Barts and The London Centre for Neurosciences | Our services | Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Patients receiving specialist neurosurgery are generally referred to the service by consultants at other hospitals.
We provide a comprehensive range of clinical care to patients with spinal problems (including kyphosis), movement disorders, facial and skull problems and nerve disorders.
We use the most advanced treatments, such as computerised image-guided surgery for the spine, which enhances patient safety during surgery and speeds up recovery.
The surgical team includes rhinologists (who deal with disorders of the nose and nasal passages), otologists (who deal with diseases of the ear), maxillo-facial surgeons (who deal with disorders of the face and jaw), plastic surgeons, radiologists and oncologists (who deal with cancers and tumours).
A number of pioneering treatments are under development by our leading brain and spine surgeons. These include:
Spinal injuries
Barts and The London Centre for Neurosciences is the most experienced in London in major surgery for spinal injuries and is pioneering new treatments such as kyphoplasty to treat deformity of the spine using special balloons and cement inserted into fractured spinal vertebrae. This procedure is non-invasive which means that patients can be up and about soon after their operations – in some cases on the same day. No incisions are necessary (unless supporting rods are also required), and the cement is eventually replaced by bone and so it doesn’t need to be removed. Kyphoplasty can also be used to treat other sorts of spinal injury, for example, resulting from diseases like cancer or osteoporosis.
We were one of the first hospitals to begin using this technique six years ago and is now well established as a leader in this field, having treated over 300 patients to date. More than 93% of patients have reported immediate pain relief, where all other attempts to control pain had failed.
Complex spinal surgery is performed with advanced equipment and the centre is a lead in the use of new technology to increase the safety and accuracy in this area. The two complex spine neurosurgeons are amongst several other neurosurgeons in the country pioneering new techniques of artificial joint technology in the cervical spine.
Trigeminal neuralgia: a new specialist multidisciplinary clinic, one of only two in the country, has been set up for this facial pain disorder, in conjunction with the department of oral medicine. New approaches to diagnosis and follow-up, new drugs and novel surgical approaches are all being trialled. Patients are referred on a national basis.
Neurostimulation services: We provide one of the largest neurostimulator services in the country. These sophisticated devices are implanted into the brain or spine to treat pain syndromes, bladder dysfunction and movement disorders.
Pituitary tumours: We have pioneered novel surgery on pituitary tumours in the brain using minimally-invasive endoscopes rather than traditional open surgery. We are one of only a handful of centres using this approach and has treated more patients using the procedure than anywhere else in Britain.
Complex base of skull surgery: We are a multidisciplinary regional referral service for complex base of skull surgery in collaboration with rhinologists, neuro-otologists, maxillo-facial surgeons, endocrinologists, plastic surgeons and neuroradiologists.
Neuro-oncology – in collaboration with radiotherapists and linked to basic research into tumour genetics.
Peripheral nerve – linked to basic research into nerve growth factors and coupled with the clinical development of treatment of brachial plexus injuries.
Gamma knife stereotatic radiosurgery - The centre runs one of only two gamma knife units in Great Britain treating NHS patients, a partnership between Barts and The London and HCA International. The gamma knife unit is evolving an ambitious development programme to become the routine provider of gamma knife services to the entire South of England.
Neurovascular surgery – a multidisciplinary approach to cerebral aneurysms, AVMs (a blood vessel disorder of the brain) and other neurovascular malformations between neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology and the gamma knife service.
