Luis Bautista, a 41-year-old man who was living with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his brain, was admitted to the ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), when he was able to share his story of his AVM removal, still with a smile on his face.
In 2000, Luis was only a teenager when he had his first seizure related to his AVM. He originally sought treatment, but later stopped, not thinking about his AVM again for many years. That changed in 2015, when he experienced another seizure and began working with several neurologists in New York City, where he was living at the time. Luis was getting various opinions at this point and was being given many different options of what path he could take, and he had ultimately decided to take the route of being conservative and monitoring the AVM carefully. Luis started anti-seizure medications that year.
In February 2025, just months ago, Luis’ AVM bled, causing him to have a stroke. That is when he and his partner, Peter, decided they needed to be a bit more decisive about what they were going to do, and how they were going to address the AVM. Luis was in recovery following his stroke, when Peter joined an AVM Facebook group, where people share their experiences with specific doctors and surgeries. This is where they came across Dr. Nirav J. Patel. While Luis was still in rehab, they scheduled a video consultation with Dr. Patel. They also continued to seek other opinions from other AVM specialists all over the United States, but Luis explained how Dr. Patel was the only one to recommend surgery as the first option. Other doctors offered various other methods that included three year wait times with unpromising results, while others even said his AVM was inoperable.
It was hard to adjust to the new reality of considering his AVM to be operable, after years of believing it was not, but Luis soon realized the other treatment options were not suitable. Something Luis also had to keep in mind was his and his partner’s two young kids, and how he needed to be looking towards their future. They weighed heavy consideration in the timing of the procedure, considering his job and stream of income. To his surprise, Dr. Patel urged him not to worry, explaining they were going to get this done in less than a month. Luis and Peter made the choice to continue their journey by choosing Dr. Patel as Luis’ neurosurgeon, and they traveled to Boston to meet with him in person.
Luis felt reassured and at ease when he realized that Dr. Patel had already taken several steps forward after their conversations online to make sure he was a proper candidate for the procedure. Luis admires how Dr. Patel is so sure of himself and his work, and beyond just this, how personable of a man he is. Luis recalls the first thing Dr. Patel asked him when they met in person was “How are the kids doing?” Luis explained how comforting these things were to him during this scary and uncertain time. Further, Luis and Peter were surprised and very pleased with how fast and responsive Dr. Patel and his team were, as they were determined to get this surgery done as soon as possible.
Luis shared his first experience after waking up from his procedure and Dr. Patel being one of the first people he saw. Luis remembers saying “Oh, hi Dr. Patel”, and Dr. Patel smiled and responded, “Well that’s a good sign.” He remembers feeling put immediately at ease that Dr. Patel was in the room with him smiling, as he didn’t expect to see him again so soon. He explains how good it felt to know how much Dr. Patel cared and waited to physically see how he was doing. Luis explained how he has never once questioned Dr. Patel’s judgement and how he knows it is the same for other patients he has spoken to that have had Dr. Patel as their neurosurgeon. Peter noted that they made sure to talk to many other people through these AVM Facebook groups who have also dealt with high grade AVMs like Luis’. They learned that countless other surgeons would refuse to touch this level of AVM, but it was general knowledge after speaking to these other survivors that Dr. Patel had not only operated on them but operated beyond successfully due to his advanced skill and expertise in these cases.
Luis and Peter finished their story by explaining how hard of a journey it has been, but how life-changing it has been to have a solution when, at a point, they never thought they would get one. Just days after Luis’ surgery a group of staff members, including Dr. Patel, went to check in on Luis, and when Dr. Patel saw Luis smiling and regaining vision, he stated, “You just made my day”, and Luis responded with “Well, you made my life.”
Luis Bautista, a 41-year-old man who was living with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his brain, was admitted to the ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), when he was able to share his story of his AVM removal, still with a smile on his face.
In 2000, Luis was only a teenager when he had his first seizure related to his AVM. He originally sought treatment, but later stopped, not thinking about his AVM again for many years. That changed in 2015, when he experienced another seizure and began working with several neurologists in New York City, where he was living at the time. Luis was getting various opinions at this point and was being given many different options of what path he could take, and he had ultimately decided to take the route of being conservative and monitoring the AVM carefully. Luis started anti-seizure medications that year.
In February 2025, just months ago, Luis’ AVM bled, causing him to have a stroke. That is when he and his partner, Peter, decided they needed to be a bit more decisive about what they were going to do, and how they were going to address the AVM. Luis was in recovery following his stroke, when Peter joined an AVM Facebook group, where people share their experiences with specific doctors and surgeries. This is where they came across Dr. Nirav J. Patel. While Luis was still in rehab, they scheduled a video consultation with Dr. Patel. They also continued to seek other opinions from other AVM specialists all over the United States, but Luis explained how Dr. Patel was the only one to recommend surgery as the first option. Other doctors offered various other methods that included three year wait times with unpromising results, while others even said his AVM was inoperable.
It was hard to adjust to the new reality of considering his AVM to be operable, after years of believing it was not, but Luis soon realized the other treatment options were not suitable. Something Luis also had to keep in mind was his and his partner’s two young kids, and how he needed to be looking towards their future. They weighed heavy consideration in the timing of the procedure, considering his job and stream of income. To his surprise, Dr. Patel urged him not to worry, explaining they were going to get this done in less than a month. Luis and Peter made the choice to continue their journey by choosing Dr. Patel as Luis’ neurosurgeon, and they traveled to Boston to meet with him in person.
Luis felt reassured and at ease when he realized that Dr. Patel had already taken several steps forward after their conversations online to make sure he was a proper candidate for the procedure. Luis admires how Dr. Patel is so sure of himself and his work, and beyond just this, how personable of a man he is. Luis recalls the first thing Dr. Patel asked him when they met in person was “How are the kids doing?” Luis explained how comforting these things were to him during this scary and uncertain time. Further, Luis and Peter were surprised and very pleased with how fast and responsive Dr. Patel and his team were, as they were determined to get this surgery done as soon as possible.
Luis shared his first experience after waking up from his procedure and Dr. Patel being one of the first people he saw. Luis remembers saying “Oh, hi Dr. Patel”, and Dr. Patel smiled and responded, “Well that’s a good sign.” He remembers feeling put immediately at ease that Dr. Patel was in the room with him smiling, as he didn’t expect to see him again so soon. He explains how good it felt to know how much Dr. Patel cared and waited to physically see how he was doing. Luis explained how he has never once questioned Dr. Patel’s judgement and how he knows it is the same for other patients he has spoken to that have had Dr. Patel as their neurosurgeon. Peter noted that they made sure to talk to many other people through these AVM Facebook groups who have also dealt with high grade AVMs like Luis’. They learned that countless other surgeons would refuse to touch this level of AVM, but it was general knowledge after speaking to these other survivors that Dr. Patel had not only operated on them but operated beyond successfully due to his advanced skill and expertise in these cases.
Luis and Peter finished their story by explaining how hard of a journey it has been, but how life-changing it has been to have a solution when, at a point, they never thought they would get one. Just days after Luis’ surgery a group of staff members, including Dr. Patel, went to check in on Luis, and when Dr. Patel saw Luis smiling and regaining vision, he stated, “You just made my day”, and Luis responded with “Well, you made my life.”
