{"id":1034,"date":"2016-11-20T23:07:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T01:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2016-11-20T23:07:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T01:07:00","slug":"what-happens-when-a-neurosurgeon-needs-a-neurosurgeon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/2016\/11\/20\/what-happens-when-a-neurosurgeon-needs-a-neurosurgeon\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens when a Neurosurgeon needs a Neurosurgeon?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What Happens When a Neurosurgeon Needs a Neurosurgeon?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\"Acoustic<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Sisti, Dr. Nasser\u2019s neurosurgeon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When Brazilian neurosurgeon Jose Nasser felt numbness on one side of his face, he hoped it was a minor nerve problem and that it would go away quickly. But he decided to have an MRI done just in case.<\/p>\n

The MRI showed that Dr. Nasser had an acoustic neuroma<\/a>, a tumor that grows near the nerves that handle hearing, balance and facial sensation. And it was large enough that he would need surgery.<\/p>\n

As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Nasser was intimately familiar with how serious this tumor could be\u2014and with the risks of surgery to remove it.<\/p>\n

Fortunately Dr. Nasser has a friend who happens to be an expert on acoustic neuromas<\/a>\u2014Dr. Michael Sisti<\/a> from the Brain Tumor<\/a> and Gamma Knife<\/a> Centers here at Columbia University Medical Center<\/a>\/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sisti<\/a> and Dr. Nasser met when Dr. Nasser came to Columbia to complete a neurosurgical fellowship. They became close friends. Over time Dr. Sisti<\/a> came to consider Dr. Nasser part of his extended family, even visiting Dr. Nasser and his family at their home in Brazil.<\/p>\n

When Dr. Sisti<\/a> heard about the tumor he immediately arranged for Dr. Nasser to come to New York for treatment. It was an experience that would profoundly affect both doctors. Dr. Nasser published a memoir about the surgery called The Bridge<\/em>, and both he and Dr. Sisti<\/a> shared their story with MedPage Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sisti<\/a> told MedPage Today that he was \u201cfloored\u201d when he heard about his friend\u2019s tumor. An acoustic neuroma<\/a> is a rare tumor, \u201cso how likely is it that someone who is a neurosurgeon gets one of these? And how likely is it that you know that neurosurgeon and that his tumor happens to fall in your area of expertise?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Sisti<\/a> said that this type of tumor is treatable, but one risk of surgery is damage to the area of the brain that controls fine motor coordination. Dr. Nasser ran the risk of never being able to practice neurosurgery again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny problem with the surgery would be a huge personal loss, and a professional loss for his country,\u201d Dr. Sisti<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but Dr. Sisti<\/a> found it challenging to operate on someone he knew. \u201cYou care about every patient, of course,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s particularly intense when you\u2019re that close to someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operation was successful, and Dr. Nasser has returned to practice in Brazil, now with a new outlook on practicing neurosurgery. \u201cAs a doctor, you have one side of the story,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving both sides of the story makes all the difference. Now, I practice with love. It\u2019s real, and it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Nasser has given permission to share his story, and you can read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Dr. Sisti<\/a> at his bio page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Posted on Nov 10, 2016 by Department Author<\/strong>
\nIn Acoustic Neuroma<\/a>, Blog<\/a>, Brain Tumor Blog<\/a>, Gamma Knife Blog<\/a><\/strong>Tags: , acoustic neuroma<\/a>, Dr. Jose Nasser<\/a>, Dr. Michael Sisti<\/a>, Dr. Sisti<\/a>, tumor<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Happens When a Neurosurgeon Needs a Neurosurgeon? Dr. Michael Sisti, Dr. Nasser\u2019s neurosurgeon When Brazilian neurosurgeon Jose Nasser felt numbness on one side of his face, he hoped it was a minor nerve problem and that it would go…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2501,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11470],"tags":[160053,160060,15806,160082,160080,27126,160081],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions\/1035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/drnasser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}