Ryan Westmoreland to have brain surgery

[jacksonianmarch]

More news to follow...

[a700hitter]

It sounds tragic.

[yeszir]

"Cavernous malformation"......

[jacksonianmarch]

It is actually called an AVM, or an arteriovenous malformation. Think about it this way, it is a tangle of blood vessels that shouldnt be there. It can generate seizures or worse strokes or bleeds. Typically, they are treated with staged embolization of the feeder vessels and eventually resected, but if symptomatic, they need immediate resection.

 

When I moonlight, I take care of a lot of patient's post-neurosurgery and a few patients with AVM resections. The entire prognosis is based upon...

 

A. the location. As with anything, the location of the brain that you will resect will determine the deficit that the patient will have post-procedure

 

B. The complications from the procedure. Sometimes they bleed in surgery or the wrong vessel gets embolized and you have a stroke

 

Regardless, it is not a good thing for anyone to have, let alone a top notch athlete. Here is to hoping that he at the very least gets to live a full and long life, as this is not guaranteed with patients who have this disorder

[a700hitter]

It is actually called an AVM, or an arteriovenous malformation. Think about it this way, it is a tangle of blood vessels that shouldnt be there. It can generate seizures or worse strokes or bleeds. Typically, they are treated with staged embolization of the feeder vessels and eventually resected, but if symptomatic, they need immediate resection.

 

When I moonlight, I take care of a lot of patient's post-neurosurgery and a few patients with AVM resections. The entire prognosis is based upon...

 

A. the location. As with anything, the location of the brain that you will resect will determine the deficit that the patient will have post-procedure

 

B. The complications from the procedure. Sometimes they bleed in surgery or the wrong vessel gets embolized and you have a stroke

 

Regardless, it is not a good thing for anyone to have, let alone a top notch athlete. Here is to hoping that he at the very least gets to live a full and long life, as this is not guaranteed with patients who have this disorder

I know someone who had one of these suckers that burst and she was brain dead very quickly. She got a really bad headache and within minutes she collapsed. He is very lucky that they found this, and hopefully, it is not near his brain stem. If it is, from what I have read, he's f***ed. Let's hope the surgery goes well and that the Doc is not a demented Yankee fan like Jacko.

[jacksonianmarch]

Bleeding is the biggest complication. The Brain is very sensitive to blood outside of the vascular space and will swell and die in areas where hemorrhage occurs. If he bleeds, he'll have a deficit for life, making baseball impossible. As it stands, depending on where the lesion is, he may not be able to play again anyway. Here is to hoping it is superficial, away from the motor or sensory strip and something he can live with. That being said, most patients status post brain resection have some measurable deficit, so I highly doubt he'll be the same as he was prior. This is more for his overall health than his baseball career. I hope he is on the baseball field soon. Never want to root against anyone with medical problems, especially brain issues

[a700hitter]

He's in Mass General, the Cadillac of Hospitals and he has seen three leading experts in the field. He will get surgery on Tuesday. If they are waiting until Tuesday, he is not in any imminent danger of a bleed out.

[jacksonianmarch]

He has probably had this for years. Plus, it sounds like he's having surgery in Phoenix.

 

But the biggest reason to wait is to plan. There is usually a feeder vessel that you need to ligate or resect first to prevent intraoperative bleeding. And then you need to plan how deep and how far you are cutting. This guy especially needs a physician with as skilled a hand as possible because every mm cut is thousands of neurons that he wont get back. Planning is integral when it comes to these surgeries

[msubulldogs21]

Man, this is scary stuff. He's just a few weeks younger than I am. I hope he's alright.

[italstallianion]

Here's some more information on the condition if anyone feels like some light reading. Jacko did a pretty good job of explaining it.

 

http://brainavm.oci.utoronto.ca/malformations/Cavernomas_index.htm

[Spudboy]

f***.

[Keeper]

Damn, that really sucks.

[bsox0407]

Heard it was on the Brain Stem. This is horrible for anyone. I feel horrible for him and his family who is from the NE area. Portsmouth RI.

[jacksonianmarch]

Wow. If it's brainstem, then this procedure is more dangerous than initially proposed. I would assume it's superficial, because no neurosurgeon would cut deeply into the brainstem.

[example1]

Bad news. My assumption is that this is something one can recover from if the surgery goes well and if the growth is, as Jacko says, superficial. It really, really sucks though. Here's hoping they will get it taken care of and that he can go on to have a full life.

[riverside sluggers]

Prayers go out to his family, very sad. Hope he has a quick recovery.

[a700hitter]

On the Red Sox radio broadcast, they just said that the malformation is near his brain stem. From what I have read, this is very bad. Jacko, please weigh in.

[Dojji]

oh dear. Brain surgery? I thought it was something a bit more mundane, I apologize for treating this so blase in prior posts.

 

Seriously, this kid has no luck. If he needs surgery, especially near the brain stem, a return to baseball is far from a sure thing, even if he goes on to have a long, healthy life..

 

Hope for a quick and complete recovery.

[Spudboy]

I read an article on the ESPN Boston site this morning that sated that the area of concern is indeed at the brain stem. The Dr. doing the surgery is supposed to be the best and most experienced at this procedure.

 

Still, the kid could die. It sounds like if all goes well that he may be able to have a productive life. Although baseball is probably not going to be part of it. I just hope he survives and can have a somewhat normal life.

 

I too am anxious to hear more of what Jacko has to say. Hopefully no one will jump all over him for his comments.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=4992990

[Dipre]

I read an article on the ESPN Boston site this morning that sated that the area of concern is indeed at the brain stem. The Dr. doing the surgery is supposed to be the best and most experienced at this procedure.

 

Still, the kid could die. It sounds like if all goes well that he may be able to have a productive life. Although baseball is probably not going to be part of it. I just hope he survives and can have a somewhat normal life.

 

I too am anxious to hear more of what Jacko has to say. Hopefully no one will jump all over him for his comments.

 

You really think this thread is the place for that? wow.

[schillingouttheks]

You really think this thread is the place for that? wow.

 

See, and with a comment like this, you only add to what was never really a problem. No one actually thinks this is the place for that, he's just reminding everyone that Jacko has a bit more knowledge in this area than most, if not all, here, and that there are indeed immature posters on this board who WILL jump on him in a thread like this for producing his medical opinion.

 

By adding a "wow" to the end of your statement, you apply a negative rhetoric to your own post and sound confrontational to Spud. This is how issues arise over text that people misread on the internet.

 

I agree with you that this is not the place for banter, so I'm going to remind everyone not to let it spiral out of control. I shouldn't even be making this post because it's bound to get someone upset, but on this board we need to throw water where there's smoke even if there's not a fire.

[Jasonbay44]

Wow, this is horrible. Thoughts and prayers to him and his family. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

[BSN07]

Wow that is horrible. Good luck to him

[Dojji]

Bad news. My assumption is that this is something one can recover from if the surgery goes well and if the growth is' date=' as Jacko says, superficial. It really, really sucks though. Here's hoping they will get it taken care of and that he can go on to have a full life.[/quote']

 

So in this context does "recover" refer to a return to the baseball diamond, or just a life without wheelchairs?

[Dipre]

See, and with a comment like this, you only add to what was never really a problem. No one actually thinks this is the place for that, he's just reminding everyone that Jacko has a bit more knowledge in this area than most, if not all, here, and that there are indeed immature posters on this board who WILL jump on him in a thread like this for producing his medical opinion.

 

By adding a "wow" to the end of your statement, you apply a negative rhetoric to your own post and sound confrontational to Spud. This is how issues arise over text that people misread on the internet.

 

I agree with you that this is not the place for banter, so I'm going to remind everyone not to let it spiral out of control. I shouldn't even be making this post because it's bound to get someone upset, but on this board we need to throw water where there's smoke even if there's not a fire.

 

You would be correct. Should have left it right there.

[Emmz]

Wow, this is terrible. I hope the best outcome for him.

[jacksonianmarch]

Right now, life without deficit should be first and foremost. His return to the diamond will be decided by how much needs to be removed. I will say this, a return to his prior skill level after brain surgery isn't likely. I hope he makes it

[BSN07]

Right now' date=' life without deficit should be first and foremost. His return to the diamond will be decided by how much needs to be removed. I will say this, a return to his prior skill level after brain surgery isn't likely. I hope he makes it[/quote']

 

At this point you have to forget about him as a baseball prospect.

[jacksonianmarch]

Pretty much. He's 20 yrs old. Here's to hoping he lives a long and fruitful life. If he can play, then great. If he cannot, as long as he has his mind about him, he can always coach and hash out a life on the diamond.

[Spudboy]

Pretty much. He's 20 yrs old. Here's to hoping he lives a long and fruitful life. If he can play' date=' then great. If he cannot, as long as he has his mind about him, he can always coach and hash out a life on the diamond.[/quote']

 

Or he can use whatever is left of his $2. mil. bonus and go to college?