Dr. Fernando Vale

I first met with Dr. Fernando Vale on Wednesday, March 12, 2008. He is a neuro surgeon, and guess what...he recommended surgery. By this time, I was ready for the recommendation and was able to think (relatively) clearly. We discussed the procedures and expected outcomes. Dr. Vale said that with the surgery (craniotomy), I would have a 70% chance of becoming seizure free. On a scale of 1-10, the difficulty of my resection would be a 5. The main concern is the large amount of blood vessels located near my tumor (Sylvian fissure area.) He said that the main risk factors include:

• bleeding
• infection
• damage to blood vessels leading to stroke
• "crooked" face (Luckily, the face gets bilateral representation. Many bodily functions originate in the opposite side of the brain from which they occur. The face receives signals from both sides of the brain, so it's not like the face would be totally paralyzed.)

Amazingly, he said that the possibilty of any of these complications would be about 3%. Sounds quite safe, don't you think??? Dr. Vale had more good news. He said that he would not recommend chemotherapy or radiation because the tumor has been slow growing and because the adverse effects of those treatments outweigh the benefits in my particular situation.

Dr. Vale did a live webcast of brain surgery. It is not the exact type that I will need, but it does let you see Dr. Vale and what actually happens during this type of operation. Check it out here. I will warn you that this is a very graphic video. Through our consultation, his credentials, the recommendation from Dr. Tatum, and his skill portrayed in the webcast, I do believe he is one of the best doctors to conduct this type of surgery.