Shore native returns home to save lives

In TidalHealth’s hybrid operating room, clinical teams perform symphonies. Leading the group like a conductor is the surgeon, who gives direction to the virtual orchestra (a talented group of healthcare professionals) to ensure they don’t miss a beat. 

That surgeon is Dr. Sophia Shakur, a Bennett High School alumna who returned home from medical school to provide a brand-new service to her community: minimally invasive neurosurgery. 

State-of-the-art technology

Assisted by high-tech equipment with advanced medical imaging capabilities, her team is dedicated to achieving positive outcomes for their patients — and their families. 

Minimally invasive surgery has many benefits, Dr. Shakur said. Not only is there no incision — procedures are performed with a needle puncture — but patients typically experience shorter hospital stays, faster recoveries and better outcomes. 

The hybrid operating room at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, where these procedures take place, is the first of its kind in Maryland. It's a surgical suite with an interventional angiography biplane unit. Its two radiographic X-ray detectors provide images in two planes simultaneously: one from the front and another from the side. 

There are other healthcare facilities in Maryland that have this technology, but Medical Imaging Senior Director Mary Lou Melhorn said TidalHealth’s equipment is used inside the operating room rather than in the Medical Imaging Department, which allows surgeons to have high quality imaging during a procedure. 

“TidalHealth has the same capability as the larger academic medical centers to provide advanced neuro procedures here on the Shore,” Melhorn said. “Providing this service closer to home is making a big difference for our patients — in their recovery and peace of mind for their families.” 

Care to close to home

Before TidalHealth’s hybrid operating room opened, patients were forced to travel hours away to metropolitan hospitals for treatment. Now, Dr. Shakur said, patients can stay close to home. It’s not only convenient, it saves lives. 

“Time is brain, so this is having a big impact on patient outcomes. It really benefits patients medically to stay here,” she said. “If someone has a stroke, for every 30 minutes that goes by there’s a 10 percent decrease in a good outcome.” 

Dr. Shakur operates on patients with strokes, brain aneurysms, vascular malformations and intracranial stenosis (the narrowing of arteries in the brain), to name a few. Minimally invasive neurosurgery drew her in because the diseases are more acute and patients experience quicker recoveries.

“It’s extremely exciting to develop this program, especially to be doing so in an area that had a lot of influence on my own education,” Dr. Shakur said. “To be able to give back to my community is meaningful and very special.” 

Dr. Shakur practices with TidalHealth Neurosurgery. She obtained her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University, completed a residency in neurosurgery at the University of Chicago, and completed fellowships at the University of Illinois in cerebrovascular neurosurgery and neuroendovascular surgery. 

Stroke signs and symptoms

If you or a loved one experiences the following signs or symptoms of a stroke, call 911 right away.