Neurosurgery
At Northwest Health, we offer a wide range of specialty services to treat brain, spine and central nervous system disorders and injuries. Whether you need routine care or complex surgery, the talented specialists who are affiliated with Northwest Health are eager to use the knowledge gained from their years of experience to help you heal.
Northwest Health’s patient-focused team offers quality care close to home. A multi-disciplinary team of neuroscience specialists diagnose and treat diverse problems that involve the brain, cerebrovascular system, nervous system and spine (cervical, thoracic and lumbar). The team is experienced in performing complex back and spine surgeries, utilizing advanced, minimally invasive techniques.
Care for Traumatic Brain Injury
During computer-guided brain surgery, neurosurgeons use imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to do intraoperative MRI-guided surgery and computerized tomography (CT) to create a 3D model of your brain. This model allows the neurosurgeon to plan the safest way to treat your condition. During your surgery, the computer system precisely guides your surgeon to the area(s) of your brain requiring treatment. Computer-assisted techniques may be used to treat brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations and other lesions.
Use of 3D technologies is one of the advancements brought to Northwest Arkansas by neurosurgeon Dr. Quoc-Anh Thai. When the skull is permanently damaged from trauma, neurosurgeons previously had to rely on shaping titanium mesh (what some call a “metal plate”) to repair large skull defects, but this sometimes presents cosmetic problems. In a recent case, Dr. Thai had a specialized CT image taken of a young patient’s damaged skull. The images were then sent to a company that uses the detailed scans to leverage 3D technology. A synthetic bone piece was constructed that perfectly matched the skull needing repair. Made of poly-ether-ether-ketone (or PEEK), this 3D reconstruction technology is the same technology that is used at Johns Hopkins, where Dr. Thai trained. Learn more about this exciting development and neurosurgeon Dr. Thai in this recent news story.
You can read the story here.