NBC - PITUITARY TUMOR

Announcer: This is First News 3 at 4 with Beth Fisher and Kendall Teddy.

Beth: Imagine waking up and realizing half of your face is paralyzed. It happened to a Las Vegas woman, but could strong determination and get ... ah ... but she had strong determination to get help and the revolutionary technology of one doctor made a difference. The Health Line 3 team caught up with Dottie Marsh and we learned that her story sets an example for all of us to follow.

Dottie: To be honest, I didn't know anything was wrong until I woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning one night and my face was paralyzed.

Beth: After months of being misdiagnosed and worried she'd had a stroke, Dottie Marsh's oral surgeon suggested she get an MRI.

Dottie: And lo and behold, there was a tumor ... ah ... that had been undiagnosed for years.

Beth: When Dottie learned she had a brain tumor in her pituitary gland, she went directly to the Internet looking for help.

Dottie: And this one is where I was able to go and watch a video of how my surgery was performed.

Beth: What she found was a revolutionary procedure performed by Dr. Hrayr Shahinian at the Skull Base Institute in California.

Dr. Shahinian: The traditional way to access these tumors is fairly aggressive and invasive. It requires, either a formal craniotomy, i.e., opening the skull, or it requires an incision underneath the lip with lifting the middle portion of the face up to access the tumor.

Beth: But Dr. Shahinian invented another way, using tiny instruments as tools, and the natural opening of the nostril for tumor access.

Dr. Shahinian: May I have the lens, please.

Beth: By entering through Dottie's nasal passage, the surgery was far less invasive and the recovery time much quicker. Dottie's surgery lasted only an hour and she was out of the hospital in two days.

Dottie: You wouldn't have known I had surgery. There were no marks, no visible signs, and ... ah .... outside of being careful for colds and sinus infections, it really was ... ah ... you know, back to work kind of thing.

Beth: Dottie told me she got two opinions about her tumor and she advises you do your homework and get multiple opinions, too. As for her symptoms, many of them went away within hours after her surgery.