of Dimes

Barth A. Green, M.D., professor and chairman of neurological surgery, is wrapping up the year with a prestigious award. Dr. Green has been named one of the March of Dimes¹ 2008 Humanitarians of the Year. The award was given to him at the Building Our Community Awards luncheon November 21 on Jungle Island in Miami.

Dr. Green is world-renowned for his work in treating spinal cord injuries and disorders. As co-founder of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, he has helped develop the largest and most productive spinal cord injury and paralysis research center in the world. In winning the award, Dr. Green said it is a ³real privilege to serve our most deserving neighbors and patients in South Florida as well as across America and abroad. I am the one who should be honoring you, my family and friends and Miller School colleagues, who together have given me the precious time, support and therefore, the opportunity!²

Besides honoring Dr. Green, the March of Dimes also awarded Humanitarians of the Year honors to Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, CBS4 News Anchor Shannon Hori, and Miami Heat All-Star Alonzo Mourning for their work to help the underserved in our community.