Dr. Jacques Morcos is the Director of skull base and cerebrovascular surgery at the University of Miami Health System.
For more information about neurosurgery and the services UHealth offers, click here or visit the UHealth blog.
Dean’s story
When Dean Metzler’s personality drastically changed from easygoing to short-tempered, his wife of 30 years didn’t know what was going on.
“All of a sudden he was very angry all the time. Angry to the point of slamming things. It was so not him,” says Candelle Metzler.
An MRI revealed Dean had an orange-sized tumor pressing on his frontal lobe. Jacques Morcos, M.D., FRCS, FAANS, director of skull base and cerebrovascular surgery at UHealth, diagnosed Dean with a meningioma.
“Most meningiomas are benign. Only 1% of them are cancers,” says Dr. Morcos. “If a tumor meningioma is right here, it will affect the left side of the body. If it’s on the front of the brain, it will affect personality. If it’s on top of the optic nerves, it would affect your vision.”
“Doctor, how do you treat these types of tumors?” asks anchor Pam Giganti.
“Surgery requires what’s called skull-based techniques. It’s an incision at the top of the head and we need to be able to drill the bone at the base of the skull to preserve the brain,” Dr. Morcos says.
Dean underwent a 10 ½ hour surgery where Dr. Morcos and his team of specialists were able to remove 100% of his tumor.
“We are really the team to come to, because we have all the talent under one roof,” says Dr. Morcos.
Candelle says she finally has her husband back.
“He’s fun-loving, he’s loving again, and patient and fun. The man I knew and married,” says Candelle.
“I’m thankful to still be able to be here and be a part of my family,” Dean says.
Focusing on You
Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine is a series of healthcare-related stories airing regularly on WPLG Local 10. For more stories like this one, visit YouTube channels for UHealth, the University of Miami Health System.
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