Amanda Wilde (Host): Brain surgery has become more common and more evolved. Today we're diving into the fascinating world of Neuroscience with Neurosurgeons, Dr. David Herzig and Dr. Alexander Tai. This is Your Best Life podcast from Holy Cross Health. I'm Amanda Wilde. Dr. Tai. Dr. Herzig. Welcome to the podcast.

David Warren Herzig, MD: Thanks for having us.

Alexander Tai, MD: Thank you for having us.

Host: Now to be a surgeon, you have to be somewhat fearless, but I'm really curious what led each of you to choose brain surgery as a specialty? Dr. Tai, could you start us off?

Alexander Tai, MD: What led me to neurosurgery was in medical school, I did a lot of research in neurosciences and all that research involved injections into mice to track neural pathways through the brain. And doing those procedures, I learned that I liked procedures and I liked neuroscience and so it seemed to fit very well. And then once I got exposed to it as a medical student, I knew that was the path for me.

Host: Dr. Herzig, do you have a similar story?

David Warren Herzig, MD: No, I mean mine was kind of finding my way in the world that, after college I ended up moving to Memphis to work at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. And, did a lot of integration for cancer targets and stuff for brain tumors. And one thing led to another sort of connecting people in the field and it just sparked an interest and filled out a postcard and magically they gave me a job.

Host: Magically because of your qualifications.

David Warren Herzig, MD: That's right. It was a filled out.

Host: Well, Dr. Tai, can you describe more in depth what a Neurosurgeon is and does?

Alexander Tai, MD: So a Neurosurgeon essentially is someone who is specialized in the field of brain, peripheral nerve and spine surgery. And those are pretty broad fields. Some Neurosurgeons subspecialize. Most Neurosurgeons remain as general neurosurgeons and most of them who subspecialize still maintain a practice in general Neurosurgery. For example, myself, my specialty is complex cranial skull based and open cerebrovascular neurosurgery. But I do maintain a very healthy practice in general neurosurgery and spine surgery as well.

Host: Dr. Tai, you just touched on this, but Dr. Herzig, can you describe what kind of brain surgery is done at Holy Cross Health?

David Warren Herzig, MD: So Holy Cross is unique that at is it's facade, it's a small little community hospital in the DC suburbs. But we function on par as any academic or tertiary care center. We have the full capability of anything from vascular conditions, including stroke and aneurysms, brain tumors simple, straightforward to more complex tumors, functional neurosurgery for people with Parkinson's movement disorders. So it's a very thorough program, that there is nothing that patients need to leave our facility to go. We're able to offer that in addition to newer technologies that only a few places have, including laser ablation for vascular disorders, tumors. So it's an incredible place.

Host: A one stop shop. And so totally comprehensive.

David Warren Herzig, MD: Correct.

Host: Dr. Tai, tell us about the team approach at Holy Cross for patients with brain tumors.

Alexander Tai, MD: Well, I'm like very excited, you know, about the program at Holy Cross, especially since they have the Holy Cross Cancer Center. And so we have a team of specialists in every field you can think of related to brain tumors or spinal tumors. We have radiation oncologists that we know and work with personally and professionally.

We have oncologists, who are dedicated, you know, training in neuro-oncology. And, we have other sub surgical sub specialists which can help us doing the cases. For example, we have ENT surgeons who help us take tumors out through the nose if necessary, or take tumors out behind the ear if necessary as well.

Host: So the team approach allows you to do whatever procedure fits.

Alexander Tai, MD: I think the team approach, especially in the modern age is important, because there's so many technologies emerging and neurosurgery is still in its infancy and we are really innovating. Every few months there's something new that comes out. And so, I think it's impossible for a neurosurgeon alone to take care of everything completely by themselves, and they probably wouldn't be able to offer the patients everything.

But working with the oncologists, the radiation oncologists, working with other surgeons who provide new pathways and avenues to address some of these tumors, allows us to provide our patients with the most innovative and up-to-date care possible. And usually that involves some sort of multimodality treatment.

And so I can limit the morbidity of my surgery since I know that my colleagues can do other things to treat this tumor effectively. So I don't necessarily have to be as aggressive or my surgery doesn't have to be as extensive as we used to do back in the eighties and nineties.

Host: Right. I mean, it seems that medical fields were a lot more siloed a few decades back, and now most of us are trying to work together to come up with the best treatment plan for each individual. Dr. Herzig tell us about the spine program at Holy Cross Health.

David Warren Herzig, MD: So, the spine program encompasses several neurosurgeons as well as orthopedic specialists and beyond the physicians and providers, we have a great coordinator, Laura Collins, who has taken heroic measures to get Holy Cross designated by the Joint Commission as a spine center. And, that accreditation just reflects not only her hard work, but they assess patient's care from pre-op, education, surgery, postoperative complications, as well as postoperative recovery.

And, deemed our program to be the first one in Montgomery County to receive this designation. So it is a complete team approach from preoperative through the surgery to postoperative nursing and physical therapy that has been vetted and routinely gets significant positive feedback from the patients about their experience.

Host: And where do we find more information about your programs at Holy Cross Health? Dr. Tai.

Alexander Tai, MD: I think the website has a lot of access.

Host: Dr. Warren Herzig and Dr. Alexander Tai, thank you so much for sharing your insights and expertise today.

David Warren Herzig, MD: Thank you for having us.

Alexander Tai, MD: Thank you.

Host: For more information on the neuroscience services at Holy Cross Health, visit holycrosshealth.org. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Your Best Life Podcast presented by Holy Cross Health.