Readers may recall our earlier profile on Dr. Vito Errico, where we explored his career and commitment to patient care. This story brings that dedication into sharper focus through one remarkable case.
When New Haven restaurateur and owner of Brazi’s on the wharf, Valerio Capobianco, began to lose strength in his hands and arms, he grew concerned. Simple movements became difficult and even eating a bagel in the morning became a struggle. He had been told it could be COVID and was facing a three-week wait for an MRI. Each day his symptoms were getting worse.
That wait never happened. A mutual acquaintance connected Val with Dr. Errico, a neuroradiologist based in Milford. Within hours, Val went from uncertainty to a clear diagnosis that saved his life.
Dr. Errico grew up in New York, attended NYU for pre-med, then Stony Brook for medical school, and completed specialty training at Yale. Today, he runs his own radiology practice with a subspecialty in neuroradiology. “That is what brought me to Connecticut,” he explains. “I wanted to build a practice focused on diagnostic accuracy, but also on being available when patients need answers quickly.”
When Val’s case came to his attention in late 2022, those principles were put into practice. “A friend called and described the symptoms: weakness, numbness, difficulty gripping, and trouble swallowing. I knew he could not wait for imaging,” he recalls.
Val and his wife arrived at the office that same day. An x-ray suggested something serious in the cervical spine. Dr. Errico then moved him directly into the office’s MRI scanner. The results were clear and alarming: Val had a severe infection in his cervical spine that was pressing against his spinal cord.
“If he had twisted his neck or fallen, he could have been paralyzed or worse,” Dr. Errico says. The infection, known as a discitis-osteomyelitis complex with an epidural abscess, was advancing quickly.
Recognizing the urgency, Dr. Errico called the Yale New Haven Hospital emergency department directly. “I told them this patient could not wait in the ER. He needed immediate attention.” Within hours, Val was admitted and prepped for surgery.
Surgeons operated over two days, with each session lasting six to seven hours. They removed the infection from both the front and back of the neck. Val also received antibiotics to contain the infection. Recovery took six to eight weeks with time in a collar and rehabilitation afterward. Today, he shows no outward signs of what could have been a life-altering or life-ending illness.
“The surgeons did remarkable work,” Dr. Errico says. “But what made the difference was timing. Getting him diagnosed and to the operating room in time is what saved his life.”
For Dr. Errico, the case reinforced the value of experience and intuition. “In radiology you learn to recognize patterns. On the MRI it was a textbook appearance of infection. The important thing was acting immediately.”
His practice continues to serve patients across the region, from routine imaging to consultations for spine conditions and interventional procedures like epidural injections. Yet stories like Val’s remain at the heart of why he chose this path. “Often radiology can feel removed from patients. You sit behind the images. But cases like this remind you that every scan represents a person, a family, and a chance to change the outcome.”
Val has since returned to running his restaurant in New Haven. To those who know the story, his recovery feels almost miraculous. To Dr. Errico, it is an example of what medicine is meant to be. “This is why we train, why we do the work,” he reflects. “So that when the moment comes, we can give someone their life back.”
"A friend called and described the symptoms: weakness, numbness, difficulty gripping, and trouble swallowing. I knew he could not wait."