Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart - Neurosurgery

Neurosurgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart have the expertise to deliver advanced surgical care for brain and spine conditions, including:

• Back pain
• Brain and spinal tumors
• Brain function problems
• Dementia including Alzheimer’s
• Epilepsy and seizures
• Headaches and migraines
• Multiple sclerosis
• Nerve pain, including numbness
• Parkinson’s disease
• Spinal stenosis
• Stroke
• Benefits of our neurosurgical approach to brain and spine care

If surgery is recommended as part of your care, experienced neurosurgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart develop a highly specialized, advanced surgical treatment plan, customized for you. Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart - Neurosurgery offers non-invasive brain surgery using Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™. The neurosurgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart specialize in:

• Brain tumor surgery 
• Carotid angioplasty and stenting
• Chiari decompression
• DBS (deep brain stimulation) surgery
• Endovascular and vascular surgery
• Epilepsy surgery 
• Nerve decompression for migraines
• Pediatric neurosurgery
• Spinal tap 
• Spine surgery 
• Surgery for stroke and aneurysm

If you need neck or back surgery, we have specialists with advanced training and experience in minimally invasive spine surgery. Our team provides specialized surgery to treat complex spinal deformity and degenerative spine disorders.

Pediatric neurosurgery

Studer Family Children's Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart provides Northwest Florida’s only pediatric neurosurgery program. Our nationally recognized neurosurgeon, Gus Perez, MD, has the specialized experience to care for the growing brains and nervous systems of children. By working with pediatric radiologists, anesthesiologists, pharmacists and more at the Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart, we deliver compassionate, personalized care that helps children and parents feel at ease.

If your child needs more advanced care, we have a trauma center and a pediatric intensive care unit. And we are adding new operating rooms dedicated to pediatric procedures.

Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center

Ascension Sacred Heart provides Northwest Florida with a designated Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration and by DNV Healthcare. The DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification covers the full spectrum of stroke care – diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and education. Comprehensive Stroke Centers are typically some of the largest and best-equipped hospitals that can treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication.

The Regional Stroke Center is directed by Dr. Terry Neill, a board-certified critical care neurologist who has advanced the level of stroke care at Ascension Sacred Heart. The stroke center also provides the expertise of endovascular neurosurgeons, Dr. Maria Toledo and Dr. Nathan Kohler, who performs some of the latest minimally-invasive techniques used to diagnose and treat brain aneurysms, brain hemorrhages, and blockages in the head and neck that cause ischemic strokes.

In the past several years, those techniques have become the treatment of choice for certain types of brain aneurysms because they involve less risk and faster recovery than open brain surgery.

Neurosurgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart are skilled at thrombectomy (using a catheter that is inserted into a blood vessel and routed to the brain to remove a blood clot in the brain). We also use a neurointerventional biplane system that helps neurologists quickly locate blockages or malformations so they can provide treatment.

Advances in treating aneurysms

Dr. Maria Toledo is one of the nation's leaders in repairing brain aneurysms using the WEB (Woven EndoBridge) device. It is a fine wire mesh that expands and acts as a plug inside the aneurysm, reducing the blood flow and preventing any further bleeding. This minimally-invasive treatment allows endovascular neurosurgeons to treat patients who previously may have required open surgery.

Region's only Gamma Knife Center for precise radio-surgical treatment of brain tumors

Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart - Neurosurgery in Northwest Florida offers non-invasive brain surgery, the Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™.

Gamma Knife is a stereotactic radiosurgical instrument that delivers a single high dose of precisely focused radiation to the target, while leaving surrounding healthy tissue virtually unharmed. Gamma Knife radiosurgery has proven effective for patients with benign or malignant brain tumors, brain metastases, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), trigeminal neuralgia and other functional problems. It can be used as a primary or supplemental treatment option in combination with surgery, chemotherapy and other forms of radiation therapy.

RAPID Imaging Technology

Neurosurgeons at Ascension Sacred Heart use RAPID, an advanced imaging software that helps surgeons quickly treat a stroke when there is an aneurysm. RAPID imaging technology quickly analyzes MRI and CT brain scans to generate color-coded map views of the brain that allow neurologists to visualize the exact location of the clot and clearly determine which parts of the brain are healthy and which have been damaged by the stroke.

Hybrid OR combines the features of a standard operating room with a leading-edge biplane system, allowing your neurosurgeon to create a personalized care plan.