Neurosurgeon Bill Monacci lauds medical care

for local veterans

Two years ago, Dr. Bill Monacci was at the center of medical care for wounded soldiers coming back from the war zones. He was then Neurosurgery Consultant to the Army Surgeon General and Chief of Cranial Surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Today the neurosurgeon lives and practices in Central Pennsylvania with Lancaster Neuroscience & Spine Associates. Part of his practice is devoted to treating veterans through the Lebanon and Coatesville VA Medical Centers. His experience here affirms his faith in veterans’ access to the appropriate health care, and that, he says, means that the V.A. is in step with improving technology in cranial and spinal surgery. He also believes that the Veteran’s Administration is ahead of most other health care systems in error prevention and electronic medical records"

It’s gratifying to see veterans get the care they need in a timely manner," he said, "and to know that we can apply advances to them as readily as to anyone else." New spinal hardware and techniques for endoscopic brain surgery are revolutionizing the way surgeries are performed, he explains, allowing for less invasive procedures, and thus faster recovery.

Most veterans come to see Dr. Monacci because of degenerative changes in the spine. And as with the general patient population, surgery is a last resort. "Our function is not just to operate, but also to diagnose, and find the best path for pain relief and restored mobility, surgically or otherwise," he said.

Dr. Monacci describes neurosurgery as "still in its early stages despite its present level of technical sophistication," saying "The future is going to bring more applications of neurosurgery to health care. "

We are getting better at determining the origin of pain in a patient with a particular spinal disorder and developing less destructive methods for treating brain disorders," he said. "Tumors that were once thought untreatable are having increasingly successful outcomes. We have at our disposal locally the latest in technical innovations to apply to our patients’ problems," he continued. "The ability to treat serious spinal and cranial problems is on par with any major medical center in the country."

He acknowledges that he misses his friends in the military, but he keeps up with them through the Internet and CNN. He enjoys the common ground he shares with Pennsylvania veterans who appreciate his experience, and at this stage in his career, he’s glad for the opportunity to treat patients with a wide variety of complex spinal and cranial problems.

The chance to make a difference in a patient’s quality of life continues to drive him. "I chose neurosurgery because of the broad spectrum of problems that patients face, and the variety of ways that I can help them," he said. "The nervous system is the most complicated and most elegant system in the body, and having the potential to impact it in a positive way is totally gratifying," he explained.

The surgeons and physiatrists in his group diligently keep up with technology, he says. And he added that they keep their perspective about the latest innovations trumpeted on the news and the Internet. "Just because there is a new technique or device, it doesn’t make it the gold standard," he said. "It may not be applicable to every patient. It’s our job to find the segment of the patient population that will benefit from it," he concluded.