He thought he was having a stroke. "Take me to the emergency room!" he managed to say to his wife, Roseanne.
While Ben's blood work came back normal, a brain scan revealed a tumor in his pituitary gland. Although it's unclear whether it was actually the tumor that caused Ben's mirage-like sensation, the mass was large enough that it needed the attention of a neurosurgeon. "We looked at so many neurosurgeons and really researched them," Ben says. "Then we found Dr. Maggio and really liked him."
When Ben first came to meet William Maggio, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, he was not showing the typical symptoms of a patient with a pituitary tumor this size.
"Pituitary tumors usually cause vision and/or hormone problems," says Dr. Maggio.
Dr. Maggio monitored Ben for a few months and then cleared him for surgery to remove the tumor. The procedure was done at Jersey Shore with the assistance of Anthony Sparano, M.D., a board certified ear, nose, and throat physician who specializes in skull-base surgery.
Using a scope, the surgeons entered through Ben's nose, cut out a small window of bone, and entered the pituitary gland, successfully removing the mass without even a scar to show for it.
After just three weeks, Ben was back on his feet and back to doing the things he loves, like antiquing with his wife and spending time with his family and friends. He is even back at work painting houses.
"I feel great now," Ben says. "You would never know I even had the surgery." — Beth Chunn
About the Doctor
William W. Maggio, M.D.Board certified in Neurosurgery
Wall | 732-974-0003
