It happens every year in April, but each time Dr. Anthony D’Ambrosio is surprised and delighted: on his birthday he receives a thank-you card from his patient Lillian Wellington.
In 2010 Dr. D’Ambrosio removed a cyst from Lillian’s brain. “My doctor told me I would never see again,” says Lillian after cataract surgery failed to restore her sight. “So, I did my own research. I went to Mountainside Hospital and they found a spot on my brain. I saw a neurologist who recommended Dr. D.”
The spot on Lillian’s brain, and the cause of her failing vision, turned out to be a cyst, which Dr. D’Ambrosio successfully removed using an intricate procedure through her nose.
“She had a transsphenoidal approach,” says Dr. D’Ambrosio. “This is performed through one nostril and is an excellent technique we use for pituitary tumors. There’s no skin incision and surgery can be performed within two to three hours. Visual restoration is possible in many patients. The hospital stay can range from two to four days post-operatively.”
“He was so nice,” says Lillian of Dr. D’Ambrosio. “He is not an ordinary person. He was helpful and he was the only one who could help me after running around and around. I always send him a birthday card every year in April for my appreciation. I want him to know that he is special to me.”
Dr. Anthony D’Ambrosio is the Associate Director of Neuroscience and Sub-specialty Director of Neurosurgery at Valley Hospital. He is also Co-Director of the Gamma Knife Center and Director of Neuro-Oncology Disease Management Team at The Valley Hospital. Learn more about him on his bio page here.
