Neurosurgeon John Gastaldo: At Home in the OR or in the Sky
“The challenge of surgery is rewarding beyond description. In the process of being there for my patients I have learned an enormous amount.”
— Dr. John Gastaldo, MD, FACS
John Gastaldo relishes the absolute nature of science. His passion for precision has guided his choices throughout his life. It began with his early education at a school for the gifted in New York City where he excelled in chemistry and technology. In the seventh grade he built a computer as his entry in the New York City Science Fair and walked away with first prize. He is able to revisit the competitive spirit of those school days when he serves as a judge for the Lancaster Newspapers Science & Engineering Fair each year.
In his youth, as he moved toward college and a profession, it was a television show that attracted him to medicine. The show was Ben Casey, a hospital drama from the sixties about a pioneering neurosurgeon who personified the intensity that John Gastaldo felt. It inspired him to translate his knowledge and abilities into a career in neurosurgery.
Today he says that he appreciates the challenges of his position as much as when he first started out. “I consider myself lucky,” he says, “because I really love my job.” As a board-certified brain and spine specialist at Lancaster NeuroScience & Spine Associates, his concentration for more than 30 years has been on brain tumor surgery, gamma knife radiosurgery, and general neurosurgery.
Rosann Leed of Stevens is among the thousands of patients that Dr. Gastaldo has treated who appreciates his professional skill and sensitivity. in May, 2009, she underwent surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) to relieve severe pain in her thumb that kept her awake at night. CTS occurs when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. It leads to numbness and muscle weakness in the hand. The procedure was done at The NeuroSpine Center, the practice’s recently opened outpatient surgery center. Dr. Gastaldo is the Center’s Medical Director.
This was Rosann’s second surgery with Dr. Gastaldo. Twenty years ago she underwent back surgery. That experience gave her the confidence and trust to choose him for the delicate nerve surgery. “He really explains everything down to the finest detail,” she said, “so I knew exactly what was going to happen and what to expect. I was happy to put myself in his hands again.”
In addition to caring for patients and raising a family, Dr. Gastaldo uses his free hours in a way that reflects his love of precision and detail. When time allows and the weather cooperates, he heads for Lancaster Airport to fulfill another cherished role — that of civilian pilot. He learned to fly and became an instrument-rated pilot when he was a resident physician at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, inspired by his chief of neurosurgery, who was also a pilot. In the intervening years he had let his certifications lapse.
Five years ago his wife Helen gave him a gift that included airtime to get his credentials current. It was her enthusiasm for travel adventures together that reignited his affinity for aviation. They’ve taken trips and gone to medical conventions all across the country and Canada, giving the couple priceless time side by side in a single engine Cirrus SR22. “I love the science and precision of instrument flying,” he explained. “Combining something that is fulfilling to me while enjoying great experiences with my wife means a great deal.”
He also devotes some of his personal time to serving as Chairman of the Board of the Central Pennsylvania Physicians Risk Retention Group.
He is one of a group of area medical, legal and financial experts who created a risk retention group to provide malpractice coverage for central PA physicians and healthcare providers through a self-insured approach. He says that the need for more reasonable malpractice costs for an area like Lancaster was critical. “We saw a need to be responsible and proactive. We were able to set an example that ‘this can work’ and to fill a vital need in this area’s health care delivery system,” he said with gratification.
Dr. Gastaldo’s precision with the exacting details of neurosurgery is well matched by his skill in the cockpit and his rigorous efforts toward improving liability insurance conditions in Central Pennsylvania.
What comes across consistently in all his endeavors is the enduring satisfaction that he finds in the choices he has made and the passions he has embraced full throttle.
