At an age when most kids are more interested in playing doctor than actually becoming one, neurosurgeon Robbi Franklin, MD, was different. “I’ve known since nine years old that this is what I wanted to do,” Franklin said.
Growing up in Texas, Franklin was raised alongside his stepbrother. Just six months his junior, his brother had sustained brain damage as a newborn, which meant frequent surgeries and hospital stays. Early immersion into a world of complex terminology, technology and procedures set Franklin on his academic path to medicine and neurosurgery.
After earning his degree in biochemistry at the University of North Texas in Denton, Franklin began his medical training at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine in Galveston. Fast forward to 2008, and Franklin was engaged in a neurological surgery residency at UTMB when Hurricane Ike made landfall over Galveston. In the wake of the devastating storm, he relocated to the University of Louisville in Kentucky several months later to finish his training. At Louisville, he served as chief resident of neurological surgery and was fellowship trained in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery.
Accompanied by his wife and young daughter, Franklin arrived in Nashville in June 2012 to complete an additional cerebrovascular and endovascular fellowship. He is now on staff at Nashville Neurosurgery Group and is a fixture at TriStar Skyline’s Neuroscience Center.
A Leader in an Elite Field
“After three fellowships and post-residency training, I focus on very specific aspects of brain disease,” said Franklin, whose practice is oriented around brain surgery.
As one of a few endoscopically trained neurologists in Middle Tennessee, Franklin said the movement toward minimally invasive surgery holds some of the greatest promises in neurology, as well. “We’re trying to find ways to perfect techniques and allow smaller incisions,” Franklin said. “We’re fine-tuning older surgical techniques into something that’s safer and more beneficial for patients.
“One moment I can be sticking a needle in the groin, and the next going through the nose to a brain tumor,” he continued. “It’s a really awesome career.”
More options also mean better outcomes for patients, and Franklin encourages physicians to try to dispel some of the fear common in neurology patients. “There are now very good surgical options for nearly any diagnosis,” he said. “Compared to decades ago, in all fields of neurosurgery, outcomes are improving years and decades at a time.”
The Neuroscience Center at TriStar Skyline
Franklin said another industry trend impacting neurology is the movement toward centers of excellence like The Neuroscience Center at TriStar Skyline Medical Center, one of the first Joint Commission-accredited advanced comprehensive stroke centers in Tennessee.
“That’s a very coveted accreditation,” said Franklin. “We’re not just giving patients (anti-clotting agent) tPA. Accreditation means there are strict requirements about endovascular options, and 99 percent of hospitals don’t have access to that.”
The center’s interdisciplinary approach means weekly brain tumor and vascular conferences are attended by multispecialty services. They also boast a dedicated neuro-intensive care unit and Middle Tennessee’s only CARF-accredited inpatient rehabilitation center, meaning neuro patients can receive rehabilitation in the same hospital.
The TriStar Skyline 24/7 neuroscience team includes emergency medical providers, emergency medicine physicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and diagnostic and interventional radiologists. Together they treated nearly 1,000 stroke patients in 2014 from across Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. As a trauma center, TriStar Skyline also sees a lot of disease overlap and collaboration between trauma services and surgeons. The hospital is also part of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network and holds accreditations from the Commission on Cancer and American College of Surgeons.
“Because of their designations you’re going to see anything and everything,” Franklin said of TriStar Skyline’s patient population. “That means we’re going to have the best machines and multi-disciplinary clinics. You’re not going to get some routine, ‘Let’s consult oncology,’ because people are already working with each other in the system.”
Big Surgeries, Big Rewards
As an up-and-coming leader in one of the most complex (and often misunderstood) medical specialties, Franklin is already leaving his mark on the medical community. An article he co-authored appeared in the June 2013 issue of Neurosurgery. He also has contributed chapters to textbooks and industry publications and has given multiple presentations on cranial surgery and neurosurgery.
“With brain surgery, in general, you’re dealing with very, very complex problems that other neurosurgeons sometimes don’t even deal with because of the complexity,” Franklin said.
“To take someone who’s been in the hospital for weeks with a ruptured aneurysm and fix them through minimally invasive surgery, then have them walk back in your office … there’s something magical about that. It’s a fantastic thing to do – to be a small part of helping them through all that. The hug and smile when you’re done is the best reward for me.”
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TriStar Skyline Neuroscience Center
