LSU Health Shreveport Neurosurgery

We have exciting news! Our amazing business manager, Jessica Cote, has been promoted to Senior Business Manager. She will remain with us in Neurosurgery but will also be responsible for supervising the Business Manager Section Chiefs and Business Managers of several other departments on campus. Congratulations, Jessica! We’re proud of you (and very happy we aren’t losing you)!

Check out the article featuring our very own Dr. Christina Notarianni!

Ochsner LSU Health provides comprehensive treatments for brain conditions for patients of all ages In any given week, Dr. Christina Notarianni treats a number of patients, mainly children, with a wide variety of conditions. These can include congenital problems such as spina bifida, cerebral

Get to Know Our Interns!

👋 Say hi to Matt!
Matt is blazing new trails as the first physician in his family. Outside the office, he’s a proud Golden Retriever dad and loves playing softball, diving into video games, and spending quality time with his wife. 🐶⚾🎮❤️

👋 And here’s Enoch!
Enoch is an adventurer at heart who enjoys hiking, kayaking, running, and weightlifting. He also has a unique background with parents who are first-generation immigrants and missionaries who worked in Mongolia during his childhood. 🌄🚣‍♂️🏋️‍♂️🌍

We're excited both Matt and Enoch have joined our team! 🧠🎉🙌

🎉 We had a great time working with our JSEP and UGRAP students in Neurosurgery this summer! 🧠 Their many weeks of research with their mentors culminated in a poster presentation last Thursday and Friday.

Winners from the poster session include:
2024 UGRAP Poster Presentation First Place- Hugo Cuellar
2024 JSEP Poster Presentation First Place- Avieona Eley

Drs. Guthikonda, Sin, and Notarianni recently journeyed to Adelaide, Australia, to participate in the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society of University Neurosurgeons (SUN). During the event, Dr. Notarianni moderated a session, and Dr. Guthikonda was formally inducted as a member of the society. The entire group enjoyed their time "down under" immensely.🦘🐨

Our new interns, Matt and Enoch, recently attended the annual SNS Intern Boot Camp in Houston, Texas. This learning opportunity is designed to prepare PGY1 Residents for their first year of training. While there, they learned cranial skills and neurosurgical bedside procedures. Our very own Dr. Guthikonda and Dr. Lee served as faculty for the boot camp.

We're constantly in awe of our amazing team, but sometimes, we forget to express our gratitude and appreciation. We've recently caught up on recognizing a few of our stellar employees with the Employee of the Quarter award, and we're delighted to announce those recipients:

Melissa White, CMA - January 2024- March 2024
Katie Rachal, RN - October 2023- December 2023
Emily Christian, LPN - July 2023- September 2023

We are so proud of Anika and think Dr. Lebetter is amazing and a fantastic asset to our team!

The new academic year has started! Last week, we focused on orienting and getting our new residents, Enoch Kim and Matt Palfreeman, and fellow, Mike Ortiz, ready to go. Our new chief residents, Dani Terrell and Garrett Whipple, along with our Program Director, Christina Notarianni also took part in GME orientation for all house officers.

We enjoyed another successful Levy conference earlier this month, on Friday, June 14th. The day was filled with engaging and educational presentations from our featured speaker, Dr. John Golfinos, our alumnus speaker, Dr. Shashikant Patil, and our residents. Later in the evening, we honored our guests and celebrated our graduating residents, Dr. EJ Burkhardt and Dr. Nimer Abushehab. Thank you to all of our sponsors who helped make this event a success.

We are excited to share that Dr. Christina Notarianni recently delivered an insightful presentation during a Women In Neurosurgery webinar focusing on Sub-Internships.

📢 TODAY IS THE DAY! Join us for the WINS Guide to Research and Match Series event: "Delivering an Impressive Sub-Internship Research Presentation." 🧠✨ Featuring insights from Dr. Notarianni at LSU and Dr. Sagher at the University of Michigan.

Register by scanning the QR code or by clicking this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdO6trTojGdId5lb80FhyPgLhlWRBf1Ck #/registration

This past weekend, our faculty and residents came together for the Annual Andrew T. Parsa Memorial Symposium and Neurocharity Softball Tournament, graciously hosted by Columbia University. Not only did this event provide valuable opportunities for team-building and networking with other institutions, but it also played a crucial role in fundraising for NREF Brain Tumor Research fellowships. Whether physically present or supporting from home, everyone rallied behind our team with great enthusiasm.

We are thrilled to announce that our department has been approved for two new CAST accredited fellowship programs: Stereotactic & Functional Neurosurgery AND Spinal Neurosurgery!

The Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST), operating under The Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS), accredits subspecialty fellowship training programs within neurosurgery. This accreditation reflects our commitment to providing top-tier education and training for the next generation of neurosurgeons.

So nice, that we got to celebrate him twice! Dr. Brian Willis has been a part of the Department of Neurosurgery since the beginning and finally decided to hang up his scrub cap for good this time. Have fun in retirement, Dr. Willis!

Recently, we had residents and faculty attend the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting.

Dr. Danielle Terrell, PGY-6, participated in the Inaugural Tumor Board Interactive Case Discussion, and Dr. Elizabeth Jee, PGY-1, presented a poster entitled "Off-Label Use of the Pipeline Embolization Device for Reconstruction of the Extracranial Internal Carotid Artery."

Happy Nurses Week to all the incredible nurses out there! Your dedication, compassion, and expertise make a world of difference every single day.

Recently, Avant-Garde Health and Becker's Spine Review recognized Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport as one of the top 1% of spine research hospitals. The recognition of top hospitals and surgeons is based on procedural volumes, peer-reviewed publications, and publication weight. This achievement is truly remarkable and signifies a significant milestone in spinal care research at our insitutition.

16 top hospitals for spine research: Avant-Garde Health Avant-Garde Health shared its Healthcare Research All-Stars 2024 list, which recognizes top surgeons and hospitals across 10 specialties, including spine surger

On Wednesday, our faculty and residents organized a Med Student Interest Day focused on deepening students' understanding of patient care within neurosurgery. It was a great opportunity for students to gain insights into this critical aspect of medical practice.

Come work with us! We have two positions available, working with our amazing doctors and clinic staff.

https://ochsner.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OchsnerLSUHealthSystemNL/job/Shreveport----North-Louisiana-Region---Louisiana/Ochsner-LSU-Health-Shreveport--Nurse-Practitioner-or-Physician-Assistant--Neurosurgery--Full-Time_REQ_00194669?q=Neurosurgery&jobFamilyGroup=970f259a0a9e01bd646db92b557fca0f&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1shGlCoaCFU4ISPx5yQwFX5-y7Twg6OM69f04PSkQAFvuLSnD8d6UZoMg_aem_ATLr9f1jivHx-BiqPygZxW_PwN2-jAio6KFkLk16M_WATrbnpEbTDXPYJSDU87fLRuwcr1SPea6t-rmZZhmNkYcP

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport: Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant; Neurosurgery; Full-Time We’re about creating exceptional experiences for both our patients and our employees. Partnering with the LSU School of Medicine, our goal is to provide high-quality patient care within a setting that advances medical science through research and educates the next generation of leaders in healthca...

Hey everyone, it's World Parkinson's Day! Let's give a shoutout to all the incredible fighters out there and show some love and support. Spread awareness, spread kindness, and let's keep pushing for a brighter future together!

Dr. Elizabeth Jee, PGY-1, was recently awarded an Ochsner Patient Experience Pin. These pins serve as a method for Ochsner to acknowledge team members who exceed expectations and consistently demonstrate their values. Dr. Jee gave a patient a wonderful patient experience and eased their and their family’s concerns regarding their care. We're incredibly proud of Dr. Jee's remarkable ability to care for patients with compassion and skill. Her dedication shines brightly, making a significant difference in the lives of those she serves. Congratulations, Liz!

We're proud to share that Stanley Hoang, MD, a neurosurgeon at Ochsner LSU Health, has made history by performing the hospital's first awake spine surgery.

In a departure from traditional methods involving general anesthesia, this innovative procedure used local anesthetic to numb the spinal cord nerves, allowing the patient to communicate with the medical team throughout the operation.

The patient, who had been suffering from back pain since a 1997 offshore drilling rig accident, was referred to Dr. Hoang. After understanding the patient's hesitation toward general anesthesia, Dr. Hoang and his team explored alternative options, leading to this groundbreaking approach.

Dr. Hoang's pioneering work in minimally invasive discectomy, a surgery to remove the damaged part of a disk in the spine that has its soft center pushing out through the tough outer lining from the patient's spine that was causing the pain, combined with the expertise of Ochsner LSU Health anesthesiologists, led to a successful surgery and a reduced recovery time for the patient.

"Awake spine surgery is good for people with issues that preclude having general anesthesia," said Dr. Hoang. "People with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or severe cardiac failure cannot tolerate having general anesthesia. This would be a great option for them."

Today, Dr. Hoang's patient is experiencing life free from the pain caused by his disc issue, marking a significant milestone in his journey and the field of neuroscience.

Read more: https://bossierpress.com/ochsner-lsu-health-shreveport-neurosurgeon-performs-hospitals-first-awake-spine-surgery/

Help us extend a warm welcome to the newest members of our team, Enoch and Matthew! We're thrilled to have them join us as part of the incoming class of 2024.

We truly appreciate our neurosurgery residents and all that they do; they're as essential to our team as cheese is to pizza!

Senior Focus: Parkinson's disease treatment options and challenges that patients, caregivers face

Unfortunately, we have had to CANCEL this conference, as our speaker could not make it.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to reschedule soon.

Congratulations to Dr. Deepak Kumbhare on his promotion to Assistant Professor! Dr. Kumbhare brings an impressive background in Biomedical Engineering and extensive postdoctoral training in Neurosurgery from Virginia Commonwealth University. His research focuses on electrophysiological characterization of movement and cognitive disorders, along with exploring neuromodulation techniques such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), optogenetics, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in both rat models and movement disorder patients, showcases his commitment to advancing understanding and treatment in this field. As he currently works to spearhead research efforts within the Department of Neurosurgery, Dr. Kumbhare's expertise promises to drive innovative discoveries and advancements. Congratulations once again on this well-deserved achievement!