One tiny dog’s outsized contribution to brain surgery
A terrier mix makes history as the first patient to undergo canine neurosurgery in a collaborative effort of specialists in human and veterinary medicine using cutting-edge augmented reality technology and infrared imaging.
A tiny terrier mix named Geddy arrived at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital in September, and left the following week was a pioneer—the first dog to undergo successful brain surgery using cutting-edge augmented reality technology combined with infrared real-time guided resection.
When Geddy began having seizures last summer, her veterinarian referred the eight-year-old to Penn Vet for further evaluation. At Ryan Hospital, Tessa Arendt, specialty intern in neurology, and Wojciech Panek,assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, performed a brain MRI, which revealed a right frontal lobe mass.
“An MRI doesn’t always tell us exactly what we’re dealing with even though it allows us to see the tumor,” says Panek. “Based on Geddy’s tumor imaging characteristics, we suspected a glioma—an aggressive brain tumor.”
Without aggressive treatment, dogs typically survive for about a few months. Geddy’s owner wanted every option explored, including surgery. Surgery would also enable Panek to biopsy the tumor for a more exact diagnosis and to guide further therapeutic opportunities for Geddy.
Joining the Penn Vet experts was a renowned neurosurgeon and brain tumor specialist from Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine: presidential associate professor of neurosurgery Nduka Amankulor, chief of neurosurgical oncology, and director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center.
Amankulor and Panek partnered on Geddy’s case, merging world-class expertise in human and canine neurosurgery to push the boundaries of veterinary and human medicine.
“When I started at Penn, I approached Nduka because we face similar challenges,” says Panek, who has shadowed his colleague in human surgeries. “What’s fascinating is that dogs develop gliomas nearly identical to those in humans. The immune landscape is similar, and the prognosis is nearly the same. That makes cases like Geddy’s incredibly valuable for both veterinary and human science to advance the care mutually.”
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