Pediatric neurosurgery is a very complicated and responsible area of modern medicine, which requires an application of innovative equipment and highly qualified neurosurgical doctors. Specialists from Israeli clinics have made tremendous progress in diagnostics and treatment of various congenital and acquired diseases of central nervous system.

Israeli medical centers annually treat children with a wide variety of diseases of brain and spinal cord, including very rare pathologies. A large number of parents with children come from other countries to receive the necessary medical care.

Tel Aviv Medical Clinic successfully copes with such severe neurological problems of childhood as hydrocephalus, spina bifida, brain and spinal cord tumors, and severe forms of epilepsy. A special feature of the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery is practical application of the most modern diagnostic and treatment methods to date.

To ensure that treatment is highly effective and at the same time safe, TAMC uses only modern technology, performing neurosurgical interventions – computer neuronavigation systems and neurophysiological monitoring systems to strictly follow by surgery plan and prevent severe complications, robotic surgical units (Da Vinci, Spine Assist), powerful neurosurgical microscopes, etc.

The main treatment advantages at the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Tel Aviv Medical Center:

If necessary, patient receives not only access to modern neurosurgery, but also full support by medical tourism staff and interpreters services.
TAMC pediatric neurosurgeons are highly qualified and have unique practical experience; they are equally good at helping both children with common neurological problems and in cases of very rare and severe diseases.
On the basis of pediatric neurosurgery, several highly specialized clinics operate simultaneously, for example, a brain tumor clinic, a clinic for epilepsy treatment etc. This allows patients to receive all the necessary help for their problem, since a specialist in this profile is actively involved in the study and treatment of this particular disease and understands all the intricacies of diagnostic and treatment process.
Department is equipped with only high-quality and modern equipment, which makes the process of diagnostics and treatment not only effective, but also safe for patient.
All invasive procedures are performed under anesthesia so that child does not feel any pain or fear.
If the situation requires, then not only neurosurgeons, but a whole multidisciplinary team is included in treatment – neurosurgeons, neurologists, oncologists, rehabilitation specialists, pediatricians, radiologists, pain treatment specialists and other doctors. This allows us to provide all the necessary comprehensive care to a small patient in the shortest possible time.

Since clinical trials are often carried out at the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, patients have a unique opportunity to become participants. This is especially important for children with brain cancer. Often for them this is the only chance to get rid of the disease and live without pain.

black-haired-child-pediatrician-with-wires-his-head

Departments

The Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery operates several separate clinics, each of which deals with a specific disease or a group of them:

Brain Tumor Unit – neurosurgeons of this profile provide care to children with benign and malignant brain tumors.
Division of spinal cord and spine tumors – specialists in this area are engaged in diagnostics and treatment of benign and malignant tumors of spinal cord and spine.
The center for treatment of epilepsy and other movement disorders of central nervous system is a neurofunctional surgery that deals with various spastic and movement disorders in children, and fights severe forms of epilepsy that are not amenable to conservative treatment.
Center of pediatric treatment of cerebral palsy – here children with various forms of cerebral palsy receive all the necessary surgical care. Often pediatric orthopedists (neuro orthopedics) are involved in the treatment process in such cases.
Neurosurgery of peripheral nervous system – specialists diagnose and surgically treat diseases of peripheral nerves in children (diseases, tumors, injuries).
Center for Neurosurgical Treatment of Hydrocephalus – modern surgical interventions for hydrocephalus treatment are performed here.
Clinic for surgical treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries.
Center for neurofibromatosis treatment – here patients with a hereditary disease – neurofibromatosis, which is characterized by the growth of benign tumors of nervous tissue (neurofibromas) receive the necessary treatment.
Neurovascular surgery – pediatric neurosurgeons of this profile treat vascular diseases of brain and spinal cord (aneurysms, stenoses, arteriovenous malformations).

What diseases does Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery treat?

Contact us

Diagnostic methods in pediatric neurosurgery

If there is a suspicion of a certain neurological disease that requires neurosurgical help, the child is sent for a detailed diagnosis. TAMC diagnostic department employs only the best specialists who conduct high-quality and safe examinations. Planning a diagnostic program, child’s age, his underlying disease, and the need to create special conditions of care (for example, for children with special anatomy or general development) must be taken into account.

If the diagnosis requires invasive methods applications, all such procedures are carried out according to international standards in pediatric practice under general anesthesia and sedation so that young patients do not experience a single drop of pain, fear or other psychological discomfort.

To make an accurate diagnosis, only modern and safe examination methods are used:

various laboratory tests of blood and urine;
CT and MRI of head, spine, and, if necessary, the whole body, 3D and 4D modeling of problem area;
PET-CT, especially for neurology oncology diseases;
color Dopplerography of head and neck vessels (modern ultrasound technique);
angiography of arteries of head, spine and neck;
neurophysiological diagnostic methods (EEG, EMG, etc.); performing a puncture of spinal canal and various studies of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF);
biopsy, cytological and histological examination, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence examination of tissue samples (for example, part of a tumor).

If during diagnostic search there is a need for a biopsy, then tissue samples for examination are sent to the best Israeli pathohistological laboratories for 100% verification of the diagnosis. Thanks to such “molecular tests”, we are confident in the adequacy of final diagnosis and success of further individually selected treatment regimens.

On the basis of TAMC there is a unique unit – Center for Brain Activity Study. Specialists at this center conduct an innovative diagnostic study of brain – functional MRI (fMRI). This is a medical imaging technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect changes in blood flow in response to activity of neurons in brain. During fMRI, patient is asked to perform simple tasks, which helps doctor find the area of brain that controls speech and movement or other necessary functions. This information will help doctor correctly plan treatment and the extent of surgical intervention.

Important!

Thanks to modern and innovative equipment, diagnosis occurs quickly and accurately, which is very important for successfully overcoming the disease or its consequences.

Modern treatment methods in Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery

The main treatment method in neurosurgery is surgery. Surgeries for all patients of our clinic are performed only using modern and low-traumatic techniques. To access required area of brain or spinal cord, only minimal incisions are used (for example, endonasal incisions during surgeries on brain pituitary gland).

In the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery at TAMC, specialists with many years experience perform the following surgeries:

ventriculo-peritoneal shunt;
bypass surgery of brain ventricles;
endoscopic ventriculocisternostomy of the bottom of third brain ventricle;
decompression laminectomy;
aqueductoplasty;
endoscopic shunting for hydrocephalus;
decompression craniotomy;
translabyrinthine craniotomy;
removal of benign and malignant tumors of brain and spinal cord;
correction of congenital developmental defects of facial and cerebral part of skull (craniosynostosis, Greg’s syndrome, Crouzon’s syndrome, platybasia, Gruber’s syndrome, craniofacial dysostosis Franceschetti-Zwahlen, etc.);
correction of cerebral blood vessels malformations (aneurysms, malformations, hemangiomas);
surgeries for spinal diseases with or without spinal cord compression;
surgical treatment of traumatic brain injuries, infectious complications, strokes in children.

Neurosurgeons in our department also provide surgical treatment for cerebral palsy. Such procedures allow us to get good results in terms of movement disorders in sick children and remove spastic component. Examples of such newer procedures include intrathecal baclofen pump implantation, selective dorsal rhizotomy, and stereotactic basal ganglia surgery.

Particularly noteworthy are the advanced surgical techniques for epilepsy treatment, which are perfectly mastered by Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery doctors at TAMC. Surgery for epilepsy is a last resort when drug therapy is ineffective. In such situations, surgeon removes part of brain tissue that is responsible for seizures in child, if this part is not vital.

If the cause of epilepsy is anomalies in cerebral vessels development, specialists can perform a minimally invasive but effective procedure – endovascular embolization of blood vessels. Another modern minimally invasive procedure that helps to avoid seizures in epilepsy is electrical stimulation of vagus nerve.

Modern help for hydrocephalus (water on brain) gives a chance for a future and healthy life. One such innovative procedure is ventriculo-peritoneal shunt (V-P SHUNT). In this case, a thin shunt is implanted inside the skull at one end, and at the other it is brought into abdominal cavity, where excess cerebrospinal fluid flows.

Also, small patients with brain tumors have the opportunity to receive modern neurosurgical treatment using a stereotactic radiosurgical gamma knife unit. Surgery in such cases is performed without a single incision, and pathological focus in brain is destroyed under the influence of ionizing radiation from this installation.

Also, patients of TAMC Medical Center have access to experimental treatment regimens using drugs and surgical techniques that are undergoing clinical trials. Within the framework of such programs, all necessary examinations and treatment procedures are free for patient. This is a real chance for a healthy life for children for whom standard treatment regimens have proven ineffective.

Pediatric neurosurgery medical staff have specialized training to work effectively in this field. Psychologists and rehabilitation specialists regularly communicate with patients in the department, as well as with family members. Parents or custodians receive all the necessary information on post-treatment care, nutrition, exercise and post-operative recovery. After discharge from department, the possibility of subsequent observation of patient, therapy correction and outpatient consultations with relevant specialists remains available.