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Pat ient s t reat ed at W h it e Pla i n s Hospit a l for exceptiona l ly complex conditions experience lifesaving results. Dr. Agarwal recalls the recent case of a man with a massive pituitary macroad- enoma that was stealing his vision and had triggered a series of strokes. "When he was transferred over to us, he was completely confused, unaware of his surroundings and slowly dying," Dr. A ga r wa l says. " We presented his case to several large academic centers around the country and were repeatedly told it wa s too da ngerous to operate because the tumor completely encased the internal carotid artery and the optic chiasm. We performed an endoscopic surgery, through the nose and without an external incision. Two weeks later, the patient was recovering his vision, back at work and fully functional, with minimal neurologic deficit." Once he fully recovers, the resection will be completed through a minimally invasive transcranial approach. EPILEPSY TREATMENT D r. E s k a n d a r a l s o u s e s a d v a n c e d tech niques to treat cra nia l t umors, particularly meningiomas and primary tumors in eloquent parts of the brain. This requires special expertise, such as performing speech or motor mapping. In addition, he is an expert in the surgical Meet Kaushik Das, MD DR. DA S is Chief of Neurosurger y at White Plains Hospital and Vice President of Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York. After earning a medical degree at the State University of New York in Brooklyn (Downstate), he trained as a general surger y intern and neurosurger y resident at New York Medical College in Valhalla. He then completed a spine fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. In 2000, he joined the faculty at New York Medical College, where he is an Associate Professor. Dr. Das specializes in the treatment of com- plex spinal disorders, including spinal tumors, cer vical and lumbar disc herniations, and spondylolisthesis, as well as primar y and metastatic tumors of the brain. treatment of epilepsy, trigeminal neu- ralgia and Parkinson's disease, for all of which he has helped develop some of the most promising treatments. The CDC estimates that 3.4 million A mer ica ns have active epi lepsy. A s few community hospita ls offer surgi- ca l treatment of the condition, White Plains Hospital is notable for the range of evaluation and treatment options it provides, Dr. Eskandar says. White Plains Hospital has a prestigious designation as a Level 4 Epilepsy Center. This is the highest level a nd is reser ved a lmost exclusively for large academic medical centers with expertise in the surgical treatment of epilepsy. The key to effective surgical treatment of epilepsy is identifying the site in the brain giving rise to the seizures — also called the seizure focus — in order to maxi- mize the potential for seizure freedom and to reduce any potential risks. The first step is a Phase I investigation, which relies on MRI, EEG and other noninvasive modalities to ascertain the location of the seizure focus. Often, however, it is not possible to unequivocally locate the seizure focus through these approaches. In these cases, it is necessary to perform a Phase II investigation, which entails placing electrodes directly on the brain to more precisely locate the seizure focus. A Phase II investigation traditionally requires open craniotomy, which is a large surgery. Dr. Eskandar uses robotic surgery to place multiple, very thin electrodes through tiny openings in the skull. Dr. Das specializes in the treatment of complex spinal disorders as well as primary and metastatic tumors of the brain. Drs. Das, Agarwal and Eskandar have advanced the neurosurgery program at White Plains Hospital by offering cutting-edge treatments — many of which are performed with minimally invasive techniques. 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R F E A T U R E