Treatments

Selective dorsal rhizotomy is used as a surgical treatment for cerebral palsy and spasticity. It involves decreasing high muscle tone in the legs by cutting nerve fibers in the lower spinal cord.

A shunt is a flexible tube that is surgically inserted in the operating room. A shunt redirects the flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain to another part of the body where the fluid can be absorbed, usually to the abdominal cavity.

Spinal conditions requiring surgical intervention may result from congenital malformations, degeneration associated with age or disease, and/or traumatic injuries.

In Parkinson's disease, the brain’s globus pallidus region is overactive, causing a decrease in the activity of another area of the brain that controls movement. This over activity leads to symptoms, such as rigidity, movement disorders or tremors.

After someone has suffered a spinal cord injury, surgery is sometimes needed to help keep the bones in the proper position while they heal. It should be understood that surgery will not change how the spinal cord heals.

Treatment for spinal stenosis can be surgical or nonsurgical. If the pain continues to be a problem after nonsurgical options are explored, your health-care provider may recommend possible surgical procedures, including decompressive laminectomy and fusion.

When a tumor occurs in one of the five regions of the brain’s lateral ventricle, or cavity, a procedure called a transcortical surgery technique makes it possible to remove these tumors, as well as vascular malformations or foreign objects.

Surgery for pituitary tumors can be performed through the nose, through an incision made under the upper lip or through the skull, called a craniotomy.

The safety and effectiveness of surgery for acoustic neuromas has considerably improved during the past 10 years with the advent of specialized techniques in microsurgery, neuro-anesthesiology and intraoperative monitoring.