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Meet Ephraim W. Church, MD EPHR A IM W. CHURCH, MD, earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. After a fellowship in cerebrovascular neurosurgery at Stanford University Medical Center, Dr. Church returned to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where he is the director of the Cerebral Revascularization Program. He is also an assistant professor of Neurosurgery, Radiology and Neurology at Penn State College of Medicine. Prior to studying medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Church earned a music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied music composition and violin performance. "Cerebrovascular neurosur- gery was a natural fit, because bypass neurosurgery is a reconstructive and intensely creative form a neurosurgery," he explains. "I am grateful for the opportunity to serve others this way." " One of the goals as we continue to work on these conditions is to develop a strong research and education program aimed at better understanding how to take care of these patients and improving our microsurgical and bypass approaches. We also look forward to training the next generation of cerebrovascular neurosurgeons." — EPHRAIM W. CHURCH, MD, DIRECTOR OF THE CEREBRAL REVASCULARIZATION PROGRAM AT PENN STATE HEALTH MILTON S. HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER model, the Cerebral Revascularization Program isn't the only advanced neurosurgery offered by the department. "We have a leading-edge Endovascular Neurosurgery Program, which is treating cerebrovas- cular disease through the vessels using catheters," Dr. Church says. "We also have neurosurgeons who are doing tremendous work in our Movement Disorders and Functional Neurosurgery Program, which includes the placement of electrodes in the brain to treat various conditions. And we have neurosurgeons who focus on and use the latest robotic techniques to treat spine conditions in the Penn State Health Spine Center." STRENGTH IN COLLABORATION The opportunity to collaborate with other specialists, both inside and outside of the depart- ment, allows Dr. Church and colleagues to create strategic and personalized treatment plans for each patient. "Brain tumors can be quite vascular and require cerebral revascularization," he says. "So if you're dealing with a tumor that's quite vascular, one of our Skull Base Surgery Center colleagues may ask one of the vascular neurosurgeons to embolize the tumor to reduce the blood flow to the tumor so that it can be removed safely. Or if the tumor involves an important vessel in the brain, we might look at bypassing that vessel, so the diseased vessel can be removed along with the tumor, but the patient won't have a stroke." As the Cerebral Revascularization Program grows, Dr. Church hopes it will become a resource for other providers to obtain information and research on Moyamoya and other similar condi- tions — an endeavor that proved worthwhile when the Program received a call from a neurologist about a patient in her 20s, whom he thought was having strokes caused by a carotid dissection. "When the neurologist described the imaging, I suspected she might have Moyamoya," Dr. Church says. "We transferred her to our center, and she went on to have a successful bypass operation. She has had no further strokes. She's doing wonderfully." Through increasing awareness for referring physicians, Dr. Church aims to ultimately improve patient outcomes. "Many times, patients can go years before they're diagnosed correctly with Moyamoya and then receive the treatment they need to prevent additional strokes," Dr. Church says. "It is very common for young people with Moyamoya to present with stroke, but the Moyamoya diagnosis is not recognized. They might go for years and develop additional strokes and disabilities before they get to our center and receive the treatment they need to prevent additional strokes. So, part of the goal of our Cerebral Revascularization Program is to educate physicians and patients about Moyamoya and other similar conditions, so we can be proactive about getting patients the care they need." F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t P e n n S t a t e He a l t h N e u r o s u r g e r y , v i s i t h m c . pennstatehealth.org/neurosurgery. To refer a patient, call 717-531-3828. n M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A l P E N N S y lvA N I A ■ 2 0 2 0 1 1