Pittsburgh, December 16, 2009 -- Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, MD, PhD, Paul Gardner, MD, and Carl Snyderman, MD, were featured on the KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh) Evening News, December 16, in a segment discussing how their pioneering endonasal surgery helped save the life of a 5-year-old girl.

Doctors first thought Haley Spitznagel was suffering from migraine headaches. "We thought the headaches were coming from different infections, either a sinus infection or strep throat. So, we got her tonsils out," said Haley's mom, Jill Spitznagel. "We thought that would take the headaches away.

However, when the headaches returned, subsequent medical tests revealed a golf-ball sized tumor pressing up against the spinal cord obstructing spinal fluid flow.

Drs. Tyler-Kabara, Gardner and Snyderman used the endonasal approach -- accessing and removing the tumor through Haley's nose -- to remove the obstruction and help return Haley to a normal lifestyle.