Division of Neurological Surgery

The Division of Neurological Surgery at Saint Louis University is devoted to the advancement of neurosurgical care, research and education. Pioneering work and innovations on neurosurgical technologies and neurosurgical operative techniques have been a hallmark of our group.

Welcome Letter

Our neurosurgical program is known worldwide as the birthplace of modern stereotactic navigation. Dr. Richard Bucholz (a faculty member at SSM St. Louis University Hospital since 1983) developed technology and partnered with Medtronic to develop the first StealthStation™ machine. This revolutionized the field, offering neurosurgeons and their patients stereotactic navigation for surgery involving intracranial lesions. The Stealth navigation system leads to greatly improved accuracy, improved operative time and improved outcomes for patients with complex intracranial lesions from tumors vascular lesions or hydrocephalus. Technology derived from Dr. Bucholz’s patents have led to devices that are present in almost every modern neurosurgical suite in the world. This innovative and pioneering spirit has been the hallmark of our group and continues to guide the treatment of our patients.

Our division consists of a number of neurosurgeons who are all fellowship trained in their area of expertise, including: spine, oncology, cerebrovascular and skull base, endovascular, critical care, epilepsy, and pediatrics. Our group is able to provide industry-leading care for patients presenting with any neurosurgical condition represented in all neurosurgical subspecialties. Additionally, the wide variety of patients we see and treatments we provide allow us to provide comprehensive training for our medical students and residents. Our innovative spirit has led us to partner with other departments to develop advanced multidisciplinary programs such as the fetal care program, surgical epilepsy program, craniofacial program, movement disorders program, radiosurgery program, combined open and endovascular program, pediatric and adult oncology programs, and combined orthopedic and neurosurgical spine programs. All of our faculty are involved in research projects, and are contributing to local and national clinical trials including basic science research, clinical research, and ongoing research into technologies that will help improve the care of our patients.

Treatment of neurological and neurosurgical diseases is named as one of the pillars of our institution. We eagerly anticipate the opening of a new SSM Saint Louis University Hospital on September 1, 2020 and transitioning our care to brand new facilities with the latest technology. We also look forward to growing our partnership with SSM Health as the only quaternary referral center for neurosurgical diseases in the SSM group. I encourage you to explore our division and the innovative care we provide.

---