Pediatric Neurosurgery

Surgeons implant a small electronic device in your child’s body, where it can help regulate abnormal brain functions. Procedures include:

Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

Small electrodes are placed deep in your child’s brain. They generate electrical pulses that stimulate areas of the brain responsible for controlling movement, which can improve symptoms of many different movement disorders.

Motor cortex stimulation (MCS)

An electrode is placed on the surface of the brain to disrupt pain signals. This can significantly reduce your child’s level of pain and discomfort from certain brain or spinal cord conditions.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)

A small device is placed in the upper chest and connected to the vagus nerve in the neck. Electrical pulses sent to the brain through the vagus nerve can treat a variety of conditions, including certain forms of epilepsy, depression, or stroke-related loss of arm function.

These procedures shrink or remove areas of abnormal or damaged brain or nervous tissue. They include:

Skull base surgery

Surgery to remove tumors or growths in and around the base of the skull. This procedure requires special expertise due to the complex network of bones, major nerves, and major blood vessels in the area.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)

These procedures shrink and destroy abnormal tissue within the body using precise, focused beams of energy. It is painless and does not require any incisions. It may be a good choice for small tumors or situations where traditional surgery is too risky. Specific technologies include Gamma Knife surgery, which uses a beam of gamma rays to heat and destroy tumors.

Tumor excision

Removal of brain or spinal tumors through surgical incisions. Whenever possible, minimally invasive techniques are chosen.

Other neurosurgery procedures we perform include:

Craniofacial reconstruction

Reconstruction or repair of a damaged or abnormally shaped skull. A neurosurgeon may work alongside other surgical specialties (such as plastic surgery) to address any brain or spinal cord issues caused by the skull deformity.

Craniotomy

Surgeons temporarily remove part of the skull to gain access to the brain for surgery. It is commonly used in emergency surgeries for traumatic brain injuries or skull fractures, as well as tumor removals that cannot be performed using minimally invasive or radiosurgery.

Epilepsy surgery

A variety of surgical techniques can treat epileptic seizures that haven’t responded well to nonsurgical treatment (such as medications, diet, or neurostimulation), including minimally invasive and radiosurgery options in many cases.

Focused ultrasound (FUS)

Surgeons use multiple focused beams of soundwaves to heat and destroy damaged or diseased tissue deep within the brain that are causing problems, such as tremors. This does not require incisions and minimizes damage to healthy surrounding tissue.

Neuroendoscopy

Surgeons use a long, flexible tube with a camera on the end to examine the brain or spine to diagnose conditions or guide surgery. The camera is inserted through the nose or a small incision in the head or back, depending on the area being examined.

Pain management neurosurgery

We use a variety of different procedures to help children reduce or eliminate chronic pain from nervous system conditions. Techniques include relieving pressure on a nerve by cutting surrounding structures (decompression) or blocking specific nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.

Peripheral nerve surgery

Surgery to repair peripheral nerves, which branch out from the brain and spinal cord to collect sensory information (sight, taste, smell, etc.) and control muscle movements.

Vascular neurosurgery

Specialized surgery to repair abnormal or damaged blood vessels of the brain and spinal cord, including abnormally tangled and misconnected blood vessels (arteriovenous malformations), swollen and bulging arteries (aneurysms), and other conditions.