Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
Syringomyelia is a generic term referring to a disorder in which a cyst or cavity forms within the spinal cord. Often, syringomyelia is used as a generic term before an etiology is determined. This cyst, called a syrinx, can expand and elongate over time, destroying the spinal cord. The damage may result in loss of feeling, paralysis, weakness, and stiffness in the back, shoulders, and extremities. Syringomyelia may also cause a loss of the ability to feel extremes of hot or cold, especially in the hands. It may also lead to a cape-like bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensation along the upper chest and arms. The combination of symptoms varies from one patient to another depending on the location of the syrinx within the spinal cord, as well as its extent.
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cord below the level of the injury. Injury can occur at any level of the spinal cord and can be complete, with a total loss of sensation and muscle function at lower sacral segments, or incomplete, meaning some nervous signals are able to travel past the injured area of the cord up to the Sacral S4-5 spinal cord segments. Depending on the location and severity of damage, the symptoms vary, from numbness to paralysis, including bowel or bladder incontinence. Long term outcomes also range widely, from full recovery to permanent tetraplegia or paraplegia. Complications can include muscle atrophy, loss of voluntary motor control, spasticity, pressure sores, infections, and breathing problems.
A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of neck bones or pieces of bone can cause a spinal cord injury, resulting in loss of sensation, paralysis, or usually death soon thereafter, primarily via compromising neurological supply to the respiratory muscles as well as innervation to the heart.
Arachnoiditis is an inflammatory condition of the arachnoid mater or 'arachnoid', one of the membranes known as meninges that surround and protect the nerves of the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. The arachnoid can become inflamed because of adverse reactions to chemicals, infection from bacteria or viruses, as the result of direct injury to the spine, chronic compression of spinal nerves, complications from spinal surgery or other invasive spinal procedures, or the accidental intrathecal injection of steroids intended for the epidural space. Inflammation can sometimes lead to the formation of scar tissue and adhesion that can make the spinal nerves "stick" together, a condition where such tissue develops in and between the leptomeninges. The condition is extremely painful, especially when progressing to adhesive arachnoiditis. Another form of the condition is arachnoiditis ossificans, in which the arachnoid becomes ossified, or turns to bone, and is thought to be a late-stage complication of the adhesive form of arachnoiditis.
Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a neurosurgical or orthopedic surgical technique that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae. There are many types of spinal fusion and each technique involves using bone grafting—either from the patient (autograft), donor (allograft), or artificial bone substitutes—to help the bones heal together. Additional hardware is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together. The placement of hardware can be guided by fluoroscopy, navigation systems, or robotics.
Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) refers to a group of neurological disorders that relate to malformations of the spinal cord. Various forms include tight filum terminale, lipomeningomyelocele, split cord malformations (diastematomyelia), occult, dermal sinus tracts, and dermoids. All forms involve the pulling of the spinal cord at the base of the spinal canal, literally a tethered cord. The spinal cord normally hangs loose in the canal, free to move up and down with growth, and with bending and stretching. A tethered cord, however, is held taut at the end or at some point in the spinal canal. In children, a tethered cord can force the spinal cord to stretch as they grow. In adults the spinal cord stretches in the course of normal activity, usually leading to progressive spinal cord damage if untreated. TCS is often associated with the closure of a spina bifida. It can be congenital, such as in tight filum terminale, or the result of injury later in life.
Neurocritical care is a medical field that treats life-threatening diseases of the nervous system and identifies, prevents, and treats secondary brain injury.
Joshua B. Bederson is an American neurosurgeon, Leonard I. Malis, MD/Corinne and Joseph Graber Professor of Neurosurgery, and Chair of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an attending neurosurgeon at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Queens.
Piezoelectric bone surgery is a process that utilizes piezoelectric vibrations in the application of cutting bone tissue. The process was patented by Fernando Bianchetti, Domenico Vercellotti, and Tomaso Vercellotti. It was first used clinically in 1988. It is indicated for use in oral, maxillofacial, cranial and spinal procedures; but is mainly used in orthodontics and craniofacial surgery.
Roger Härtl is an American neurological surgeon at Weill-Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He is Director of Spinal Surgery at the Weill Cornell Brain & Spine Center. Härtl has been named by Becker's Spine Review as one of the Top 50 Spine Surgeons in the United States as well as one of the Top 10 Spine and Neurosurgeon Leaders at Non-Profit Hospitals. He was named one of New York's Top Doctors by New York Magazine after he saved the life of New York firefighter Eugene Stolowski.
Barrow Neurological Institute is the world's largest neurological disease treatment and research institution, and is consistently ranked as one of the best neurosurgical training centers in the United States. Founded in 1962, the main campus is located at 350 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix, Arizona.
Curtis Dickman is an American Neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute, and is recognized internationally for his pioneering work in the field of Thoracoscopic Neurosurgery. He serves as Director of the Spine Research Laboratory and Associate Chief of the Spine Section at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Arthur L. Jenkins III is an American fellowship-trained neurosurgeon, co-director of the Neurosurgical Spine Program, and Director of Spinal Oncology and Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery (MIS) Program at the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York. Additionally, he is an associate professor of Neurosurgery and of Orthopedic Surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Jenkins has multiple patents and patent applications for spine-related implants and support systems, and is developing new minimally invasive treatments for patients with cancer that has spread to the spine. He is an innovator in the treatment of acute spinal cord injury as well as degenerative and congenital anomalies of the spine, taking a minimally invasive or minimal-impact approach where possible. He is board certified in Neurological Surgery and is licensed in New York and Connecticut.
Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) is symptoms of a spinal cord injury (SCI) with no evidence of injury to the spinal column on X-rays or CT scan. Symptoms may include numbness, weakness, abnormal reflexes, or loss of bladder or bowel control. Neck or back pain is also common. Symptoms may be brief or persistent. Some do not develop symptoms until a few days after the injury.
Branko Kopjar is a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Washington. He is best known for his contributions in the 1990s to the field of injury prevention and his later work on spine, orthopedic and spinal cord injury research. In addition, he has been published in several top journals in the fields of cardiology, oncology, public health and neurosurgery resulting in a total of more than 500 articles, reports, reviews and abstracts.
Neuroplastic or neuroplastic and reconstructive surgery is the surgical specialty involved in reconstruction or restoration of patients who undergo surgery of the central or peripheral nervous system. The field includes a wide variety of surgical procedures that seek to restore or replace a patient's skull, face, scalp, dura, the spine and/or its overlying tissues.
Alexander Coon is an American neurosurgeon who is the Director of Endovascular and Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at the Carondelet Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's and St. Mary's Hospitals in Tucson, Arizona. He was previously the Director of Endovascular Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Radiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is known for his work in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery and his research in neuroendovascular devices and clinical outcomes in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and AVMs.
Bizhan Aarabi is an Iranian-American neurosurgeon, researcher, author, and academic. He is a professor of neurosurgery at University of Maryland and the Director of Neurotrauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.
Marjorie Wang is an American neurosurgeon, researcher, and academic. She is a professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Complex Spine Fellowship Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
