Neurosurgical Care

If you’ve been diagnosed with a neurological condition requiring surgery, you need a highly trained and experienced neurosurgeon.

At UC San Diego Health, you get specialized and personalized care throughout your entire medical journey.

From your first visit with us to follow-up care, our team members provide committed, world-class service.

Why Choose Us?

Neurosurgical Care at UC San Diego Health has earned several distinctions:

#21 in US News & World Report for Neurology & Neurosurgery
#3 nationally for quality in Vizient, the nation's leading health care performance improvement company
The region's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
Level 4 Epilepsy Center
The region's first Level I Trauma Center
Two Comprehensive Stroke Centers
The region's only intraoperative MRI
A world-class skull base surgery program

The Latest Neurosurgery Treatment Options

Our neurosurgeons are experts in using innovative technology and therapies to deliver the best possible treatment for injuries and disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. This includes:

Awake brain surgery
Computer-assisted brain surgery
Deep brain stimulation
Intraoperative MRI
Minimally invasive surgery
Neurocritical care
Stereotactic radiosurgery

Neurosurgery Specialty Programs

Acoustic neuroma and skull base surgery
Brain aneurysm
Brain tumors and metastatic brain cancer
Carotid artery disease
Cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
Complex spine surgery
Neurovascular (stroke)
Peripheral nerve disorders
Pediatric neurosurgery — at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego  
Pituitary tumors

Intraoperative MRI

The intraoperative MRI suite at Jacobs Medical Center allows neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists to monitor patients in real time. In brain tumor patients, a guidance system can create a color-coded 3D image of the brain that depicts structures critical to speech, motor and cognitive functions.

Surgeons can use these high-definition images to avoid sensitive brain regions and may rescan the brain during surgery to assess whether the procedure has succeeded or needs more attention.