Dan Smith

Dan Smith was a graduate student in physics at Iowa State University when he noticed occasional numbness in his left hand. His physician thought it might be carpal tunnel syndrome and recommended he wear a brace on his wrist and let her know if the numbness recurred. When the numbness affected Dan's entire arm and cheek, she referred him to a neurologist.

An MRI and a CT scan revealed a lesion the size of a goose egg in Dan's brain. The lesion — composed mostly of pooled blood — pressed on the part of the brain that controlled sensation, which explained Dan's numbness.

"When I first saw the MRI images of my brain, I was upset," says Dan. "We didn't know what the blob in my brain was at the time — if it was a tumor or something benign. At the same time, my mother had lung cancer that had spread to her brain and was losing her battle with cancer."

Dan's neurologist recommended he see a neurosurgeon. Dan chose to go to Mayo Clinic, where he met John Atkinson, M.D. To determine the growth rate of the lesion, Dan had MRIs at Mayo Clinic two weeks apart. Dr. Atkinson concluded that the lesion was slow growing and was not a tumor. But the lesion needed to be removed and the area repaired.

With a metal halo frame affixed to his head, Dan had brain surgery on April 2, 1998. An incision was made above his right ear and extended to the top of his head. Dr. Atkinson cut a small hole in Dan's skull and drained the blood from the lesion — a cavernous malformation, or group of abnormal, tiny blood vessels and larger, stretched out, thin-walled blood vessels filled with blood. Dr. Atkinson successfully removed the cavernous malformation from an area of the brain that controls sensation and movement without affecting Dan's neurological function.

"Dr. Atkinson had done thousands of brain surgeries, so I felt confident I had the right doctor and was at the right place," says Dan, who remained at Mayo Clinic for four days after surgery. When he returned to school, his friends dubbed him "Zipper Head" because of the visible zipperlike, stapled-shut incision on his head. Dan had annual MRIs and EEGs for five years to monitor the area of his brain for possible recurrence of the malformation. He has had no recurrence of the lesion.

Since his brain surgery, Dan has married and is expecting his first child with his wife, Julia. He received his Ph.D. and moved to Maryland, where he is a computational physicist, studying the upper atmosphere of Earth and Mars.

"I've been interested in outer space and aviation since I was five years old and saw the first 'Star Wars' movie," says Dan. "I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue this passion."