A Remarkable Recovery in a Serious Spine and Brain Trauma Case

Dr. Melissa Macias is a respected presence in the Milwaukee medical community and practices neurosurgery with Aurora Health Care. While a spine surgeon with the Swedish American Health System in Illinois in 2010, Dr. Melissa Macias handled a complex case involving Eliza, the victim of a car that sped into her lane and collided with her vehicle at a speed of 100 miles per hour. 

Eliza was the sole survivor of the wreck and received sedation at the hospital for five days, in order to address serious spinal and brain trauma. Dr. Macias subsequently performed an XLIF Corpectomy procedure that lasted eight hours and was the only viable way of avoiding permanent paralysis.

The day following surgery, still sedated, Eliza was successful in walking with the assistance of hospital personnel and a walker. Following another 18 days in the hospital, she was released to a rehabilitation center where she began the laborious process of relearning how to walk. Despite minimal left quad strength due to nerve damage and partial paralysis, Eliza could achieve pull-ups and push-ups within a two month period and ultimately progressed to outpatient physical therapy. An avid runner before the accident, within a year of the trauma Eliza was able to recover enough to take part in a 5k fun run.