Craniotomy for Brain Tumor Resection

Right occipital and left frontal lesions

RA, a middle aged woman, became concerned when she suddenly experienced numbness in her face (including her forehead, cheek, and jaw) and some vision disturbances, like double vision. The next day she went in for an evaluation of her symptoms as they had persisted throughout the night. After speaking with a physician, she was immediately sent for imaging of her brain.

Fortunately, she still had normal executive function and was not experiencing any pain. However, MRI spectroscopy revealed multiple areas of enhancing brain lesions that were highly suggestive of metastatic disease (cancer).

An image-guided biopsy of one of her brain tumors was urgently needed to verify the diagnosis in order to determine the best course of treatment, as not all brain tumors are treated the same way. Unfortunately, RA was currently unemployed and dealing with financial hardship. She did have insurance, but it would not cover this necessary procedure. That is where INI came in! We coordinated her neurosurgical care to ensure her primary team of physicians would have the vital information that they needed to recommend the best treatment for her specific condition.

She underwent a craniotomy to biopsy the occipital tumor, as it was the most surgically accessible and therefore least risky, to verify the diagnosis. Samples were sent to pathology where it was determined her tumors were B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL-ABC) and consistent with double-expressor lymphoma (DEL) (an additional risk factor).

After surgery her vision returned to normal. At her next follow up visit, we learned that she was receiving chemotherapy and was seeing a team of physicians, including neurologists and oncologists.

We wish her the best of luck in her recovery!