Our Approach to Care
Because hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts can have multiple causes, the first step is to determine the cause. If the cause is a brain tumor or other disease, our pediatric neurosurgeons partner with experts in multiple other disciplines to develop a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses the root cause as part of the plan.
If surgery is deemed necessary, our expert pediatric neurosurgeons have advanced training in the latest surgical approaches to hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts that are tailored to each child’s unique needs with excellent outcomes. We will discuss the options with you and make an individual treatment recommendation.
Recognizing that every child has a unique set of symptoms, circumstances and needs, we take a holistic approach to your child’s care that considers the whole person, including his or her physical, emotional and social factors. We strive to partner with patients and their parents in shared decision-making, empowering them with knowledge, support, and the most effective treatment options that will enable your child to reach the highest quality of life.
Multidisciplinary Team Approach
Our pediatric brain and spinal programs are directed by highly trained clinicians with specific areas of expertise. From the moment of diagnosis, our team of pediatric neurologists, pediatric neurosurgeons, and other specialists customize a treatment plan for your child. Nurses, child life specialists, social workers, and others are vital members of the team who deliver and support your child's care. Together, your child's team selects and manages the most effective combination of therapies.
Seamless, Coordinated Care
We understand it can be challenging to juggle appointments and manage all the different aspects of your child's care. To provide seamless, efficient care, our patient care coordinators manage all the specialty consultations and steps required to care for your child. Our coordinators help arrange any necessary appointments, explain treatments, and review the timeframe for your child's care. We also help coordinate the care provided by our team with your child's pediatrician.
Why Choose Us
Expertise in Pediatric Hydrocephalus and Intracranial Cysts
With advanced training in all of the surgical techniques to treat hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts in children, our pediatric neurosurgeons are best qualified to evaluate these conditions and make an individual treatment recommendation. Once identified, hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts are very treatable, and the prognosis for their successful management is excellent.
Innovative Surgical Techniques and Technologies
Our pediatric neurosurgeons are highly experienced in advanced surgical techniques to treat brain and spinal disorders, including hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts:
- Surgery with precision: Our pediatric neurosurgeons use the latest mapping and monitoring techniques to plan and perform surgery to ensure the best outcomes while minimizing risk.
- Microsurgery: Our pediatric neurosurgeons use microsurgery techniques that involve the use of a high-powered operating microscope and specialized instruments to operate on small or delicate structures in the brain. These microsurgical techniques enable our neurosurgeons to navigate with tremendous precision around the finest nerve endings and blood vessels to repair or remove a brain abnormality. Microsurgery has ultimately allowed our neurosurgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures, which offer patients smaller incisions, fewer complications, and faster recoveries.
- Minimally invasive surgery: Our pediatric neurosurgeons are able to utilize minimally invasive approaches to surgery in most of our pediatric patients, resulting in smaller incisions, less pain after surgery, less scarring, and a faster recovery. Our neurosurgeons are exceptionally skilled at endoscopic procedures for the treatment of hydrocephalus, intracranial cysts, spinal disorders, and certain brain tumors. Given the known advantages of endoscopic treatment of hydrocephalus and intracranial cysts, our program has invested heavily in the latest and most advanced arsenal of endoscopic equipment to insure that all patient have access to this exciting alternative.
Multidisciplinary Team Approach
NewYork-Presbyterian’s pediatric neurosurgeons are internationally recognized for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of neurosurgical diseases and disorders in children. Their knowledge and clinical expertise across the entire spectrum of pediatric disorders of the brain and spine, coupled with a multidisciplinary team approach, enables them to develop expertise in very rare conditions such as gene therapy, prenatal surgery, movement disorders, cerebrovascular diseases, spasticity, and craniovertebral junction (CVJ) abnormalities.
As physicians affiliated with dedicated children’s hospitals, they collaborate with pediatric specialists in every field of medicine and surgery as needed, including child neurologists and neuroradiologists, anesthesiologists, neuropathology, nurses, child life advocates and social workers specially trained to work with children.
World-Class Brain & Spine Centers
NewYork-Presbyterian’s world-class brain and spine centers, located at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, offer the most advanced, comprehensive pediatric neurosurgical care to children of all ages for a wide range of pediatric brain and spine conditions, using innovative treatments and a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach.
Access to Pediatric Specialists
Your child's healthcare team has access to all of the various pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists who practice at NewYork-Presbyterian, ensuring that all of your child's medical needs can be addressed.
Seamless Access to Resources and Support Services
At NewYork-Presbyterian, patients and families have seamless access our vast resources, including on-staff neuropsychologists who offer testing and treatments for emotional and cognitive issues that may occur after a brain disorder. We also have a Parent-to-Parent program that can connect you personally with a parent whose child has been treated for the condition your child has.