Cerebrovascular Surgery Program
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare
Children's Memorial Hospital
The Department of Neurological Surgery, working with the Departments of Neurology and Radiology, supports one of the most advanced treatment centers in the nation for the treatment of stroke, brain aneurysms, brain or spinal vascular malformations, and other blood vessel-related problems. Stroke and other cerebrovascular disorders remain the third leading killer of adults in America and, unfortunately, the afflicted are often young, which magnifies the impact upon society. The key Northwestern clinicians and investigators include Drs. H. Hunt Batjer, Christopher Getch, Bernard R. Bendok, Arthur DiPatri, Robin Bowman, Ali Shaibani, Eric Russell, Tadanori Tomita, Todd Parrish, Mark Alberts, Richard Bernstein, Allan Burke, and numerous faculty members from the Department of Neurology.
Northwestern offers state-of-the-art diagnostic testing including non-invasive studies of the neck and brain vessels, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), CTA, and cerebral angiography. In addition, Northwestern provides a unique functional MRI program, that allows clinicians and neuroscientists to study where particular functions are located in an individual patient's brain. This is important in treating vascular malformations that have been present since birth. Patients may harbor a vascular abnormality exactly where traditional anatomic studies would suggest a particular function like arm or leg movement or speech might be located. In fact, often these functions have been displaced by the patient's own adaptive mechanisms. This knowledge is extremely important and opens up avenues for treatment of lesions that were previously considered untreatable. The Feinberg Clinical Neuroscience Research Institute at Northwestern has supported the further development of these programs to make this critically important diagnostic tool widely available. Thus, therapeutic decisions can be based on how the brain actually works as opposed to how it looks.
As recognized experts in microsurgical procedures including ECIC bypass, Drs. Batjer, Getch, Awad, and Bendok lead the Neurovascular Microsurgery Program, which utilizes state of the art technology to treat patients with aneurysms, AVMs, cavernous carotid disease, and spinal vascular malformations.
Weekly physician and investigator conferences are held to evaluate inpatients and conduct consultations for patients who were referred from outside institutions. In these multidisciplinary conferences, options are discussed that run the gamut from conservative therapy to extremely complex treatments including hypothermic circulatory arrest procedures for the management of the most complex posterior circulation aneurysms and occasionally certain vascular malformations.
Under the direction of Drs. Robert Levy and Christopher Getch, Northwestern's Gamma Knife Program staff members are actively treating many patients with vascular malformations of the brain, which are deemed best managed by this approach. This non-invasive computer technology precisely targets radiation on unhealthy tissue and spares patients the need to have a traditional surgical operation on the brain.
Under the direction of Drs. Bernard R. Bendok and Ali Shaibani, the Northwestern Neuroendovascular Program provides premier neuroendovascular care. Drs. Bendok and Shaibani specialize in aneurysm coiling, AVM embolization, carotid stenting, tumor embolization, acute stroke intervention, as well as other minimally invasive endovascular procedures.
The Feinberg Clinical Neuroscience Research Institute endowed by Ruben Feinberg and directed by Dr. Jack Kessler has identified cerebrovascular disease including stroke as its cornerstone program. Substantial resources are being directed into the study of basic mechanisms of brain ischemia and novel methods of salvaging threatened brain tissue. The interaction of the key investigators and resources at each of these Northwestern institutions promises continued extraordinary growth in this pivotal program.
The Department of Neurological Surgery is actively recruiting a neuroscientist with experience in brain ischemic protection and stroke modeling. These activities will take advantage of proximity to a 3T magnet and a research-dedicated endovascular suite.
