Portable CT scanner aids in surgery

A successful, intensive medical operation was performed on May 16 at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) with the aid of the new portable computed tomography (CT) scanner.
Katie Melendez, 9-years-old, awoke at 3 a.m. on May 15, with a severe headache. The headache quickly escalated into nausea and vomiting before Melendez slipped into a coma.
Melendez, daughter of Linda and Anthony and sister to three, lives in Deer Park and was only in Queens on a visit to relatives. She was immediately rushed to Forest Hills Hospital and received a CT scan, which revealed a brain hemorrhage that doctors assumed was caused by arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
AVM is an inborn, life-threatening condition, in which there is an abnormal connection of the brain’s arteries and veins. It is triggered by pressure and damage to the brain’s blood vessel tissue.
Because of blood leaking to her head and her life being at risk, Melendez was transferred to CCMC, where two tubes were immediately placed in the ventricles of her brain.
However, as soon as monitoring progressed, Melendez’s brain continued to swell.
Dr. Mark Mittler, her surgeon, performed a decompressive hemicraniectomy by removing part of her skull to allow room for the swelling brain. He then placed the removed piece of her skull in her abdomen for sterile storage. When Melendez woke, a social worker needed to explain the large protuberance in her stomach.
The next day, after demanding care, doctors decided to try out the new CT scanner, named Ceretom, because of Melendez’s dire condition and the need to evaluate her brain for any signs of a stroke.
The $400,000 device, still new and never been used at the hospital before, is meant to scan severely ill children as they rest in bed, as opposed to risking the transportation of the children from their rooms to the radiology area.
CT gave a perfect picture of Melendez’s brain, allowing for an endovascular embolization of the AVM, which sealed off blood vessels and prevented further bleeding. CT was used again for assurance of the removal of the lesion.
After a week at CCMC, Melendez was sent to rehabilitation and was released on June 29.
“We were able to understand the exact nature of Katie’s AVM, and provide appropriate treatment, thanks to the depth and breadth of the resources available at this hospital to treat children in the most dire straits,” said Mittler.
Melendez and her family are extremely grateful to the hospital for her operation.
Written on a hand-made card for Mittler she said, “Thank you for helping me fix my brain and using your new machine on me.”