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Dr. Katrina Firlik
Neurosurgeon
The interesting thing about the brain as opposed to other organs is everything depends on location. Certain parts of the brain, a very small injury could be life-threatening. Other parts, you could have a much larger injury and do just fine.
Q: Your book is called "Another Day in the Frontal Lobe." That title kind of passes it off as just another routine matter. But there's nothing quite as precise and delicate as brain surgery, is there?
Well, in a sense that's true. But also, we do have to make it a routine. It is another day in the office for us, which is why the training is so long. It's a seven-year program, and by the end of it, things are routine.
Q: Tell the story from your book about the patient who comes to you with a nail lodged in his head.
Well, this is a man in his thirties; an otherwise healthy guy who was a carpenter. And he and his friends were putting up siding on the side of a house with an automatic nail gun. And unfortunately, his friend's hand slipped, and a nail entered my patient's head in the left frontal region, right about there, and ended up embedded about two inches into the frontal lobe.
Q: Do you notice disparities in treatment of neurological disorders based upon race or ethnicity?
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single disorder that I treat where there's a disparity in the types of treatment. It's more common when you're talking about, say, hypertension medications, that sort of thing. That there may be differences. But in terms of head injuries, brain tumors, strokes, I wouldn't say that I can think of an obvious difference in the way we treat them.
Dr. Katrina Firlik was the first woman admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's prestigious neurosurgery residency program. She's also a gifted writer. In her new memoir, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, she offers an insider's view of an intriguing profession.
Related Episode
Recommended Web Sites
The Brain Matters explains common disorders of the brain and how people live with them.
The Brain Connection explains how the brain works and how people learn.
Get information about Katrina Firlik and her book Another Day in the Frontal Lobe.
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Published: September 15, 2005
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