Timothy Hartig loves the outdoors. The active 55-year-old, an automotive tool engineer, hunts, boats and fishes in his home state of Michigan whenever he can. But about 1 1/2 years ago, he had a seizure at work that put a stop to everything for a while.

After being rushed to a Detroit hospital and having an MRI, doctors found a golf-ball-sized mass on his left frontal lobe, directly on the motor strip, which controls functions like walking and talking. It was a glioma, a tumor that arises from the brain’s supportive tissue. Tim agreed to immediate surgery, but doctors were able to remove only about half of the tumor. When they analyzed the tumor tissue, they found it contained cancer cells.

“I started looking for a second opinion,” Tim said. “I wanted the cancer removed.” Tim’s daughter, who lives in New York City, did some research and found John Boockvar, MD, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon and vice chair of the neurosurgery department at Lenox Hill Hospital. Tim and his wife, Amy, and their grown children had a video conference with Dr. Boockvar, who evaluated Tim’s most recent MRI images. He told the family that he could remove the rest of the tumor.

“With a glioma, the more tumor you take out, the better,” Dr. Boockvar said. “You live longer. Tim’s prior surgeon was likely worried that taking out the entire mass could damage important brain tissue, leaving Tim unable to move his limbs,” Dr. Boockvar explained. To remove the rest of the mass and to help Tim retain his motor function, Dr. Boockvar suggested an awake craniotomy—brain surgery performed while the patient is awake.

During the procedure, Tim received some local sedation and was kept awake for most of the surgery. This approach enabled Dr. Boockvar and his surgical team to remove the tumor while ensuring Tim’s motor function was not impaired using brain mapping. For this process, neurophysiologist Derek Chong, MD, and neuropsychologist Virginia De Sanctis, PhD, used a small device to stimulate various areas of Tim’s brain and then asked him to move different body parts or to speak to make sure he was not losing any function.

“They would ask me, ‘Can you move your right hand?’ and I would move it. They were also playing music to help me relax, and I was talking to the nurse throughout the procedure,” Tim said, recalling that he chose Tom Petty, one of his favorite musicians, and the song “I Won’t Back Down.” “The whole vibe in the operating room was really positive,” Tim said. Most important, the surgical team was able to remove the entire tumor.

Tim happened to be an excellent candidate for this surgery, Dr. Boockvar said. “You have to pick patients who are courageous, who have comprehension of what’s going to happen in the operating room and who have a good support network—because hearing the sounds of surgery or the beating of your own heart on the monitor can be traumatizing.” This is why a neuropsychologist meets with patients beforehand to discuss the procedure.

After surgery, inpatient rehabilitation got him up on his feet and walking again. Finally cleared to return to Detroit, he spent two more months doing outpatient rehab, and underwent six weeks of combined radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Since then, he’s been taking an oral chemotherapy drug five days a month, treatment that’s expected to continue for a year.

“I’ll be done with my treatment soon, and I’m doing pretty darn good,” Tim said. He hasn’t returned to work yet, but he’s active. “I still have a little arm and leg weakness, but I can do just about everything. I can cut the grass. I boated all summer long, and went hunting every weekend thereafter. I also go to the gym two days a week.”

Tim thanks Dr. Boockvar’s surgical expertise and Northwell Health for his continued recovery. “I can't say enough good things about Dr. Boockvar. He’s a phenomenal surgeon and a genuinely good guy.”

The content in this story was written on February 3, 2020. All references to social gatherings and health care protocols were made prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.