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Neurosurgeon's death leaves a huge void here
Web Posted: 09/21/2006 01:21 AM CDT
Nicole Foy
Express-News Medical Writer
Dr. Roman Hlatky scrubbed out of the seven-hour spinal surgery late Tuesday at University Hospital and went to see the patient's family members.
The complex case had gone well, and the man — who'd faced possible paralysis after falling from a tree — would recover and walk again soon, he told them.
Then, just past midnight, the 38-year-old neurosurgeon headed home on Interstate 10. Hlatky was on call and could be summoned back at any time, but he wanted to try to get a little sleep.
But just a few miles from the Level I trauma center where he cared for South Texas' most critically ill patients and severely injured accident victims, Hlatky's SUV was struck from behind.
A pickup traveling west on the interstate near the De Zavala Road exit rammed the vehicle, pushing it into a large signpost, police said.
Hlatky died at the scene. Clayton Don Stowe, 27, the uninjured driver of the pickup, was charged with intoxication manslaughter.
"Ironically, (Hlatky) would have been the surgeon who would have been called had this intoxicated driver crashed his own car into that pole and suffered a brain injury," noted Leni Kirkman, spokeswoman for the hospital.
Hlatky's death hasn't only devastated his family, friends and colleagues, but it leaves a substantial void in an already tenuous system of neurological care in South Texas.
Many in the local neurosurgery community have been grappling recently with how to adequately care for brain and spine injuries amid a severe shortage of doctors qualified to do so.
Physicians like Hlatky who treat trauma patients — the severely injured transported by ambulance or helicopter — are an even rarer breed, said Dr. Ronald Stewart, University's trauma director.
"This is a big public health loss to San Antonio and to South Texas that he's not here today," he said.
Hlatky, a native of the Czech Republic, is survived by his wife, Radka, and son, Roman, 12.
Funeral arrangements are pending, and two accounts have been set up in his memory. The first, at Frost Bank, is the Roman Hlatky MD Memorial Fund, designated to assist his family. The second, at the University of Texas Health Science Center, where he was an assistant professor, will go to continue his neurosurgery research.
Hlatky was the first of many recruits Dr. David Jimenez, the UTHSC's neurosurgery chairman, made a few years ago as he cobbled together a new neurosurgery program from scratch.
All the full-time neurosurgeons at the health science center — who subsequently staffed University Hospital and its trauma care program — had quit because of job dissatisfaction. The school's residency program for neurosurgeons-in-training collapsed as a result, leaving the region's largest Level I trauma center without staff to treat patients with brain or spine injuries.
Hlatky, a well-known specialist in neuro-oncology and neuro-trauma, came to San Antonio from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He was passionate for his research in cerebral blood flow and metabolism and intensely innovative in improving all aspects of patient critical care, Stewart said.
Widely respected by colleagues and praised by nurses — the latter a feat in itself — Hlatky was known for his high energy, quick wit and impressive intelligence.
In the Czech Republic, he skipped several school grades and later completed his medical degree and neurosurgery residency at Charles University in Prague.
"Clearly, when the world loses someone who has given his life to the healing of others, when the world loses a person of this training and experience, there is a void that can never be filled," said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, UTHSC president.
Flags at University Hospital will fly at half-staff until after Hlatky's funeral, said George Hernandez Jr., president of the hospital system.
"We take care of trauma patents every day, and it's just not fair that he's not going to be one of them, that he's not going to be one of the members of the team helping us," said Susan Gerhardt, administrative director for surgical critical care at University.
That Hlatky was on the highway at such a late hour is testament to his dedication, Stewart said. At the end of a long day and the beginning of a night on call, another surgeon could have — and likely would have — put off the laborious spinal surgery case until the next morning.
That would have been within Hlatky's purview, but not within his character, acknowledged Dr. George Galvan, the chief neurosurgery resident who assisted Hlatky with the surgery.
"He wanted to ensure that the patient got prompt care — that was his main concern," he said.
Galvan left the hospital shortly after Hlatky early Wednesday. His mind was still going over the intricacies of the surgery as he drove west on I-10 and saw the red flares illuminating the darkness.
Police were diverting traffic off the highway for what looked like a major wreck. Galvan slowed on the access road and winced when he saw the SUV crunched against the pole. Nearby, a body lying on the road was covered by a sheet.
A few hours later, the cell phone beside his bed rang. It was Jimenez calling with the news and asking Galvan to inform other neurosurgery residents.
Stunned, Galvan hung up the phone. It took only a moment for him to piece together that the body he'd seen on the highway had been Hlatky's.
For the next half-hour, he lay with his wife in bed and cried.
nfoy@express-news.net
Staff Writer Vianna Davila contributed to this report.
Web Posted: 09/21/2006 01:21 AM CDT
Nicole Foy
Express-News Medical Writer
Dr. Roman Hlatky scrubbed out of the seven-hour spinal surgery late Tuesday at University Hospital and went to see the patient's family members.
The complex case had gone well, and the man — who'd faced possible paralysis after falling from a tree — would recover and walk again soon, he told them.
Then, just past midnight, the 38-year-old neurosurgeon headed home on Interstate 10. Hlatky was on call and could be summoned back at any time, but he wanted to try to get a little sleep.
But just a few miles from the Level I trauma center where he cared for South Texas' most critically ill patients and severely injured accident victims, Hlatky's SUV was struck from behind.
A pickup traveling west on the interstate near the De Zavala Road exit rammed the vehicle, pushing it into a large signpost, police said.
Hlatky died at the scene. Clayton Don Stowe, 27, the uninjured driver of the pickup, was charged with intoxication manslaughter.
"Ironically, (Hlatky) would have been the surgeon who would have been called had this intoxicated driver crashed his own car into that pole and suffered a brain injury," noted Leni Kirkman, spokeswoman for the hospital.
Hlatky's death hasn't only devastated his family, friends and colleagues, but it leaves a substantial void in an already tenuous system of neurological care in South Texas.
Many in the local neurosurgery community have been grappling recently with how to adequately care for brain and spine injuries amid a severe shortage of doctors qualified to do so.
Physicians like Hlatky who treat trauma patients — the severely injured transported by ambulance or helicopter — are an even rarer breed, said Dr. Ronald Stewart, University's trauma director.
"This is a big public health loss to San Antonio and to South Texas that he's not here today," he said.
Hlatky, a native of the Czech Republic, is survived by his wife, Radka, and son, Roman, 12.
Funeral arrangements are pending, and two accounts have been set up in his memory. The first, at Frost Bank, is the Roman Hlatky MD Memorial Fund, designated to assist his family. The second, at the University of Texas Health Science Center, where he was an assistant professor, will go to continue his neurosurgery research.
Hlatky was the first of many recruits Dr. David Jimenez, the UTHSC's neurosurgery chairman, made a few years ago as he cobbled together a new neurosurgery program from scratch.
All the full-time neurosurgeons at the health science center — who subsequently staffed University Hospital and its trauma care program — had quit because of job dissatisfaction. The school's residency program for neurosurgeons-in-training collapsed as a result, leaving the region's largest Level I trauma center without staff to treat patients with brain or spine injuries.
Hlatky, a well-known specialist in neuro-oncology and neuro-trauma, came to San Antonio from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He was passionate for his research in cerebral blood flow and metabolism and intensely innovative in improving all aspects of patient critical care, Stewart said.
Widely respected by colleagues and praised by nurses — the latter a feat in itself — Hlatky was known for his high energy, quick wit and impressive intelligence.
In the Czech Republic, he skipped several school grades and later completed his medical degree and neurosurgery residency at Charles University in Prague.
"Clearly, when the world loses someone who has given his life to the healing of others, when the world loses a person of this training and experience, there is a void that can never be filled," said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, UTHSC president.
Flags at University Hospital will fly at half-staff until after Hlatky's funeral, said George Hernandez Jr., president of the hospital system.
"We take care of trauma patents every day, and it's just not fair that he's not going to be one of them, that he's not going to be one of the members of the team helping us," said Susan Gerhardt, administrative director for surgical critical care at University.
That Hlatky was on the highway at such a late hour is testament to his dedication, Stewart said. At the end of a long day and the beginning of a night on call, another surgeon could have — and likely would have — put off the laborious spinal surgery case until the next morning.
That would have been within Hlatky's purview, but not within his character, acknowledged Dr. George Galvan, the chief neurosurgery resident who assisted Hlatky with the surgery.
"He wanted to ensure that the patient got prompt care — that was his main concern," he said.
Galvan left the hospital shortly after Hlatky early Wednesday. His mind was still going over the intricacies of the surgery as he drove west on I-10 and saw the red flares illuminating the darkness.
Police were diverting traffic off the highway for what looked like a major wreck. Galvan slowed on the access road and winced when he saw the SUV crunched against the pole. Nearby, a body lying on the road was covered by a sheet.
A few hours later, the cell phone beside his bed rang. It was Jimenez calling with the news and asking Galvan to inform other neurosurgery residents.
Stunned, Galvan hung up the phone. It took only a moment for him to piece together that the body he'd seen on the highway had been Hlatky's.
For the next half-hour, he lay with his wife in bed and cried.
nfoy@express-news.net
Staff Writer Vianna Davila contributed to this report.
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