New ‘gold standard’ surgical textbook co-written by hospital system CEO

Newswise — CLEVELAND -- Only 5 percent of hospitals in the United States are run by CEOs with a medical degree, according to the Journal of Hospital Administration. Many of those physician CEOs head some of the leading academic medical centers in the nation, including Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, who is CEO of University Hospitals in Northeast Ohio, a system comprising 21 hospitals, more than 50 health centers and over 200 physician offices.

If running a major health system were not enough, Dr. Megerian, who is also the Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, still sees patients, teaches, and writes medical texts books including a newly published second edition of a major surgical textbook co-written with colleagues Nicholas C. Bambakidis. MD, Chair of Neurological Surgery, Vice President and Director of the Neurological Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, and the Harvey Huntington Brown, Jr. Chair in Neurosurgery; and Robert F. Spetzler, MD, FACS, Emeritus President and CEO, Emeritus Chair, Department of Neurosurgery of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

The book, Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle, Second Edition, published by Springer Cham, is a boon resource for expert specialists in neurosurgery, neurotology, neuroradiology, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, and endovascular surgery.

Now fully revised and expanded in this edition, this book remains the gold standard guide to the surgical treatment of diseases in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA), the fragile area of the skull base. 

Tumors can arise in the CPA, and four out of five of these tumors are vestibular schwannomas (commonly known as acoustic neuromas). The new edition combines current information on the relevant clinical diseases of the CPA with dramatically improved surgical management of its diseases, arranged in five thematic sections.  The book provides detailed descriptions of surgical management techniques for acoustic neuromas and other lesions in the CPA.  It also provides 21 distinct clinical cases with associated video segments, demonstrating the approaches and techniques in real time.

“When I assumed the role of CEO of University Hospitals, I not only vowed to ensure we would uphold our mission -- To Heal. To Teach. To Discover -- but that I as an individual contributor in this health system, would continue to heal patients, to teach the next generation of medical professionals, and further research and medical innovation,” explained Dr. Megerian. “With the first edition in 2009, our collective goal was to convene the world’s experts on this topic and create a resource of best practices as it relates to surgery of the cerebellopontine angle. Given that this surgery is often done by teams, we emphasized selection of author groups that represent the top teams in the nation and the world. While this new 2023 second edition has updates that capture the evolution of the surgical science, it also includes video chapters comprising intraoperative step-by-step surgical sequencing by masters in the field in order to guide learners and younger teams in their development.  The three of us who co-wrote this book have been blessed with careers at iconic institutions and have enjoyed partnerships with top teams. As a result, we strongly believe it is our societal duty to share our collective experience with the next generation.”  

Dr. Bambakidis said, “This book has become the go-to resource for surgeons tackling tough problems in the most difficult regions to reach in the brain.  It’s one of the reasons that our team of skull base surgery experts is recognized worldwide and why we host not one but two courses teaching these techniques to surgeons from around the world right here at UH.”

Dr. Spetzler added, “My whole professional life has revolved around patient care, research and education, all of which has been possible by standing on the shoulders of our predecessors who have generously shared their knowledge with us. This volume is our contribution to further excellence in surgical care in the continuum to improve the care of our patients.”

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About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 21 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Oxford University and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.