Five-year-old Jake Mullikin was playing outside last fall and his parents noticed he was having trouble moving his limbs. "He was playing flag football in late October and we noticed he was not using his right arm or hand," said Tom Mullikin, Jake's father. "His pediatrician felt like it was a neck injury, but my wife and I felt there might be more to it. The following day an MRI confirmed that our son had a brain tumor that was stage II Astrocytoma, which is malignant."

The tumor was located in the thalamus section of Jake's brain which is a very difficult area to operate. In the past, a child with this tumor would either have not been operated on or had a limited procedure. The most important factor in a cure for this condition is the ability to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

Dell Children's Medical Center Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery/Neuroscience Tim George, MD, operated on Jake in late October, completely removing the tumor using an advanced neurosurgical technology called IMRISneuro intra-operative MRI. Due to the imaging capacity of this device, the functional regions of the brain could be mapped and the proper approach determined in order to remove the tumor.

"Jake has almost fully recovered. He goes to physical, occupational and speech therapy a couple of times a week and he is regaining the strength on his right side. He has started back to school going half days and is a happy little boy again," added Mr. Mullikin.

How It Works

Advanced neurosurgical technology at Dell Children's Medical Center, a member of the Seton Family of Hospitals, allows surgeons to safely use advanced imaging techniques on patients during brain surgery to rule out any complications before the patient leaves the operating room.

The IMRISneuro is a fully integrated operating room suite that includes a movable Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. It delivers images and data to clinicians in real time - during a procedure when they can make decisions and improve patient outcomes. There are 13 IMRISneuro intra-operative MRI suites in the nation and five of these are strictly pediatric facilities, including the two here in Texas.

In the past, children would undergo brain surgery and later be taken for a MRI scan where often they had to be sedated, and then returned for follow-up surgery if needed. With the IMRI suite, the patient is positioned for surgery and remains completely stationary on the table throughout the entire procedures. When the surgeon calls for an image, a ceiling-mounted MRI travels to the patient for the intra-operative scanning. Further, OR sterility is maintained by never having to transport the patient outside the sterile environment for imaging.

Dr. George adds, "one advantage of this technology is that we only sedate once - during surgery. Another advantage is, during brain navigation, we can use the MRI to guide us to where we need to go."

"With this new technology, we can better treat children with complex diseases," said Dr. Tim George, . "For example, during brain tumor surgeries, it will allow us to see the tumor, develop a map of the functional areas of the brain and then after surgery, determine if we have removed it all."

The cost of the IMRISneuro project was $10 million. Thanks to the generosity of committed supporters, Children's Medical Center Foundation has received many donations to help make this amazing technology possible right here in Central Texas and at Dell Children's.

For More Information

You can find out more about malignant Astrocytoma, a rare childhood brain cancer, on GoodHealth.com's online medical encyclopedia.