OHSU Doernbecher’s pediatric neurosurgeons offer your child or teen world-class skill in neuroendoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical technique for surgery in the brain and spine.

Why it matters

• Much less invasive: Our pediatric neurosurgeons can reach the brain through an incision smaller than a dime, for example, instead of lifting part of the skull. Patients have minimal pain and quicker recoveries.
• Precision: Surgeons can pinpoint areas in even very young patients. They can better “see” in the brain or spine, helping in tumor removal. They can also more easily preserve healthy tissue.
• Better outcomes: Our neurosurgeons can reach areas that were previously inaccessible. Neuroendoscopy, along with our intraoperative MRI scanner, also aids in to-the-millimeter precision. It can play a role in treating:
  • Brain and spinal cord tumors
  • Epilepsy
  • Hydrocephalus
• Innovation: Doernbecher is among the few children’s hospitals to offer ETV/CPC, a procedure that uses flexible neuroendoscopy to dramatically improve outcomes for infants with hydrocephalus. Most patients are spared from a lifetime of shunt dependence.

Other less-invasive techniques

Neuroendoscopy is just one less-invasive technique offered at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Our pediatric neurosurgeons — as part of OHSU, Oregon’s only academic health center — have done extensive research to improve patient care. As a result, they also offer expertise in less-invasive surgeries for treating Chiari malformation, tethered cord and other conditions.

Teaching others

As experts, Doernbecher neurosurgeons teach neuroendoscopy and related techniques to other surgeons, regionally and nationally.