Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1029344
NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY, P.C., Provides World-Class Care for Children Facing Brain Surgery BY SHERI LE VISAY JOHN A. GR ANT, MD, FACS, BCH, MB, NEUROSURGEON AND DIRECTOR OF PEDIATRIC BR AIN TUMORS WITH THE LONG ISL AND BR AIN TUMOR CENTER AT NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY, P.C., OFFERS RE ASSUR ANCE FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE BR AIN TUMORS OR MALFORMATIONS. HAVING A CHILD undergo brain surger y is a daunting ex perience for fa milies. Bra in tumors account for 1 in 4 child- hood cancers, with about 4,000 children a nd adolescents diag nosed each yea r. A f ter leukemia , bra in a nd spina l cord tumors a re the second most common ca ncers a mong ch i ld ren . Accord i ng t o t h e A m e r i c a n C a n c e r S o c i e t y, 3 out of 4 children with all types of brain tumors survive at least five years after being diagnosed. "Many people have the belief that if you need neurosurgery you may not survive. That's not the case anymore," Dr. Grant says. " The bra in is ver y complicated, but that 's not a reason not to operate, particularly for children." Dr. Grant points to plasticity — the innate ability of children's brains to recover func- tion after operations for tumors or vascular malformations. His confidence lies in his experience and expertise. Dr. Grant's main empha sis, therefore, is on educating fa mi lies, pediatricia ns a nd prima r y care physicians about the symptoms that should trigger a CT scan. " W hat we're tr y ing to a f fect is the speed of a patient getting from the wait- ing room in t he pediatr icia n's of f ice i nto t he emergency room a s quick ly a s possible," Dr. Gra nt says. " It 's not a question of ' let 's watch it for a while a nd see what happens.' There a re ver y few pediatric bra in tumors you don't wa nt to remove." Since the primary indicator of a brain tumor or malformation is head circumference, John A. Grant, MD, FACS, BCh, MB, neurosurgeon and Director of Pediatric Brain Tumors with the Long Island Brain Tumor Center at Neurological Surgery, P.C., points out that measuring a young patient's head is most important. 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R F E A T U R E