[Leslie Toldo, abclocal.go.com]
We’ve all seen 3D being used in the movies and on TV, and it can be just as cool in the operating room.
Even when they can’t get to the water, David Kuncas and his son still make time to practice the fundamentals of fishing. David had to put his hobby on hiatus after being hit with constant back pain, sleep apnea and carpal tunnel. His weight fluctuated 60 pounds.
“I was exhausted. I had no energy. Everything was just falling apart in my life,” Kunca said.
The doctor diagnosed him with a rare disease known as acromegaly, the same disease that caused wrestling star Andre the Giant to grow. Doctors found 16 times the normal amount of growth hormone in David’s body, caused by a pea-sized tumor in his pituitary gland.
“Tiny little thing was killing me,” Kunca said.
Neurosurgeons at the University of Pennsylvania were able to help David by using a new procedure called three-dimensional endoscopic brain surgery.
“The 3D helps me to be safer with resection around critical structures,” said Dr. John Y.K. Lee, neurosurgeon from the University of Pennsylvania hospital system.
Using the same technology that helped Avatars jump through the screen at the movies, surgeons insert a 3D endoscope through a patient’s nose. Then, when they put on polarized glasses, they see a 3D view of the brain.
“We don’t have monsters jumping out at us during surgery, but it is a very similar technology,” Lee said.
Surgeons were able to remove the tumor without damaging the brain or the optic nerves. Now, Dave Kuncas is getting better every day and looking forward to a little spring fishing.
“I’m going to have this boat, and I’m going to be taking this little guy out,” Kuncas said.
Dr. Lee said he has heard reports of surgeons becoming slightly dizzy during a 3D operation, but he and his colleagues have not had any negative effects during training or during actual operations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Cathy Malloy, Surgery Coordinator Office of Dr. John Y.K. Lee University of Pennsylvania Health System (215) 829-5189 Catherine.Malloy@uphs.upenn.edu
See the original story here: http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/health&id=8034611