Dr. Steinberg is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons in the
Unbelieveable as it may seem, this cutting edge practice is already an accepted technique. Partly because of the positive evidence mounted by Dr. Steinberg’s research in this area.
The Miracle on Ice reports in the current issue of Men’s Health, a new surgical technique that saves lives through freezing the brain.
Induced hypothermia keeps cells alive for stroke and head trauma treatments, according to Dr. Gary K. Steinberg, head of neurosurgery at
A patient is cooled to 33 degrees Celsius, or 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit, which is mild hypothermia, and cold enough that without drugs, the patient would shiver and convulse uncontrollably.
The cold prevents a patient's brain from a stroke as hypothermia extends the operating window to 30 to 40 minutes, which buys time to correct the cause of the stroke.
This cooling technique will also prevent brain-cell death during a serious heart attack. During this short window of time, a section of the patient's brain is entirely deprived of oxygen.
How does it work? Simply put - hypothermia tempers the biochemical reactions that occur inside a cell that's deprived of oxygen, thus preventing its death. Hopefully 30 to 40 minutes is enough time for the doctor in charge to fix any problem a frozen brain presents. What do you think?
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