Duke Health Blog
Neurosurgery
Learn about the innovative approaches employed by Duke neurosurgeons to treat people with a variety of conditions, from brain cancer to spinal deformities.
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 ...
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
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
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
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
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 ...
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
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
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 ...
Endoscopic Surgery Removes Pituitary Tumor, Restores Teenager’s Vision
Sydney McCann was back to playing volleyball two weeks after Duke neurosurgeon Ali Zomorodi, MD, used an endoscope to reach and remove a pituitary tumor that w ...
5 Minutes with Duke Neurosurgeon Oren Gottfried, MD
Complex Aneurysm Removed During Life-Saving Brain Surgery
Connie Gonzalez was diagnosed with a complex, giant aneurysm, after not taking no from her first doctor, and insisting she be seen at Duke. After life-saving b ...