Meet April Leah McKinney
For April Leah McKinney, her journey began with headaches.
“I started having headaches and losing my balance,” says the Kentucky native. “I had some testing performed and they realized I had a condition and I needed to see a neurosurgeon.”
A brain tumor was found in a difficult spot in close proximity to the brain stem, making it a high risk procedure. McKinney would go on to have two surgeries at medical centers elsewhere in the country.
“The day after my second surgery, the surgeon told me there was nothing else he could do for me which obviously was devastating because I had a family and didn’t know where that was going to lead me,” she says. “But at the same time in the same conversation he did tell me there was a neurosurgeon that he knew of that he would recommend me to see which was Dr. Abdulrauf at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.
“By hearing there was someone out there who possibly could help me did give me hope.”
“I received a call from a respected neurosurgeon at a respected institution in the United States that he had a young patient who had a tumor in the proximity of the brain stem and they had done two operations,” says Saleem Abdulrauf, MD, chairman of neurosurgery at Saint Louis University Hospital and a SLUCare physician.
“The treatment of choice for these types of tumors is really surgical resection. If they are in areas that are very straightforward that is easier, but in April’s case if they’re in a very sensitive area – especially in her case being in the proximity of the brain stem – then that makes it obviously a high risk procedure.”
Fortunately, April’s tumor was able to be completely resected surgically and she had no need for follow-up radiation or chemotherapy.
“She is essentially cured,” says Dr. Abdulrauf.
McKinney’s case is not unusual for the neurosurgery team at Saint Louis University Hospital.
“Because we deal with complex neurosurgical problems – brain tumors and aneurysms – on a routine basis, we have been able to develop a very complex team to deal with that,” says Dr. Abdulrauf.
“At the end of the day, what makes a difference is that we can save people’s lives and get to know them at a very personal level,” he says. “In April’s case, we’re talking about real human beings who have kids and lives and our aim is to provide the best care that can be provided.”
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