After undergoing rare brain surgery to remove a life-threatening aneurysm, a Riverside resident is basking in good health.

David Shoblaske, a 64-year-old retired business executive, could have returned to work a week after the procedure, in which a far less invasive technique was used.

He said he was getting severe headaches that would keep him up at night. He went to his physician and decided to get a CT scan to see if there was a problem.

“There was pain behind my right eye and they found an aneurysm,” Shoblaske said.

Doctors advised him to take care of the aneurysm immediately, so he wouldn’t have to worry about it getting too large and bursting, which could cause death.

“It is devastating if those break,” he said. “You have a few hours to do something.”

Realizing the severity of his condition, Shoblaske started researching different treatments, and found a surgeon he felt comfortable with, Dr. Edward Duckworth from Loyola University Hospital in Maywood. Duckworth’s explanation of the surgery wasn’t what Shoblaske expected.

“(I thought there would be) a huge incision around your skull and (they would remove) a large portion,” Shoblaske said.

He had the surgery in January this year.

When operating on Shoblaske, Duckworth said he used a minimally invasive approach, making only a small incision above his eye.

“It’s a much smaller incision and bone window than has traditionally been used for this surgery,” Duckworth said. “He did quite well and now has his aneurysm secured.”

This technique in brain surgery is not new, but it is rarely used, he said.

Surgery has never focused on being minimally invasive, especially with seasoned neurosurgeons, because that is the traditional way brain surgery was done, Duckworth said.

“It is more of an evolution and it represents a different philosophy that I think some younger neurosurgeons are trying to get in and out (with smaller incisions) but it is not a brand-new technique,” he said.

Duckworth doesn’t know of anyone in Chicago, other than himself, who practices this particular treatment. Traditional teaching and residency programs do not focus on this type of approach. He studied this technique at the University of South Florida.

This surgery is easier on the patient and harder on the surgeon, he said. Patients have shorter hospital stays and less blood loss.

“The surgeon has to be more meticulous and accurate with the surgery and the opening,” he said.

The overall goal should be to make it easier and safer on the patient, he said.

It took Shoblaske six days to recover in the hospital — a drastically shorter time than required after other brain surgery procedures, which can take up to six months. Since the incision was significantly smaller than traditional ways in surgery, Shoblaske was able to heal much faster, he said.

“If you saw me, you would have no idea,” Shoblaske said. “It took six days to recover and the headache was gone; I was very happy about that.”