Patient Stories

Margie Hartmann and Jessica Nastrom - Mother-daughter brain surgery

Story courtesy of Mayo Clinic, Minnesota

Shopping, going to lunch, seeing a movie — just a few things mothers and daughters do together. Add having Gamma Knife™ surgery to the list for Margie Hartmann, 41, and her daughter, Jessica Nastrom, 19.

Hartmann and Nastrom, who live in southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, had the treatment — a type of neurosurgery that does not require an incision — on the same day at Mayo Clinic for different conditions.

Hartmann had a meningioma, a slow-growing tumor that develops from the protective linings of the brain and spinal cord. Although meningiomas are almost always benign, they can be difficult to remove completely and can recur. Hartmann had surgery for a meningioma. Ten months later, she began to have headaches and balance problems. An MRI detected a new, inoperable tumor. Her physician referred her to Mayo Clinic for treatment options. Hartmann knew just whom to call. Her daughter, Jessica, had seen Bruce Pollock, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic, several years earlier. Jessica was diagnosed with an inoperable arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal tangle of blood vessels in the brain, at age 13.

"We only learned Jessica had this condition when it hemorrhaged," says Hartmann. "Jessica had stayed up late one night and had a bad headache. She woke me up, then vomited and lost consciousness. She was very sick and was in the hospital for a month. We weren't sure she would survive because it had bled into her spinal column."

After Jessica was stable, her parents took her to Mayo Clinic for a consultation.

"We felt like she was a ticking time bomb until the AVM was treated," says Hartmann.

Dr. Pollock suggested Gamma Knife™ surgery in two treatments six months apart. The surgeon uses gamma radiation to destroy diseased tissue in the brain and skull while preserving healthy tissue.

"After Gamma Knife™ surgery for this condition, it takes one to four years for the complete effect of the procedure to occur, so we monitored Jessica's AVM with yearly MRIs during that time," says Dr. Pollock. "At her most recent checkup in 2003, an MRI detected a small amount of blood still flowing through the AVM. To completely eliminate the risk of future bleeding, we advised doing repeat Gamma Knife™ surgery."

Coincidentally, that's was when Hartmann needed the procedure for her meningioma. Mother and daughter decided to have Gamma Knife™ surgery at the same time, in June 2003.

"I was more comfortable with my mom having it on the same day I had it," says Jessica. "She had been there for me when I had the procedure before, and now she'd know what I had been through."

Both women were fitted with head frames early that morning, had MRIs to make sure the frames were properly positioned, then treated with radiation aimed precisely at the problem areas. Mother and daughter were able to go home later that same day.

"I know that Gamma Knife™ surgery worked on Jessica when she had it before, so I have peace of mind that it will work for both of us this time," says Hartmann.

Jessica is grateful to have found a painless, effective treatment for her condition. "I couldn't have surgery because it could have killed me or hurt parts of my brain," she says. "I definitely value my health and life more than most people my age."

Mother and daughter call each other every day to catch up, and soon they will have a wedding to plan. Jessica is engaged to be married.

Click for our next patient story - Nelda Metz

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