Harborview Medical Center (HMC)
Harborview Medical Center (HMC) is the only Level 1 shock-trauma unit for the five state WWAMI area (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) which covers one-fifth the land mass of the United States. The hospital coordinates the operation of Airlift Northwest, tying this region and its patients to the 413 bed facility at HMC.
The neurosurgery service is a mixture of acute trauma and acute vascular disease (e.g., 200-250 patients annually are treated for aneurysms who are treated via surgery or coiled via interventional radiology procedures), as well as other neurosurgical problems such as brain tumors and spinal disorders. For this reason, over 1300 operative neurosurgical cases are performed each year (not including radiosurgery).
Facilities include the neurosurgical stroke and trauma ICU, a 30 bed neurosurgery ward, and dedicated neurosurgical operating rooms with the most modern operating facilities, including intraoperative CT scanning, stealth navigational systems and arteriography. The University of Washington Gamma Knife facility is based at HMC and houses a model C system, the most advanced Gamma Knife system available, and the program performs more than 200 Gamma Knife procedures each year.
The Regional Epilepsy Center, located at Harborview, consists of an eight bed unit available for 24-hour continuous EEG and video monitoring. Neurosurgery research facilities include laboratories investigating molecular and cellular aspects of vascular and smooth muscle physiology, experimental brain injury, and stem cell research. The hospital includes a 10-story $78 million dollar Research and Training Building. Experimental and clinical analyses of blood flow, transcranial Doppler, intracranial pressure monitoring, and cerebral metabolism are actively used in both the laboratory and clinical settings.
University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC)
The University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) is a 450-bed comprehensive care facility that is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the nation. The neurosurgical emphasis is on neuro-oncology, neuro-endocrine disorders, skull base tumors, complex spinal disorders and the neurosurgical treatment of pain disorders and epilepsy. A dedicated interventional neuroradiology suite is available for the management of complex vascular malformations. Stereotactic radiosurgery is performed with a Linac Scalpel.
UWMC is a partner in the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance which combines the clinical and research capabilities of the University Hospital with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children's Hospital.
Neurological Surgery facilities include an operating suite with stealth navigational systems, five shielded electrophysiology research laboratories, brain tumor research laboratories, quarters for behavioral research on primates and an experimental neuro-histology unit with facilities for two electron microscopes. A cyclotron for therapy and PET scanning and two magnetic resonance imaging devices are in use. Approximately 800 neurosurgical cases are performed each year at the UWMC.
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle Children's Hospital is a 220 bed pediatric hospital. It is the sole pediatric hospital for Seattle and the WWAMI region, which spans Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. As such, the clinical service is extremely busy, with over 500 neurosurgical operations completed each year.
All disciplines of pediatrics and its subspecialties are available, and SCH is fully integrated into the University of Washington system. Neurosurgeons supervise the multidisciplinary care and treatment of pediatric brain tumors, craniofacial abnormalities, and developmental disorders of spine and hydrocephalus.
Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System
The VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s Seattle Campus provides extraordinary care for Veteran populations throughout Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Oregon. Serving over 80,000 veterans, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System is part of the largest health care network in the country.