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Newsroom
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“Sunnybrook saved my life”: A multidisciplinary team delivering precision care under one roof
February 5, 2026
What began as a regular day for Frank Mazzuca quickly turned into a medical emergency, as a sudden brain bleed triggered an emergent, life-saving response from a multidisciplinary team at Sunnybrook.
When Frank arrived at Sunnybrook after being transferred from his local hospital, he needed emergency surgery to remove and source the bleeding. After the surgery, his condition suddenly got worse, resulting in the need for a breathing tube and being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
As Frank’s condition continued to deteriorate, his care team began to suspect the cause was a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. A CSF leak happens when a tear or a hole develops around the brain or spinal cord, resulting in spinal fluid escaping. Although typically the result of trauma, or brain or spinal surgery, in rare cases like Frank’s, the cause can be unknown or the result of something very minor, such as a sneeze or exercise.
Frank’s team involving Dr. Anish Kapadia, a neurointerventional radiologist from the Precision Diagnostics & Therapeutics Program, conducted a myelogram, which is a specialized imaging test that involves injecting contrast into the spine to produce detailed pictures of the spinal cord. However, the leak could not be located and Frank’s brain began to bleed again.
As a result, Frank was rushed into surgery, where Dr. Ying Meng, Neurosurgeon in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, controlled the bleeding and Dr. Howard Meng, Anesthesiologist and Pain Physician in the Integrated Surgical Program completed an epidural blood patch to seal the CSF leak by injecting Frank’s blood into multiple areas along his spine.
Within a few days of surgery, Frank was awake in the ICU and no longer needed a breathing tube.
“A slow CSF bleed can take years to diagnose,’ says Dr. Howard Meng. ‘It’s an underrecognized condition and difficult to treat, especially when you don’t know where the leak is coming from, but the blood patch proved to be successful for this patient.”
As home to several speciality care programs, Sunnybrook is one of only three hospitals in Canada where Frank could have received the type of care he needed, all in one place, in a coordinated fashion. From neurosurgery, diagnostic imaging, an ICU stay, and precision spinal treatments, teams from across many of Sunnybrook’s 11 programs played a fundamental role in Frank’s survival and recovery.
When Frank woke up a few days after surgery, he saw his wife who was by his side whenever possible. Although he doesn’t remember his entire stay, what has stayed with him is his immense gratitude for his care team and Sunnybrook.
“Sunnybrook saved my life,” says Frank. “I call my care team my ‘Avengers’ and my family and I will never forget all the nurses and the staff who cared for me.”
From left to right: Dr. Rayyan Kinsara (Interventional Neuroradiology Fellow), Dr. Howard Meng and Dr. Anish Kapadia, three of Frank’s “Avengers.”