Brain Surgery
- For all other requests:
- 1-800-777-8442
University of Iowa Health Care’s expert neurosurgeons perform more than 2,600 procedures every year—more than any other health system in the state.
But when you or a loved one is having brain surgery, we know it’s anything but routine. In addition to our skill and experience, the care we provide is guided by compassion, your convenience, and your comfort.
UI Health Care offers the most advanced neurosurgical care and treatments. We have special expertise in neurovascular & neurointerventional surgery, spine surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, and skull base and pituitary surgery.
Whether your condition is common or rare, our team of specialists works together to choose the most effective, least invasive solution.
An expert team, focused on you
Your care involves a highly skilled team that puts you at the center.
Most of our neurosurgeons are fellowship-trained, which means that they’ve had the highest possible level of training. And they collaborate closely with other UI Health Care specialists, including radiation oncologists, pain specialists, endocrinologists, rehabilitation professionals, and others.
If you need inpatient rehabilitation after your surgery, our social work team will help you and your loved ones choose a facility and secure a spot.
The most advanced treatments and technology
Our team of neurosurgeons has extensive experience with the full range of treatments and technology, so they can choose the best option for you.
They're experts in traditional open surgery (making an incision in the scalp and creating a hole in the skull).
They're also experts in minimally invasive skull base surgery, performed through a small incision or through your nose. The UI Health Care team is the only one in Iowa to offer minimally invasive repair of brain aneurysms.
And our investments in state-of-the-art technology mean that we’re continually able to refine procedures for less pain, fewer complications, and faster recovery. For example, our laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) system offers an innovative way to treat epilepsy and brain tumors.
One point of contact to guide you
You may have a large team caring for you, but for your convenience and comfort you’ll have a single contact person. One of our neurosurgical nurse practitioners will be your point of contact. They’ll answer questions, help coordinate appointments, and make sure your journey through surgery and recovery is smooth.
The newest, most advanced treatments
Because we’re part of an academic medical center, you may have access to clinical trials of treatments that aren’t yet available anywhere else. Recent trials have included new ways to protect the part of the brain that controls speech.
Brain surgery tests and treatments
- Angioplasty and stenting of the carotid, vertebral and intracranial arteries
- Aneurysm clip or coiling
- Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) embolization and resection
- Carotid endarterectomy
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS)
- Embolization
- Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)
- Mechanical thrombectomy
- Microvascular decompression
- Responsive neurostimulation (RNS)
- Shunt placement
- Skull base surgery
- Stent placement
- Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)
- Temporal lobectomy
- Thrombolysis
- Tumor resection
- Vagus nerve stimulation
Brain surgery conditions treated
- Brain aneurysm, AVM, or AVF
- Brain tumor
- Chiari malformation
- Craniosynostosis
- Epilepsy
- Head trauma
- Hydrocephalus
- Movement disorders
- Pain and peripheral nerve abnormalities
- Stroke
- Vascular disorders