The Mount Sinai Department of Neurosurgery

The Department of Neurosurgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, established in 1914, has gained a distinguished international reputation. Its areas of expertise include:

• Pituitary and neuroendocrine disorders
• Cerebrovascular disorders
• Brain tumors
• Minimally invasive treatment of Skull-base lesions
• Deep Brain Stimulation for movement disorders
• Minimally invasive spine surgery
• Spinal cord injury
• Cerebral blood flow regulation

Mount Sinai Brain Tumor Program

The Department of Neurology provides comprehensive care to patients with peripheral and central nervous system tumors as well as to those with neurological complications of systemic cancer. Our physicians employ the most advanced evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment techniques available, including computer-assisted, image-guided tumor resections and biopsies, advanced skull-base approaches, and minimally invasive endoscopic procedures. We also offer enrollment in clinical trials, which we post routinely on our website.

Our highly advanced, stereotactic radiosurgery program gives patients a treatment option that does not require open surgery, and some patients may qualify for gene therapy. Our interdisciplinary approach means members of the neurology, radiation oncology, and rehabilitation medicine departments work together to develop the best treatment plan for each patient.

Mount Sinai Clinical Center for Cranial Base Surgery

This multidisciplinary center provides innovative treatments for lesions of nerve, blood vessel, and brain located in the complex structures and remote recesses at the base of the skull. Specialists in neurosurgery, otolaryngology, head and neck cancer, craniofacial surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and microvascular and reconstructive procedures apply their expertise to achieve optimum results.

Our surgeons and physicians have pioneered the development of minimally invasive techniques, including purely endoscopic tumor resection and stereotactic radiosurgery to treat complex skull-base lesions. Our program is world renowned for the treatment of pituitary adenomas, acoustic neuromas, and meningiomas.

The center also offers expertise in the related fields of neurology, electrophysiology, pathology, radiation oncology, rehabilitation medicine, and medical oncology.

Clinical program for cerebrovascular disorders and stroke

Our team evaluates each patient to determine the appropriate treatment for cerebrovascular conditions and vascular lesions. Conditions we treat include:

• Intracranial aneurysms
• Arteriovenous malformations of the brain, dura, and spinal cord
• Carotid artery stenosis
• Intracerebral hemorrhage
• Stroke/cerebral infarction
• Lesions of the skull base
• Trigeminal neuralgia

Functional and restorative neurosurgery

Our neurosurgeons employ the latest technologies to target the locations of brain and spinal cord abnormalities. We also focus on developing minimally invasive neurosurgical techniques that may modulate neural function, replace lost neuronal populations, or halt the neurodegenerative process altogether.

Our physicians apply new techniques in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, facial nerve disorders, epilepsy, and pain management. The most recent technology is deep brain stimulation, which dominates the field. Many technologies with great potential are on the horizon. The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation has honored our physicians for their pioneering work in treating dystonia with deep brain stimulation.

Mount Sinai Program for Stereotactic Neurosurgery

This program has extended the scope of operative tumors by using such techniques as:

• Frame-based or frameless stereotaxy
• Awake and asleep brain mapping
• Microneurosurgery
• Endoscopic surgery

Our physicians remain pioneers in computer-assisted techniques. The development of a precision navigation system and the addition of the Novalis® Shaped Beam Surgery system at Mount Sinai have substantially reduced wound and neurosurgical morbidity, length of surgery, length of stay, and hospital costs.

Center for Spinal Disorders

We offer comprehensive treatment for disorders of the spinal column and spinal cord, including:

• Degenerative disorders, such as disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and spinal instability
• Trauma
• Infections
• Congenital disorders, including scoliosis
• Tumors

Our neurosurgeons have pioneered endoscopic, minimally invasive surgical approaches to treat disorders of the spine. These approaches may reduce postoperative pain, speed recovery, shorten hospital stays, reduce disability, and facilitate an early return to daily routine while providing the same or improved decompression or stabilization.

Bench to bedside

The financial support we receive from the National Institutes of Health, other grants, and private donations enables our faculty to publish their findings in areas that include gene therapy, stem cell research, immunotherapy, deep brain stimulation, and minimally invasive approaches to the skull base. The collaboration between our research and clinical teams allows us to turn research findings into new therapies and better approaches to patient care.