Groundbreaking surgery in Scottsdale helps teen walk at graduation

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — Patients are coming from around the world to Scottsdale to see the only neurosurgeon in the state performing a groundbreaking surgery that provides life-changing results.

One of those was Natalie Birn. “Before the surgery, I didn’t know if I would make it to graduation,” she said.

She said Dr. Peter Nakaji is the reason she no longer needs a wheelchair. “I just hugged him and thanked him and cried because it was just life-changing, really,” said Birn.

Thanks to the surgery, she walked at her high school graduation, a major milestone.

Dr. Nakaji is the director of the Scottsdale Neurosurgery Specialists inside the Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth.

Dr. Nakaji is the only neurosurgeon in Arizona performing a life-changing surgery he helped pioneer. The results are transformative and solved the medical mystery that trapped Birn in pain all her life.

“If you imagine just squeezing your neck until you can feel your eyes bulge, it’s like that all the time,” said Dr. Nakaji.

He’s talking about styloidogenic jugular venous compression syndrome, a rare condition that blocks blood from draining out of the brain, which builds pressure.

Dr. Nakaji said it’s often misunderstood and overlooked by doctors and in Birn’s case, her symptoms got worse over the years. She suffered headaches, brain fog, even hearing and vision loss.

By senior year, she needed a wheelchair. “I was passing out around seven times a day,” she said.

In March, Dr. Nakaji performed a complex decompression procedure. “Nobody else is doing it,” he said. “It’s definitely a delicate procedure. You’re literally moving along the vein, stripping the tissue off of it without tearing it open, and of course, massive amounts of blood is flowing through your jugular vein out of your head every minute.”

After surgery, Birn felt immediate relief and could walk on her own within hours.

“I have not passed out once since surgery,” said Birn. “My headache was nearly gone for the first time since I can remember and everything was so much louder because I got all my hearing back.”

It’s a dramatic improvement that’s giving her hope and happiness for the first time in a long time. “The only time I use my wheelchair is for back support because it’s custom and so it feels really good on my back,” Birn said with a laugh.

Birn said her newfound health has inspired her future goals. She said she plans to go to school to become a phlebotomist so she can help others in the medical community.

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