Teen walks at graduation after rare surgery for jugular compression syndrome
This groundbreaking procedure treated a condition that left a teen patient wheelchair-bound and passing out seven times daily
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (InvestigateTV) — Patients are coming from around the world to Scottsdale to see the only neurosurgeon in the state performing a groundbreaking surgery that provides life-changing results.
One of those was Natalie Birn. “Before the surgery, I didn’t know if I would make it to graduation,” she said.
She said Dr. Peter Nakaji is the reason she no longer needs a wheelchair. “I just hugged him and thanked him and cried because it was just life-changing, really,” said Birn.
Thanks to the surgery, she walked at her high school graduation, a major milestone.
Dr. Nakaji is the director of the Scottsdale Neurosurgery Specialists inside the Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth.
Dr. Nakaji is the only neurosurgeon in Arizona performing a life-changing surgery that he helped pioneer. The results are transformative and solved the medical mystery that trapped Birn in pain all her life.
“If you imagine just squeezing your neck until you can feel your eyes bulge, it’s like that all the time,” said Dr. Nakaji.
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