Pain Neurosurgery

Part of the Neurosurgery by Example series, this volume on pain neurosurgery presents exemplary cases in which renowned authors guide readers through the assessment and planning, decision making, surgical procedure, after care, and complication management of common and uncommon disorders. The cases explore the spectrum of clinical diversity and complexity within pain neurosurgery, including trigeminal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, percutaneous cordotomy for cancer-associated pain, chronic lumbar radiculopathy, and more.

Each chapter also contains 'pivot points' that illuminate changes required to manage patients in alternate or atypical situations, and pearls for accurate diagnosis, successful treatment, and effective complication management. Containing a focused review of medical evidence and expected outcomes, Pain Neurosurgery is appropriate for neurosurgeons who wish to learn more about a subspecialty, and those preparing for the American Board of Neurological Surgery oral examination.

Oren Sagher, MD, accepted a position on the neurosurgical faculty at the University of Michigan after completing his residency at the University of Virginia. He became Chief of Neurosurgery at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospital, a position he held until 1996. He then completed a fellowship in Pain and Functional Neurosurgery at the Oregon Health Sciences University, and took over as the Director of Neuromodulation at the University of Michigan. As the primary functional neurosurgeon at the University of Michigan, Dr. Sagher takes care of such problems as epilepsy, pain, Parkinson's Disease, and other movement disorders. Dr. Sagher is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). He has served on the Executive Council on the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Pain, which he chaired from 2003 to 2005.

Emily Levin, MD, graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2002, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with her Doctor of Medicine. Following completion of her surgical internship and residency in Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan, she completed a fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco. While in San Francisco, she received specialized training in the surgical treatment of movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia. She also focused on surgery for treating epilepsy and pain. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Michigan and the Chief of Neurosurgery for the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Julie G. Pilitsis, MD, is a Professor of Neurosurgery and of Neuroscience at Albany Medical College and Chair for the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics. She completed her neurosurgery residency at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. During that time, she also obtained a PhD in neurophysiology and became active in both basic science and translational research. She went on to complete a fellowship in Functional Neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. To date, she has served as Chair of the Joint Section on Pain of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) as well as AANS/CNS Chair of Joint Section for Women in Neurosurgery. She is currently an Executive Council Member of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Scientific Program for the AANS, and on the NANS Board of Directors. With the support of the NANS Board of Directors, she began the NANS Women in Neuromodulation Section where she was the first chair and currently serves as senior advisor. Dr. Pilitsis maintains an NIH sponsored research program focused on device optimization for neuromodulation and has published over 100 journal articles, 4 books, and numerous chapters. She serves as section editor of functional neurosurgery in Operative Neurosurgery, is on the editorial board of Neuromodulation, and sits on multiple NIH study sections.