Pediatric & Developmental Neurosurgery Center:

pioneering
expertise

“At age four, Callie had flu-like symptoms for a few days, but there was no fever or stomach pain…rather a terrible headache that seemed to have a rhythm and pattern. Our pediatrician ordered a CT scan at our local hospital. It revealed that Callie had a rare tumor in the pineal gland area, deep in the center of her brain. I was told it was ‘untreatable, inoperable… there was nothing they could do’. Fortunately, both a friend of the family and my pediatrician had heard of Paul Chapman at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. At the point of being almost unconscious, Callie was immediately transferred there and had a shunt put in to relieve her pain. Dr. Chapman, who was away, was located and returned to the hospital quickly and over the next few days ran tests to gather as much information as he could before operating. The tumor was in the middle of Callie’s brain and he had to separate the lobes to get at it. Saving Callie required the skills of a great surgeon.”

excerpts from an interview with Callie’s mother.

Pediatric Neurosurgery Story Book:

(Acrobat pdf version)

Mass General is the largest of the Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. It draws patients, scientists, physicians and students from all over the world. At MassGeneral Hospital for Children, we offer a large degree of subspecialization and experience and are the primary Partners HealthCare institution for pediatric neurosurgery.

Of special importance are the
multidisciplinary clinics that bring
to bear expertise within the
MassGeneral Hospital for Children
as well as facilities that are
available within Massachusetts
General Hospital, which is a
world-wide referral center for the
treatment of conditions requiring neurosurgery in patients of all ages. By working closely with our colleagues who treat adults, we are able to quickly apply advances in many areas, both common and rare, to children: