Courtney Rogers was a 16-year-old high school sophomore in Mesa when her occasional migraines turned into daily four-hour ordeals. A CT scan, MRI and biopsy confirmed a tumor the size of a tarantula clinging to her ribs near the spinal cord.
The traditional surgery to remove the tumor would have involved cutting open Courtney’s chest and spreading apart her rib cage, resulting in a lengthy and painful hospitalization and up to six weeks of recovery time, not to mention a 12- to 18-inch scar.
But thanks to a surgical technique pioneered by Barrow Neurological Institute spinal surgeon Curtis Dickman, MD, Courtney missed a mere two weeks of school and was left with only three inch-long scars.
Ganglioneuromas, tumors of the peripheral nervous system, occur mostly in young people and have no specific cause or risk factors. They’re usually benign, but if left untreated can eventually compress the spinal cord, leading to paralysis. In Courtney’s case, the tumor could have also eventually grown into her chest cavity, crowding her lung.
The advancement of endoscopic surgical techniques— making small incisions using special tools—paved the way for Courtney’s procedure. Endoscopy, for example, is now the common way diseased gallbladders are removed. Dr. Dickman saw the potential for applying the same techniques to spinal surgeries nearly two decades ago.
The problem was, the tools didn’t yet exist for the anatomy Dr. Dickman specialized in. So he created them.
Working with engineers at a medical instrument company, he helped design approximately 100 tools specifically calibrated in lengths and angles for thoracoscopic spine surgeries.
By the time of Courtney’s surgery in January, Dr. Dickman had performed 30 similar tumor removal surgeries and more than 700 procedures using thoracoscopy for a variety of other problems, such as herniated discs, fractures, and excess hand and armpit sweating (which involves severing certain nerves).
Dr. Dickman credits Barrow’s research facilities for development of the procedure. “The laboratory allowed this ground-breaking work,” he says.
It’s also the reason Barrow has become one of the busiest international centers for this type of surgery. “The problem is most neuro or spinal surgeons only get referrals of one or two patients a year, so it’s not worth the investment, because you have to keep your skills up,” he says. “The beauty is that because I developed the technique, I’m referred people from around the world.”
Patients have come from as far as Europe for the surgery; Courtney only had to travel from the East Valley. She says the surgeon immediately put her at ease when she noticed his footwear. She told her mom, “I like him already. He’s wearing Pink Floyd socks.”
Indeed, Pink Floyd is a favorite of the surgeon, who plays guitar and saxophone and shares singing duties in a rock band during his free time. (The band, Cloud Nine, plays charity events.)
For Courtney’s procedure, Dr. Dickman made three inch-long incisions between her ribs. He deflated her right lung and proceeded to detach the tumor, which he describes as the size of a deck of cards, from her spine and ribs, removing it in one piece.
The surgery took less than an hour. Courtney did not require a chest tube or any recovery time in the ICU and spent no time on a ventilator post-op. She was released from the hospital three days later. Dr. Dickman recorded the procedure with digital video, so Courtney was able to watch it later.
Two weeks later, Courtney returned to high school at Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center, where biology is her favorite subject and where the yearbook recently voted her Best Hair. She also attends Mesa Community College and plans to study mortuary science. “I’ve wanted to be a mortician since fourth grade,” she says. “The human body is so cool.”
For her prom on April 30, she found a strapless salmon-pink gown. “My prom dress showed my scars, but I got over it,” she says. “They’re battle wounds.”
