Innovative methods to remove brain tumors
and treat back pain are breakthroughs that
make a big difference
A BETTER
Less pain, smaller incisions, and shorter hospital stays have many patients feeling
grateful. Specialists at the Neurosurgical Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at
Scott & White Healthcare use endoscopic technology to replace traditional surgery
procedures that in the past left patients with lengthy recovery periods and large scars.
D
ebbie Lambert’s body was
betraying her. She looked
terrible, she says. Mrs. Lambert
gained weight, jumping from a size 10 to a
size 18 in a matter of months. Her face
grew round and her neck began to bulge.
Her eyes were red. Her hair thinned. Her
skin broke out in pimples. Her hands and
fingers became swollen. Mysterious bruises
appeared on her body.
She felt terrible, too. She would lose
her balance, and once she tripped and tore
her Achilles tendon, which put her in a
wheelchair for weeks. Her sense of time
became elastic—a seven-minute car trip
felt like 40 minutes—which often left her
confused. Her confidence evaporated and
she became reluctant to talk to people. “I
was just starting to fall apart,” recalls Mrs.
Lambert, a 55-year-old Temple, Texas,
resident. “I felt like an elderly woman.”
Her multiple symptoms baffled her
primary care physician. When she told
him she was beginning to misspell
common words, he sent her to a
neurologist. An MRI exam at Scott &
White revealed Mrs. Lambert’s problem.
She had Cushing’s disease, a rare
hormonal disorder caused by a tumor in
the pituitary gland.
Relief just around the corner
Mrs. Lambert was referred to the
director of Scott & White’s Neurosurgical
Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at
the Neuroscience Institute, Vasilios A.
Zerris, MD, MPH, MSc; and vice chairman
of the Department of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Zerris is very experienced in
performing minimally invasive neurosurgical
procedures in the spine and brain. He
explained to Mrs. Lambert that because the
Mrs. Debbie Lambert.
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THE CATALYST Summer 10 | sw.org