August 27, 2024
"Dr. Goodwin,
"I cannot believe that it has been four years since my life completely changed on March 19, 2020. Going into 2020, I had no idea what was in store for me, but when I was diagnosed with my spinal tumor, I knew that a long journey was ahead of me. When meeting you for the first time on March 20th, I immediately knew that I was in great hands, and truly blessed with one of the best surgeons in the world. To this day, that statement is something I firmly believe in. You gave me a second chance at life, you gave me the opportunity to continue my college education and get a job as a high school English teacher, you gave me the opportunity to continue my life, and for that, there is absolutely nothing I can ever give back to you or your team. I do not think I truly understood the difference a doctor and nurses can make in someone's life until I experienced having a major surgery and staying in the hospital for over a week. I realized that doctors and nurses are truly the real heroes in life. I could not be more thankful for everything that every single staff member did for me at Barnes-Jewish Hospital." – Elena
Her Story
Elena was a college student from Cape Girardeau. She never experienced back pain or discomfort and had no indication something was growing on her spine. It wasn't until severe abdominal pain took her to the emergency room that tests revealed the cause of her pain, ovarian cysts, but also something more worrisome. Elena had a tumor on her T-11 vertebrae in her mid-back. Her local medical team advised Elena to seek immediate care at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
It was in St. Louis that Elena met Matthew Goodwin, MD, PhD, a Washington University Orthopedic spine specialist dedicated to the care of patients with spinal tumors. In the midst of terrifying news, she felt assured she was going to be okay when Dr. Goodwin started explaining her scans and the next steps. Elena remembers that first visit with Dr. Goodwin lasting nearly an hour, and she'll always remember him turning his phone off when it started to ring and letting her know she had his complete attention. His attention and assurance gave Elena and her family the courage to face the spine surgery needed to remove her tumor.
Dr. Goodwin's advocacy and support continued well beyond the surgery. She also had the support of her loved ones who helped her tremendously through recovery. Although she did have to take a brief pause in her college journey to focus on healing, Elena graduated with a bachelor's degree in education and now, she proudly teaches English to high school students. Elena is immensely grateful to Dr. Goodwin and the care team, including spine surgeon Jacob Buchowski, MD, MS, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital; she feels like because of them, she now has the opportunity to look forward to the future.
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Case Report
Abstract:
A healthy, 19-year-old woman was incidentally found to have a large, destructive tumor of T11 without neurologic symptoms. Biopsy demonstrated fibrocartilaginous mesenchymoma (FCM). The patient was treated with resection including subtotal corpectomy and T8-L1 fusion with use of cage and allograft strut and construct. The patient remained without recurrence over 3 years of follow-up.
FCM arising from the spine is a rare tumor, of which this is the sixth report. FCM affects primarily young adults and is benign but locally aggressive, requiring complete excision to prevent recurrence.
Read the article.
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