Neurosurgery Webcast on June 20
June, 2007 -- The Medical Center’s last OR Live Webcast was made available on Wednesday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m. and features Tufts-NEMC’s neurosurgeons performing a craniotomy to treat a meningioma tumor.
The surgical procedure is performed by Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, Carl Heilman, MD, and
moderated by fellow neurosurgeon Simcha Weller, MD. The Webcast features live Internet transmission of the procedure, as well as interviews with other members of the Medical Center’s comprehensive and multidisciplinary neurosurgery team.
Interested parties, patients and health care professionals can view it from their homes at www.or-live.com/tufts-nemc/1733.
Meningiomas are tumors that arise from the covering of the brain within the skull. The majority of meningiomas are benign and grow slowly; however, approximately five percent of meningiomas grow much faster and behave more aggressively. These are known as anaplastic or malignant meningiomas. Many meningiomas can be cured with surgery, but others, due to their location in critical areas or their invasive nature cannot be cured by surgery alone.
“It is critical to have a multidisciplinary team that has the full range of expertise from surgery to endovascular embolization capabilities to Gamma Knife radiosurgery, as well as access to new experimental therapies,” according to Heilman. “We are equipped to treat the full range of meningiomas with state-of-the-art technology, including computer assisted minimally invasive surgical tools, which reduces the blood flow to these tumors by blocking their blood supply with endovascular embolization before surgery.”
Tumors that cannot be totally removed surgically can often be treated with the use of the Gamma Knife, a non-invasive, single dose of focused radiation delivered to the meningioma, sparing healthy surrounding tissue. In nine out of 10 cases, Gamma Knife treatments will stop the tumor from growing.
“It is through this close teamwork we at Tufts-NEMC deliver the best care to patients with meningiomas, from the straightforward to the most challenging,” said Heilman.
Tufts-NEMC Announces $5 Million Commitment from Cam Neely Foundation
October, 2005 - The Development Office is delighted to announce the extraordinary news that The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care has made a $5 million commitment to Tufts-New England Medical Center to establish The Michael Neely Center for Brain Tumor Care and Research. Honoring the memory of Michael Neely, father of Cam and Scott Neely and their sisters Shaun and Christine, this gift equals the largest single philanthropic commitment in the hospital's 200-year history.
The foundation intends to complete this commitment over the next four years. Foundation President Cam Neely and Executive Director Scott Neely have made an initial $1 million available immediately to support the expansion of Tufts-NEMC's Neurosurgery Department and the creation of its Neurosciences Institute. This first installment will fund renovations of the Proger 7 clinical space that are already underway and make possible the purchase of state-of-the-art neurosurgical equipment to support our rapidly-growing clinical program. Patient volume has already exceeded expectations since the team doubled in July 2005, with a record number of individuals and their families turning to this talented neurosurgical group for care, consult, and surgical intervention.
The letter of commitment from Cam and Scott Neely to President and CEO Ellen Zane spoke volumes about their commitment and excitement regarding this effort. "We look forward to making our dream a reality and honoring the memory of our father. Launching this campaign and helping Tufts-New England Medical Center grow the Department of Neurosurgery is an exciting and very meaningful endeavor. We have the utmost confidence in the expertise of this department and the institution to propel this Center into a world-class provider of care to neurosurgery patients and their families."
The relationship between The Neely Foundation and Tufts-NEMC has, in less than a decade, become one of the legendary charity partnerships in New England history. Former Boston Bruins star and NHL great Cam Neely, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this coming November, first affiliated with the hospital and conceived the idea for Neely House in 1994. After building and endowing The Neely House, The Cam Neely Foundation has gone on to establish The Neely Cancer Fund, The Neely Center for Clinical Cancer Research, and The Neely Cell Therapy and Collection Center. This coming month, construction will also begin on The Neely Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit within the Floating Hospital. All of these initiatives have been designed to underscore the Foundation’s mission of providing comfort, support, and hope to cancer patients and their families.
Scott Neely asked me to offer special thanks to Department Chair Carl Heilman, neurosurgeon Julian Wu, Vice President Denise Schepici, Major Gifts Officer Christine Flynn, as well as COO Ed Schottland and CEO Ellen Zane, for their efforts in making this incredible gift commitment possible.
Carl Heilman, MD, Featured in Boston Globe
June, 2005 - Carl Heilman, MD, Tufts-NEMC’s Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, was featured in a front page Boston Globe series about Emily Crockett, a patient of Heilman’s who just completed her first year at Harvard University, despite disability caused by brain tumors. The series highlighted Crockett’s perseverance and courage as well as the wonderful work Heilman does every day.
Crockett was experiencing intense headaches during the school year, which were triggered by a number of environmental factors including certain sounds and smells. Heilman recently operated to replace a shunt in Crockett’s brain to relieve her debilitating headaches. The surgery was successful and Emily finished her first year at Harvard and plans to return in the fall.
Carl Heilman, MD, to Become Neurosurgeon-in-Chief as Department Doubles its Surgical Staff
April, 2005 - Carl Heilman, MD, will become Tufts-NEMC’s new Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chairman at Tufts University School of Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery effective Friday, July 1. In this role, he will oversee a major expansion of the Medical Center’s Neurosurgery services. He will succeed William Shucart, MD, who is retiring after nearly three decades of dedicated service.
The announcement was made last week by Tufts-NEMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Zane and Tufts University School of Medicine Dean Michael Rosenblatt.
Heilman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his postgraduate training at Tufts-New England Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children. Board certified in Neurological Surgery, his clinical specialties include skull base tumor surgery and pediatric neurosurgery.
“Dr. Heilman has been a dedicated and respected member of our medical staff for many years and I ask you to join me in supporting his vision to advance the exciting agenda he has set for our neurosurgical service,” said Zane. “I want to also extend my sincere and deep appreciation to Dr. Shucart for his many years of dedicated service to our patients and their families. His skill and national reputation as an outstanding clinician have enabled him to build an excellent neurosurgery service here at Tufts-NEMC and the Floating Hospital. He will long be remembered as an outstanding clinician and an exceptional physician leader.”
Zane also announced that the Medical Center would be doubling its Neurosurgical staff with the permanent addition of three neurosurgeons formerly of Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center. Physicians joining Tufts-NEMC on a full-time basis include Julian Wu, MD, Simcha Weller, MD, and Adel Malek, MD. The new doctors will join Heilman, Kevin Yao, MD, and James Kryzanski, MD, to expand Tufts-NEMC’s neurosurgery team. Previously, all six physicians provided neurosurgery coverage at both Tufts-NEMC and BIDMC. Now, services will be located exclusively at Tufts-New England Medical Center. This experienced staff will unite to provide an expanded range of services for patients who require the most leading edge, precise neurological treatments available all in one convenient location.
Rosenblatt called the expansion of the Neurosurgery faculty “a critical piece of our shared vision for the future of Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts-NEMC.”
The Department’s expansion at Tufts-NEMC also includes a plan to create a Neurosurgery Institute that will specialize in the minimally invasive treatment of neurological disorders such as arteriovenous malformations, brain tumors, aneurysms, spinal disorders and spinal tumors, and surgical treatment of seizures. The new program will build upon Tufts-NEMC and the Floating Hospital for Children’s established expertise in caring for patients with diseases of the brain, spine and peripheral nervous system.
Welcome our new Surgeon Dr. Kevin Yao
July, 2004 -- The Department of Neurosurgery welcome a new surgeon. Kevin Yao, MD, joins the Medical Center’s Department of Neurosurgery. He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed an internship in General Surgery and a Neurosurgery residency at Mount Sinai Hospital. He also completed a Neurosurgical Oncology fellowship at the University of Texas.
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