SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A โคlocal neurosurgeon is giving patients new hope with aโ rare surgery for Jugular Compression Syndrome, allowing one teen to walkโ at her high school graduation after years of debilitating pain.
Natalie Birn,aโค recent high school graduate,credits โฃDr. Peter Nakaji with transforming her life. “Before theโฃ surgery, I didn’t know ifโข I woudl makeโข it to graduation,” she said. Birn had been largely confined to a wheelchair before undergoing the procedure.
Dr. Nakaji, director of Scottsdale Neurosurgeryโฃ Specialists within the Bob Bovรฉ Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth, isโ currentlyโ the only neurosurgeon in Arizona performing this specific surgery, which he helped pioneer.The โprocedure addresses jugular โCompression Syndrome,a โcondition where compression of the jugular vein in the neck causes a range โขof neurological symptoms.
“If you โฃimagine just squeezing your neck until you โคcan โคfeel your eyes โฃbulge, it’s like that all the time,” Dr. Nakaji explained, describingโ the sensation someโฃ patients experience.
The surgery has provided life-changing results for Birn, resolving a long-standing โคmedical mystery and allowing โherโ to achieve a meaningful milestone: โwalking atโ her graduation. Patients are now traveling to Scottsdale from aroundโฃ theโ worldโฃ seeking Dr. Nakaji’s expertise.
https://www.azfamily.com/2025/07/11/groundbreaking-surgery-scottsdale-helps-teen-walk-graduation/
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