Accidental Diagnosis may have Saved Thousand Oaks Man’s Life


Posted November 27, 2018 by FrankGroff

(Second of Two Potentially Fatal Non-Ruptured Aneurysms To Be Removed Wed, Nov 21)

 
You can liken Homero Poblanok, a 63-year-old grandfather of 4, to Superman. In the past 5 years, he has been diagnosed with 20 tumors in various parts of his body. He has survived them all. The last was a brain tumor and that’s when 2 non-ruptured aneurysms were discovered by brain surgeon Martin Mortazavi, M.D., medical director of the California Institute of Neurology in Thousand Oaks.
Mortazavi says that 1:50 Americans has an undetected aneurysm and is considered a ticking time bomb should it rupture. And in a paper published in the journal Neurology, researchers found that Mexican-Americans have a 67% greater chance of suffering a stroke related to a ruptured aneurysm than non-Hispanic whites.
“Had one of his aneurysms ruptured, it could have led to his death,” said Mortazavi, who said that excess pressure exerted by everyday activities can cause an unnatural flow of blood to rush to the brain thus setting the stage for an aneurysm. “Aneurysms occur when an artery’s wall weakens, causing it to bulge. If ruptured, it proves deadly in approximately 40% of cases.”
Mortazavi successfully surgically removed Poblano’s first aneurysm and will remove the second one on Wednesday, Nov 21 at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.
Mortazavi, founder of California Institute of Neuroscience in Thousand Oaks, says that while ruptured aneurysms feel like a “knife penetrating the brain,” un-ruptured aneurysms rarely show symptoms.
An undetected brain aneurysm has a significant risk of rupturing the longer it goes undetected and the larger the aneurysm the greater the dangers says Mortazavi. Smokers and those with high blood pressure are prime candidates.
Added neurosurgeon Dr. Sean Xin Mortazavi’s colleague reports that un-ruptured brain aneurysms may be detected through CT - Angiograms (CTA) or Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA), both of which are excellent tools for examining blood vessels in the brain. These types of screenings, though, are often cost prohibitive for many and often not covered by medical insurance. While CTAs are more accurate and less expensive, they expose the brain to small doses of radiation, which can kill brain cells that cannot be regenerated. MRAs cost more than CTAs but don’t have those side effects.
“I encourage those 50+ with risk factors including smoking, high blood pressure and no renal dysfunction to consider undergoing such screenings," he said.
Under the direction of Mortazavi, California Institute of Neuroscience has earned a stellar reputation in the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment and post-surgical aspects of a range of disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and cerebrovascular system. The team, who are experts at treating aneurysms, AVM, skull base tumors such as pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, and meningiomas, trigeminal neuralgia, and any other medical condition related to the brain and spine, employ the safest and latest technology to give patients a new lease on life.
Among the areas of specialty: neurology, neurosurgery, psychology, psychiatry, cranial maxillofacial plastic surgery, spine/peripheral neurosurgery and neuro-ophthalmology. These comprehensive services offer the patient a holistic approach to care not commonly found in typical neurosurgical practices. Visit cineuro.org or call (805) 795-7656.
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Issued By Frank Groff
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Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
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Categories Health
Tags california , health , los angeles , thousand oaks
Last Updated November 27, 2018