Volume 3
WHAT’Snew
Number 13
June 27, 2014
Pennsylvania Hospital
Rare Incision-Less Brain Surgery At PAH
Gives Reading Man His Life Back
`` Shown here are neurosurgeon Dr. John Lee, Jonathan Haas and his wife Bethann.
When 28 year-old Jonathon Haas was too tired to go shopping with his wife last February, he had no idea what was about to follow. The Reading native had only been married for about four months and all was going well. But that day, his arm suddenly cramped up and he collapsed and began having seizures. He was taken to Reading Hospital, where he continued to have seizures, even dislocating his shoulder due to their severity. Tests revealed an epidermoid cyst – or a slow growing, non-
Inside Brian S. Englander, MD Named Chair of Radiology.........2 Good Samaritan Award Recipient........................ 2 PAH Doc Gary Dorshimer, MD, Official Physician of The Philly POPS®.............................................3
cancerous tumor – in his brain, right behind his eyes – that was creating pressure and triggering the seizures. Upon seeing the tumor’s location, physicians in Reading recommended PAH neurosurgeon John Y.K. Lee, MD, medical director of the Penn Gamma Knife Center at PAH, and an assistant professor of Neurosurgery, the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Lee specializes in microscopic, minimally invasive techniques, which offer patients like Jonathan less invasive treatment options with a shorter recovery time than traditional brain surgeries. Dr. Lee is among only a few physicians in country who specialize in removing brain tumors in difficult-to-access areas without performing a standard craniotomy. Instead, he operates via an incision-less technique using 3-D endoscopic techniques.
partnership with Jason Newman, MD, director, Head & Neck Surgery at PAH and assistant professor of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Lee was able to remove the benign brain tumor without cutting open Jonathan’s skull. The surgery took eight hours, in large part because they used a rare, less-invasive approach through the Jonathan’s nose in order to preserve most of his sense of smell. “What we can do to treat Jonathan’s tumor today is, instead of lifting the brain up and coming at it, we can take endoscopes and go in,” said Dr. Lee. Jonathan recovered well soon after surgery and does not have any permanent scars from the procedure. His story was featured on 6ABC’s “Action News.” To watch the segment and see Dr. Lee demonstrate the procedure, visit: 6abc.cm/1jC3bg.
Ten days after Jonathan’s first seizure, he was transferred to PAH for surgery. In
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