LAKELAND, FL — Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital is expanding its neuroscience program with a multidisciplinary team specializing in neurosurgery, neurointerventional surgery and vascular neurology, according to hospital officials.
The growing team will provide treatment for a range of neurological conditions, including strokes, brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, brain tumors, spinal disorders and other complex conditions involving the brain, spine and blood vessels.
“This experienced team gives patients in our community access to advanced neurological and neurosurgical care close to home,” hospital President Carlos Carassco said.
For patients with suspected strokes, the hospital’s vascular neurology team has access to advanced CT and MRI imaging designed to rapidly identify brain injuries and blocked blood vessels and determine whether patients may benefit from emergency treatment.
The hospital also features a Siemens biplane angiography system, which provides high-resolution imaging from two angles during minimally invasive neurological procedures.
Neurosurgeons have access to ZEISS operative microscopes for procedures involving delicate structures of the brain and its blood vessels. The hospital also has surgical navigation technology for spine procedures and fellowship-trained specialists who treat complex spinal conditions.
Hospital officials said the expanded capabilities allow the neuroscience team to provide care ranging from rapid stroke diagnosis and medical management to catheter-based procedures, open brain and vascular surgery, and advanced spine surgery.
The Neuroscience Team
Shane Burke, Neurosurgery, MD, MBA
• Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA; Master of Business Administration, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
• Residency: Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, Neurosurgery
• Fellowship: Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, Neurointerventional & Cerebrovascular Surgery
• Board-certified: board-eligible in neurosurgery
• Member: American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery
• Professional Society Leadership: Chair of the Young NeuroInterventional Surgery Committee of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery, Member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/ Congress of Neurological Surgeons CV section coding and reimbursement committee
Syed Gillani, MD, Interventional Neurology, Orlando Health
• Medical School: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, ICT, Pakistan
• Residency: Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX. (Adult Neurology)
• Fellowship: University of Missouri, Columbia, MO (Vascular Neurology and Endovascular Neurosurgery)
• Board-certified: a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Adult Neurology; Diplomate ABPN Vascular Neurology
• Member: American Medical Association, American Neurological Association, Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology
Mekdes Ditamo, DO, MBA, Vascular Neurologist, Orlando Health
• Medical School: Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Residency: Orlando Regional Medical Center: Neurology
• Fellowship: University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, Vascular Neurology
• Board certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
Morteza Sadeh, MD, Neurosurgeon
• Medical School: Chicago Medical School
• Residency: University of Illinois, Chicago, Neurosurgery
• Fellowship: University of Illinois, Chicago, complex spine surgery
• Board certification: board-eligible, American Board of Neurological Surgery
• Member: American Association of Neurological Surgeons; Congress of Neurological Surgeons; North American Spine Society; Cervical Spine Research Society; Lumbar Spine Research Society; Scoliosis Research Society; International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
• Leadership & Committee Roles: AANS/CNS Joint Spine Section Emerging Investigator Program; Lumbar Spine Research Society Research Committee Member; Global Spine Journal Reviewer; North American Spine Society Abstract Reviewer/Moderator
Kelsey Washam, MD, Vascular Neurologist
• Medical School: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
• Residency: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, Neurology
• Fellowship: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, Vascular Neurology
• Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology; Board-Eligible in Vascular Neurology
• Member: Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, American Academy of Neurology, American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
SOURCE: Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital
