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Alan J. Appley, MD FACS


Alan J. Appley, MD FACS

Since January of 2002, Alan J. Appley, MD FACS has been the attending neurosurgeon for the Gamma Knife® Center at Terrebonne General Medical Center.

Dr. Appley has extensive experience with Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. He served as the founding Medical Director of the Florida Hospital Gamma Knife Center from 1996-2000 and has lectured extensively on this subject. Since completing his formal training in Gamma Knife radiosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Image-Guided Surgery, he has personally performed over 500 of these procedures.

His areas of special interest and experience include:

  • Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Pituitary Surgery
  • Stereotactic radiation delivery (including Gamma Knife Radiosurgery)
  • Computer-Assisted Image-Guided Surgery (Neuronavigation)
  • Complex Spinal Surgery and Instrumentation

He was certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1992 and, in October of 1995, was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons. His professional affiliations include membership in the Lafayette Parish Medical Society, Louisiana State Medical Society, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society, AANS/CNS Joint Sections on Tumors, Stereotactic Surgery and Pain, Leksell Gamma Knife Society, International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society and the American and World Societies for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. Dr. Appley is also a contributing author and medical advisor to the International Radiosurgery Support Association.

Dr. Appley has privileges at both Our Lady of the Lourdes Regional Medical Center and Lafayette General Medical Center; however, he performs Gamma Knife Radiosurgery only at TGMC.

Consultation and Follow-up
For patients interested in this procedure, Dr. Appley or Dr. David Caletri (the Center's Radiation Oncologist) can conduct the initial consultation. If you are a candidate for this procedure an appointment will be set up with Dr. Appley at TGMC's Gamma Knife Center.

Follow-up appointments will be scheduled at the TGMC Gamma Knife Center with the Radiation Oncologist and/or Dr. Appley.

Biography
Dr Appley is a native of southern California, where he graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1975. He received his B.A. in 1979 from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, graduating cum laude with Departmental Honors in Biology. He received his medical degree in 1983 from Tulane Medical School where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and received the Norman Rogers Award for Meritorious Undergraduate Cancer Research.

Dr. Appley completed his Neurosurgery Internship and Residency at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, one of the largest and most highly respected teaching hospitals in the United States. After finishing his training in 1989, he spent two years as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA where he was responsible for helping improve and refine the skills of neurosurgical residents.

In March of 1991, Dr. Appley and his family moved to Orlando, FL to begin private practice. During that time, Dr. Appley gained extensive experience with a wide array of neurosurgical techniques including complex spinal instrumentation, sterotactic image-guided surgery and radiosurgery. He was the main driving force responsible for many neurosurgical advances in Orlando. In October of 2000 and 2001, Dr. Appley was named one of The Best Doctors in Orlando by Orlando Magazine. His accomplishments include:

  • Founding Medical Director of the Florida Hospital Neuroscience Institute (1998-1999). As a result, Florida Hospital was recently ranked #15 for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2002 US News and World Report's America's Best Hospitals.
  • Started, with the help of the American Cancer Society and others, H.O.P.E. (Helping Other Patients Endure), the first brain tumor support group in Central Florida.
  • Participated in and developed several research protocols for brain tumor treatment.
  • Designated a Lifetime Member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Orlando Metro Unit.
  • Introduced the Gamma Knife to Orlando. He served as the founding Medical Director of the Florida Hospital Gamma Knife Center for almost 5 years (1996-2000).
  • Chairman of the Neurosurgery Departments at Florida Hospital (1994-1997) and Winter Park Memorial Hospital (1996-1997).

In July of 2001 Dr. Appley, his wife Cynthia (a Louisiana native whose mother's ancestors settled in Lafourche Parish in the 17th Century) and their two children relocated to Lafayette. They are very happy to finally be back home in south Louisiana.

Contact Information:

Dr. Alan Appley
223 Bendel Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337)-235-7743