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Stories · Coverage · Spotlights

In the Press

Selected press coverage of the University of Chicago Department of Neurological Surgery — including Oliver's Story and feature coverage of our faculty's clinical cases and research in reputable regional, national, and medical outlets.

Oliver Staub in recovery at Comer Children's Hospital
Patient Story · Dr. Mohamad Bydon

Oliver's Story — Reconnecting a 2-Year-Old's Head to His Spine

In July 2025, Dr. Mohamad Bydon and a multidisciplinary team at UChicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital performed two reconstructive spine operations on 2-year-old Oliver Staub, whose spine had been disconnected from his skull in a catastrophic car accident in Mexico. After months of rehabilitation, Oliver is talking, laughing, moving all four limbs, and breathing on his own — a recovery with no documented precedent in medical literature.

Coverage
People Magazine 2-Year-Old Was Hit by a Truck, Leaving His Head Separated from His Spine: Inside His 'Miraculous' Survival Oct 9, 2025→ CBS News Chicago UChicago Medicine doctor helps toddler with catastrophic spinal injury regain a more normal life Oct 9, 2025→ UChicago Medicine Surgeons perform reattachment of a 2-year-old's severed spinal cord Oct 9, 2025→ University of Chicago News UChicago Medicine surgeons reconnect a 2-year-old's spine and head Oct 15, 2025→ Yahoo News After devastating car accident, 2-year-old's incredible recovery aided by Chicago care team Oct 9, 2025→ NBC Chicago 'Miracle' 2-year-old defies the odds with the help of a Chicago medical team Oct 2025→ U.S. News & World Report Miracle surgery saves 2-year-old boy with broken neck and severed spinal cord Dec 19, 2025→ Big Brains Podcast Remarkable new treatments for spinal cord injuries, with Mohamad Bydon Feb 19, 2026→
Patient Kara Galbraith after minimally invasive robotic spine fusion surgery
Robotic Spine Surgery · Dr. Mohamad Bydon

'Walking-Miracle Stuff' — Robotic Spine Fusion Cures Severe Leg Pain

A 59-year-old Michigan woman with debilitating leg pain underwent minimally invasive robotic spine fusion performed by Dr. Mohamad Bydon through a grape-sized incision. The 75-minute procedure provided immediate pain relief — she walked out of the hospital the same day, returned to work within three months, and required no physical therapy.

Coverage
UChicago Medicine 'Walking-miracle stuff': Minimally-invasive robotic spine fusion surgery cures woman's severe leg pain Apr 15, 2026→
Dr. Peter Warnke with a laser hemispherotomy patient
Functional Neurosurgery · Dr. Peter Warnke

A Laser Procedure That Stopped Hundreds of Seizures a Day

Dr. Peter Warnke used a minimally invasive laser to disconnect the two hemispheres of 18-year-old Thor Marchio's brain — stopping the hundreds of daily seizures he had from drug-resistant epilepsy. Dr. Warnke is only the second neurosurgeon worldwide to perform a laser functional hemispherotomy, and Thor is now seizure-free and in college.

Coverage
UChicago Medicine Novel laser hemispherotomy surgery stops teen's seizures for good May 21, 2024→
MRI of a cerebral cavernous malformation
Cerebrovascular Research · Dr. Issam Awad

The First Clinical Trial for Cerebral Cavernous Malformations

Dr. Issam Awad led the first randomized clinical trial testing whether a common cholesterol medication — atorvastatin — can reduce brain bleeding in patients with cerebral cavernous malformations, a disease that affects more than a million Americans. The trial also introduced a new MRI biomarker to measure lesion bleeding activity in real time.

Coverage
The Lancet Neurology Atorvastatin for rebleeding in cerebral cavernous malformations (AT CASH EPOC trial) April 2025→
Surgeon wearing an augmented-reality headset during spine surgery
Spine Surgery Innovation · Dr. Timothy Witham

The First FDA-Cleared Augmented-Reality Spine Surgeries

Dr. Timothy Witham performed the first FDA-cleared augmented-reality spine surgeries in the United States, using a headset that projects a patient's CT anatomy directly into the surgeon's field of view — effectively giving surgeons X-ray vision during complex spinal fusions and tumor resections.

Coverage
Johns Hopkins Medicine First FDA-cleared augmented-reality spine surgeries performed in patients Feb 16, 2021→
A neurosurgeon reviewing angiographic scans
Stroke & Endovascular · Dr. Omer Doron

Bringing Thrombectomy to the Western Suburbs

Dr. Omer Doron — a Harvard/MGH-trained endovascular and cerebrovascular neurosurgeon — is building out the thrombectomy program at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale so that stroke patients in the western suburbs can receive life-saving clot removal close to home, rather than being transferred out of the community.

Coverage
UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bringing minimally invasive treatment of stroke and vascular disease to Hinsdale 2024→
The UChicago Medicine skull base team
Skull Base Program · Dr. Peleg Horowitz

National Distinction for the Skull Base Team

UChicago Medicine's multidisciplinary skull base program — including Dr. Peleg Horowitz, who co-directs the Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Disorders Program — earned the North American Skull Base Society's Multidisciplinary Team of Distinction designation for its expertise treating pituitary tumors, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, and other complex skull base pathology.

Coverage
UChicago Medicine UChicago Medicine's skull base team receives national distinction Feb 22, 2023→

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