Pediatric Neurosurgery

The Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at UCSF is an outstanding subspecialty group with a great depth of clinical expertise in complex neurologic problems. UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals are consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation and best in Northern California for pediatric neurology and neurosurgery by US News & World Report.

Our clinical services are part of UCSF’s Pediatric Brain Center that spans two state-of-the-art hospitals in the Bay Area dedicated to care for children: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals San Francisco and Oakland. The Pediatric Brain Center is designed to integrate care across the clinical neurosciences, providing a single ‘home’ that can guide patients and their families through their medical evaluation and treatment, with all the specialists they need in one place. The Pediatric Brain Center also has a specialized multidisciplinary Sports Concussion Program for children that have sustained head injuries while playing sports.

State-of-the-art surgical and monitoring equipment, including intraoperative MRI and advanced neuronavigation software, provide increased safety and precision for neurosurgical operations. Gamma Knife and CyberKnife radiosurgery are available for some pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors, as well as cerebrovascular lesions.

For pediatric patients with epilepsy, responsive neurostimulation, laser thermal ablation, vagal nerve stimulation, and Gamma Knife radiosurgery are all offered in addition to traditional resective procedures. Seizure localization is performed with state-of-the-art imaging modalities and stereo EEG.

Pediatric neurosurgeons at UCSF also have vast experience with selective dorsal rhizotomy for spasticity, and these patients are treated in conjunction with orthopaedic surgery, physical medicine/rehabilitation physicians, and ancillary specialists at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. 

Our surgical movement disorders specialists have published one of the largest series of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for pediatric dystonia and also use DBS to treat juvenile Parkinson's disease and rare pediatric movement disorders.  

The Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery provides expert surgical treatment for children with:

• Brain and spinal cord tumors
• Pituitary disorders and pituitary tumors
• Epilepsy 
• Cerebrovascular disorders (including arteriovenous malformation and stroke)
• Spina bifida
• Chiari malformation
• Craniofacial anomalies and craniosynostosis
• Hydrocephalus
• Spasticity
• Cerebral palsy
• Movement disorders (including dystonia, essential tremor, juvenile Parkinson’s disease)
• Complex spinal disorders (including scoliosis and deformity correction)
• Nerve injury (including pediatric brachial plexus injuries)
• Traumatic injury 

The Department of Neurological Surgery is home to several research labs that study the underlying cause and new treatments for pediatric brain tumors, epilepsy, and movement disorders. A large clinical trials portfolio for pediatric brain tumors includes investigator-initiated trials and those performed as part of national consortia. 

• Alvarez-Buylla Lab
• Bankiewicz Lab
• Baraban Lab
• Gupta Lab
• Ho Lab
• Mueller Lab
• Okada Lab
• Phillips Lab