Jun 2, 2008 1:22 pm US/Eastern
Kennedy Chooses Duke Surgeon For Brain Surgery
DURHAM, N.C. (WBZ) ―
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Dr. Allan Friedman of Duke University Medical Center
WBZ
After consulting with his doctors at Mass General Hospital and "experts from around the country," Sen. Ted Kennedy decided to trust his treatment for a cancerous brain tumor to
Dr. Allan Friedman of Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Friedman heads the team who operated on Sen. Kennedy's malignant tumor Monday.
The 59-year-old Chicago native is a respected leader in the giant field of neuro-oncology who performs the vast majority of such surgeries at Duke University Medical Center.
When the top doctor at the American Cancer Society, Dr. Otis Brawley, was asked by his daughter's high school math teacher for advice when diagnosed with a brain tumor, he recommended Duke University's Dr. Allan Friedman. He "is one of the thought leaders" in the field, Brawley said.
"He's an excellent surgeon. His patients are in very good hands," said Dr. Matthew Ewend, the neurosurgery chief at the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Friedman is Duke's neurosurgon-in-chief and the program director of the university Division of Neurosurgery at Duke. He also serves as the deputy director of the university's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. An internationally known tumor and vascular surgeon, he is responsible for more than 90 percent of tumor resections and biopsies at Duke.
Duke's brain tumor center was established in 1937 and has a staff of more than 250 who work only on the research and treatment of brain tumors. Doctors and staff there are currently following the treatment of more than 2,000 patients from around the world.
More than two-thirds of the adult brain tumor patients at Duke also take part in clinical trials, the university said, compared to only 8 percent nationwide.
Friedman is a graduate of Purdue University who earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and did his residencies at Duke and the University of Western Ontario. His wife, Elizabeth Bullitt, is also a well-known neurosurgeon now focusing on research at UNC Hospitals, just eight miles from Duke.
Friedman lists his clinical interests as brain tumors, skull base tumors, peripheral nerve surgery, pituitary tumors and cerebrovascular disease, according the school's Web site.
"At the present time, I am participating in collaborative research in the areas of primary malignant brain tumors, epilepsy and subarachnoid hemorrhage," Dr. Friedman says on the Duke University Medical Center web site.
"Primary malignant brain tumors are increasing in frequency… In colloboration with the Division of Neurology and the Department of Pathology, clinical and laboratory trials have been initiated to identify better treatment for this condition."
In May, Sen. Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma in the left parietal-lobe, which is the area of the brain that interprets sensations such as pain, temperature, touch, pressure, and shape. It is also involved in language.
After consulting with doctors, Kennedy said in a statement that "the best course of action for my brain tumor is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation."
He is expected to remain at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. for about one week, before being transferred back to Boston for radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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