magine a day when doctors can
I tell patients that a diagnosis of
Parkinson ’ s or Alzheimer ’ s disease can be cured , or a debilitating spinal cord injury can be completely rehabilitated thanks to groundbreaking research .
A unique approach to care in neurological disorders and injury may make that day a reality and is what differentiates Scott & White ’ s new Neuroscience Institute from all others . The Neuroscience Institute is assembling a world-class team of physicians and scientists to provide an unsurpassed level of care , with specialists from different medical disciplines working alongside each other , pushing the boundaries of what is already known in medicine and sharing new ideas . With the acquisition of leadingedge technology , patients and families struggling with devastating neurological disorders and injury may finally get the good news they long to hear .
Partnership : The Research Bench and the Bedside
“ Too often there is little interaction between physicians challenged to treat such patients and research scientists working in labs to learn more about how the brain and spinal cord function , and what causes neurological disorders ,” says Robert J . Buchanan , MD , chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery , director of the Neuroscience Institute at Scott & White Healthcare ; assistant professor of Surgery , Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine ; and the Helen Vosburg McCrillus Plummer and Robert Edward Lee Plummer , Jr . Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery .
“ Our approach includes comprehensive clinics where doctors with expertise in different subspecialties of psychiatry , neuropsychology , neurology and neurosurgery are able to consult with one another on challenging cases , share ideas with research scientists , and ultimately , bring unparalleled care to patients ,” says Dr . Buchanan .
Comprehensive centers like the one Dr . Buchanan is developing at Scott & White are needed throughout the country , he says . Also , despite departments in Dallas and Houston , no other facility in Texas — and perhaps in the nation — offers the collaborative expertise that will be found at Scott & White . The Neuroscience Institute continues to hire top experienced administrators as well as notable physician scientists from across the United States .
“ All our doctors have clinics and highly specialized labs where they train physicians , research fellows and graduate students ,” says Dr . Buchanan . “ We are not just part of the cutting edge . We are contributing to the data that constitutes the cutting edge .”
Extensive Education and Expertise
Scott & White recruited Dr . Buchanan to head the Neuroscience Institute because his own background represents an unusual combination of research and clinical and surgical expertise . He is among a handful of physicians in the United States who are trained in both psychiatry and neurosurgery . His special interests include stereotactic radiosurgery , epilepsy , movement disorders , pain and psychiatric disease . He has served on the faculties of the University of California at San Diego and the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio .
The Neuroscience Institute aims to unify the clinical and research models to better serve patients with any number of conditions related to the brain and spinal cord . These include trauma , epilepsy , tumors , dementia , hydrocephalus , pain , obsessive-compulsive disorder , movement disorders , major depression , headache , hearing and balance issues and spine injury and degeneration .
The Institute combines the expertise of the Department of Orthopedics and Department of Neurosurgery in the Scott & White Spine Center , a leader in minimally invasive approaches to treating patients , utilizing computer assistance and MRI guidance . “ This is a unique partnership allowing crossover of both skills , allowing experts to work side by side and share lab space for spinal cord research ,” he says . “ We ’ re truly joining forces for excellence .” Likewise , with the construction of the Scott & White Surgical Sciences Building , the Bone & Joint Institute and a Neuroscience Institute , patients will have access to the best resources available .
Dr . Buchanan believes specialty centers are the trend in better medical treatment , and patients with difficult brain and spinal issues will need to go to comprehensive , academic medical centers because the latest and best solutions will not be available at local hospitals . Primary care physicians and specialists are able to refer patients to the Neuroscience Institute at Scott & White .
Whether patients come from Texas or anywhere in the United States , what Dr . Buchanan hopes to achieve in the new Neuroscience Institute is a center of care equipped with unmatched medical talent and technology that offers hope to improve lives . ■
Summer 08 Catalyst 19