Accomplishments
Brain aneurysm surgery is serious and complex. That is why patients come from all over the United States and abroad to be cared for by the National Brain Aneurysm Center. Through published research and thousands of successful surgeries, the National Brain Aneurysm Center has established itself as a leader in neurovascular care. As the first hospital to gain affiliation with the prestigious Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, the National Brain Aneurysm Center is also one of the The Joint Commission's first nationally certified primary stroke centers in Minnesota.
Along with St. John's and Woodwinds hospitals, St. Joseph's Hospital is a part of the HealthEast Care System, which was the first health system in the region to have all of their hospitals certified in stroke care by The Joint Commission, considered the highest standard for stroke care accreditation. HealthEast has met and attained the most stringent, rigorous standards in caring for and healing patients.
Results surpass national benchmarks
Hospitals across the country continue to measure success by their complication and mortality rates. We measure success by how our patients respond to surgery, and more specifically, how they recover over time.
Mortality rates are simple to understand - does the patient live or die. Complication rates indicate whether a patient suffers a medical setback, such as: temporary loss of sight, trouble speaking or a stroke or heart attack.
Our patient outcomes continue to surpass national benchmarks. Based on the U.S. average, complication rates at hospitals across the country are more than 14 percent with mortality rates greater than 4 percent per year, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Yet at the National Brain Aneurysm Center, average surgical complication rates are 1.6 percent with in-hospital mortality rates of 0.03 percent.
Setting the standard for treatment
Multiple brain aneurysms
Over the course of several months, Drs. Nussbaum and Madison performed several operations on Minnesota resident Barbara Ladd McNamara. While many people are diagnosed with one, or maybe two brain aneurysms, Barbara had been harboring 13 aneurysms. Working as a team, Nussbaum and Madison found that they needed to coil some of the aneurysms and surgically clip the others. Following the last of the surgeries, the physicians relied on the medical expertise of neuro-ICU specialist, Dr. Tariq Janjua to help Barbara heal in the Center's neurointensive care unit. Now in 2008, several months after her surgeries, Barbara is leading the life she had hoped to return to, spending time with family and friends and doing plenty of traveling. Barbara's Story.
Artery tears
When 40-year-old patient, Dan Jensen, was admitted to the National Brain Aneurysm Center at St. Joseph's Hospital with a torn artery in his brain, Dr. Eric Nussbaum discovered that the artery could heal on its own. But to heal properly, Dr. Nussbaum needed to expertly wrap the artery with gauze, a highly innovative technique. Dr. Nussbaum performed the surgery by opening Dan's skull and carefully wrapping the gauze around the artery, closing the tear and preventing bleeding in the brain. As expected, the torn artery healed with time. As Dr. Nussbaum explained, the gauze reinforced the artery to keep it from bleeding again, allowing the patient's body to do the rest of the work. Dan's Story.
Emergency brain bypass surgeries
The National Brain Aneurysm Center is among only a handful of hospitals in the country to attempt the delicate brain bypass procedure. One of the rarest of all surgeries and much like a heart bypass, in which a surgeon will connect arteries to avoid blockage and resume blood flow, the same can be done with the brain. The procedure is so precise surgeons must sew tiny vessels together by using threads finer than human hair.
In the summer of 2007, a patient was rushed to the National Brain Aneurysm Center at St. Joseph's Hospital with what was discovered to be a "flap" in an artery within the brain. This flap was blocking blood flow, which needed to be restored immediately with an emergency brain bypass. Dr. Nussbaum skillfully attached a blood vessel from the patient's skull to the artery, bypassing the flap and restoring blood flow to the rest of the brain. According to the WCCO-TV report that covered the story, the brain bypass surgery was so rare that there was no available medical literature to describe the technique. "In many ways, the brain bypass is one of the most demanding and complex operations that we perform," said Dr. Nussbaum.
Doctor Accomplishments
Publishing
The diagnosis of a brain aneurysm or vascular malformation is stressful and daunting. For that reason, Eric Nussbaum, MD, FACS, wrote his first book, "Brian Aneurysms and Vascular Malformations - A Guide for Patients and Families" to better explain brain conditions and treatment options. Order Information
"Until now, disorders of the blood vessels of the brain have been considered so complicated that almost all information about these conditions has been written strictly for doctors. The purpose of the book is to demystify, educate and inform patients and families," said Dr. Nussbaum.
In August 2006, Drs. Nussbaum, Mike Madison, Mark Myers, and James Goddard, contributed to Surgical Neurology magazine with their article, "Microsurgical treatment for unruptured intracranial aneurysms. A consecutive experience consisting of 450 aneurysms treated in the endovascular era."
Speaking Engagements
The medical team at the National Brain Aneurysm Center provides their insight and knowledge at conferences around the world. Dr. Nussbaum has presented his work at numerous national and international conferences, such as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). In addition to the American Society of Interventional & Therapeutic Neuroradiology (ASITN) meetings, Dr. Madison has presented at the International Stroke Conference and the Society for Interventional Radiology.
