Brain and Spine Center opens

WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center took the wraps off its new Brain and Spine Clinic that will provide state of the art neurosurgery to patients in the Eastern Panhandle in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the hospital Monday.

Part of the WVU Department of Neurosurgery in Morgantown, the clinic will provide inpatient and outpatient brain and spinal care.

Anthony P. Zelenka, president and CEO of Berkeley Medical Center, said the idea for a brain and spine center started two years ago during a conversation with Dr. Albert Wright, president and CEO of WVU Medicine.

“Our vision is to have neuroscience from Hagerstown, Maryland down to Winchester, Virginia — we call it the I-81 corridor,” Zelenka said

Dr. Judie F. Charlton, chief medical officer, WVU Medicine, Morgantown, said rapid population growth in the Eastern Panhandle created the need for more advanced medical services, including the brain and spine center.

“It was obvious that it needed more specialty care, and in particular, neurosurgical care,” Charlton said.

According to Zelenka, it was Dr. John Caruso, neurosurgeon and medical director of WVU Medicine Brain and Spine at Berkeley Medical Center, who orchestrated with other BMC doctors what the brain and spine center would actually provide. A board certified neurosurgeon, Caruso has practiced neurosurgery in the area for the past 20 years,

“Dr. Caruso went to all these physicians and worked out exactly what the expectations were from him — what he was going to do, what he was not going to do, “ Zelenka said.

Caruso is experienced with treatment of complex, traumatic, degenerative and oncological conditions of the brain and spine, as well as state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical techniques.

“It is a privilege what I do,” Caruso said. “Every day I thank God that I can do what I do. Neurosurgery is truly an American specialty. It’s always evolving. It’s always pushing the needle.”

BMC is also the first medical center in West Virginia and the tri-state region to add the Mazor X, a robotic surgical platform, which is to be used at the brain and spine center. The Mazor robot performed its first patient surgery on Aug. 21.

“As spinal surgery has evolved, more focus has been placed on minimizing trauma to the body during surgery and expediting a return to function through the use of minimally invasive techniques,” Caruso said.

Using the the Mazor robot software, doctors can plan a spine operation procedure. During the actual surgical procedure, doctors use the precision mechanics and surgical arm to guide surgical tools and implants at the right trajectory and position, based on that surgical plan.

For patients, minimally invasive surgical procedure means less pain, less blood loss, a smaller surgical cut, a shorter hospital stay, and a shorter recovery period compared to conventional spine surgery.

According to Zelenka, actual construction of the brain and spine office facilities took shape quickly over the summer.

“About 12 weeks ago, this whole department was just stone chip — there was nothing here but stone and a roof,” Zelenka said.

Staff writer Jim McConville can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 215, or Twitter@jmcconvilleJN.