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Neurosurgeon @ OSF Illinois Neurological Institute
Dr. Denise Crute practices neurosurgery at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, a level one trauma center in Rockford, Illinois. Dr. Denise Crute is also Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford and a frequent neurosurgical volunteer in Central America. Dr. Denise Crute attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Denise Crute held the position of Chairman of the Duke University Symposium Committee, and she also earned the President’s Senior Leadership Award. Dr. Denise Crute graduated from Duke University with honors and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology.
Subsequently, Dr. Denise Crute enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. She received a Kenan Scholarship and predoctoral fellowships in neurobiology prior to completion of her Doctor of Medicine in 1988. Upon graduation, Dr. Denise Crute undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in neurobiology through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physiology Department. Dr. Denise Crute’s postdoctoral work was supported by Individual National Research Service Awards from the National Institutes of Health.
Following the completion of her fellowship, Dr. Denise Crute accepted a one-year General Surgery Internship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Denise Crute then completed her neurosurgery residency at the same institution. Dr. Denise Crute is board certified in Neurological Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and Women in Neurosurgery. She is also a past president of Women in Neurosurgery.
Denise Crute's Publications
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A Personal Triumph in the Honduras, by Dr. Denise Crute
, Dr. Denise Crute's Blog on Bigsight
August, 2011
While volunteering with Central American Medical Outreach in 2009, Dr. Denise Crute found herself at the Hospital Occidente in Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. There, Dr. Crute worked in the neonatal ward, helping frantic mothers and their newborn infants. One day, she remembers remarking about the vultures crowding outside the window, scoping out potential meals in the building, when she came upon Enrique. The young man had hydrocephalus, a condition that causes cerebrospinal fluid to collect in the ventricles of the brain, unable to drain and reabsorb. Building fluid increases the pressure inside the head and compresses the brain, resulting in blindness, malnutrition, and pneumonia as the nerves in the brain suffer damage. Generally, the condition results in a painful, pitiful death. Enrique’s head was swollen and shiny, the pupils of his eyes barely visible behind his eyelids, pushed down by his engorged forehead. Shifting her eyes between Enrique’s mother and the birds that continued to noisily call attention to themselves outside, Dr. Denise Crute mentally prepared for the surgery that could save the boy’s life. The ward previously lacked the resources needed for the surgery until she was able to bring a donation of shunts from Integra Neurosciences.
The next morning, as she got ready for the surgery, Dr. Crute learned that Enrique had developed pneumonia over the previous night. General anesthesia and the risks of surgery would prove too risky. Enrique’s chance of overcoming pneumonia were small, but surgery could not progress until that time. Hydrocephalus would likely claim his life.
In the following year, at the same hospital, she witnessed a small boy with shining eyes happily playing during his checkup. She had spent the morning following up with outpatients, most of whom were healing nicely. On the other hand, this boy had incredible energy. Looking at his chart, she saw that he received a shunt for a case of hydrocephalus. Dr. Crute smiled, noticing that the shunt had come from shipment she brought the previous year. Then, as her eyes came across the boy’s name, Dr. Crute could not hold back the tears. Her colleague, becoming anxious, asked what was wrong. The boy was Enrique. He had survived and was now thriving.
About the Author
Dr. Denise Crute serves as a neurosurgeon at the OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and teaches medical students at the Illinois College of Medicine. An alumnus of Duke University, she earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before pursuing neurosurgery training at Northwestern University Hospitals. Dedicated to giving back to communities around the world, Dr. Denise Crute volunteers with CAMO and the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS).
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Focus Areas of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery by Dr. Denise Crute
October, 2011
A volunteer organization dedicated to providing in-depth training and education for neurosurgeons across the globe, the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS) sets out to address the shortage of neurosurgeons in developing nations. For more than 40 years, FIENS has sent volunteer neurosurgeons around the world to teach local neurosurgeons and establish residency programs in neurosurgery. Here is a brief overview of some of the focus areas of FIENS.
Uganda: In the small east African nation, ongoing civil strife among members of several distinct cultures has prevented the establishment of a stable political structure and economy. As such, the medical sector in Uganda finds itself considerably lacking resources, training, and manpower. Before FIENS began its program in the national capital of Kampala, Uganda possessed only 5 neurosurgeons for a country of more than 30 million people. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Michael Haglund and the Duke Global Health Institute, the Mulago Hospital in Kampala received more than $3 million in supplies and facility upgrades in 2007. Furthermore, Uganda now houses the FIENS East Africa Neurosurgery Training Program, which has trained surgeons in procedures such as ventriculostomies and cervical spine instrumentation.
Tanzania: In the Tanzanian city of Haydom, a local hospital with only 400 beds must serve the medical needs of more than 1 million people. As recently as 2005, the hospital experienced a severe lack of medical personnel trained to treat neurological emergencies. Dr. Dilantha Ellegala, a neurosurgeon and volunteer with FIENS, arrived in Tanzania in 2005, dedicated to improving the standard of neurological care. By teaching a local assistant medical officer about procedures such as shunt placements, craniotomies, and burr hole evacuations, Dr. Ellegala ensured that the people living in the region were provided access to consistent neurological care. Today, neurosurgeons at the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Muhambili University work to train the next generation of neurosurgeons in the small African nation.
Ethiopia: Through its program in Ethiopia, physicians with FIENS routinely treat close to 50 patients per day, addressing conditions such as microcephaly, pituitary tumors, and recurrent hypoglycemia. Furthermore, the FIENS volunteer physicians conduct extensive residency programs to ensure continuous and sustainable neurological care.
To learn more about the activities of the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery, visit the website at fiens.org.
About the Author:
During her time as a volunteer Neurosurgeon with the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery, Dr. Denise Crute helped train neurosurgeons in the Honduran cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and Santa Rosa de Copan. Today, Dr. Crute works as a Neurocricial Care Fellow in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, New York.
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