Duke Health Blog
Stories and news about treatment advances that improve your health and quality of life

Neurosurgery

Learn about the innovative approaches employed by Duke neurosurgeons to treat people with a variety of conditions, from brain cancer to spinal deformities.

Showing 13 - 24 of 31 results
Nerve Transfer Surgery Relieves Pain, Restores Function Lost to Nerve Damage
Nerve Transfer Surgery Relieves Pain, Restores Function Lost to Nerve Damage

If you experience chronic pain, numbness, or weakness in your spine, arms, or legs due to nerve damage, a procedure called nerve transfer surgery may improve o ...

Runner Competes in Marathon After Eyebrow Craniotomy for Brain Aneurysm
Runner Competes in Marathon After Eyebrow Craniotomy for Brain Aneurysm

A morning run turned scary for Hillary Lockemer in July 2012, when the then 32-year-old suddenly became weak and passed out. Doctors diagnosed her with a ruptu ...

Know the Signs of Stroke - BE FAST
Know the Signs of Stroke - BE FAST

While stroke is the fifth leading cause of death, few people know the signs. Use the acronym BE FAST to remember the signs of stroke, and what to do if someone ...

Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Relieves Parkinson’s Symptoms in Air Force Colonel
Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Relieves Parkinson’s Symptoms in Air Force Colonel

Paul Brezinski was only 37 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Within eight years, his tremors made life so difficult that he traveled from his hom ...

Stroke Survivor Becomes Advocate for Stroke Awareness and Heart Health
Stroke Survivor Becomes Advocate for Stroke Awareness and Heart Health

When 44-year-old Raleigh resident Andy Beal suddenly became disoriented and weak in the middle of the night, he didn’t realize he was experiencing a “mini-stro ...

Device Removes Deep Brain Tumors Through Small Opening
Device Removes Deep Brain Tumors Through Small Opening

Neurosurgeons at Duke are using a cylindrical device to reach and remove deep brain tumors. A small tube inserted through a small opening in the skull eliminat ...

91-Year Old Walks Again After Surgery Repairs Severed Spine
91-Year Old Walks Again After Surgery Repairs Severed Spine

No one expected James Clark to walk again after a car accident left him with a severed spine. Thanks to a team of neurosurgeons at Duke University Hospital, Cl ...

Treatment Advances Give Hope to People with Brain Metastasis
Treatment Advances Give Hope to People with Brain Metastasis

Lisa VanTress didn’t know why she couldn’t regain her land legs after a 13-hour fishing trip in the summer of 2016. When the dizziness caused her to stumble an ...

As a Buddhist Priest, Duke Neurosurgeon Finds Deeper Connection with Patients
As a Buddhist Priest, Duke Neurosurgeon Finds Deeper Connection with Patients

Patrick Codd, MD, a Duke neurosurgeon, has been practicing Zen for two decades. The practice, he says, allows him to reflect on his work and relationships with ...

Fast access to stroke procedure saves Wilmington woman’s life and health
Fast access to stroke procedure saves Wilmington woman’s life and health

Duke Raleigh Hospital is one of a handful in NC that offers lifesaving thrombectomy for stroke. Dara Damery got transferred there from Wilmington just in time. ...

Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Brings Relief from Dystonia
Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Brings Relief from Dystonia

Raleigh resident Thomas Galvin suffered involuntary muscle contractions for decades—until technology at Duke allowed him to have surgery while asleep to quell ...

Telestroke technology speeds Danville woman to lifesaving stroke treatment
Telestroke technology speeds Danville woman to lifesaving stroke treatment

All Juanita Grant remembers is talking on the phone in her Danville, VA, apartment. Then she woke up at Duke University Hospital and learned she’d had a stroke ...