Ragheb, John, M.D.
Professor, Pediatric Chief

Bhatia, Sanjiv, M.D.
Assistant Professor

Sandberg, David I., M.D.
Assistant Professor

Pediatric Neurosurgery

Overview
Experts at the University of Miami School of Medicine perform advanced operative techniques, including microsurgery, for the treatment of infants and children with brain tumors, hydrocephalus, vascular disorders, head and spine injuries, myelomeningocele and other congenital malformations. Through the expertise of the university's pediatricians, pediatric neurosurgeons, pediatric nurses and other highly skilled individuals, the pediatric neurosurgical patient will receive the best care and treatment available.

The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program brings together a highly trained and skilled group of physicians, scientists, nurses, social workers and psychologists dedicated to the study and treatment of children with brain tumors. Care is provided from this multi-disciplinary group under the auspices of the UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center located on the UM/Jackson Memorial Medical Center campus. Here, patients also have the option of participating in multi-center clinical trials of the National Cancer Institute-sponsored Pediatric Oncology Program (POG).

The Department of Neurological Surgery's Pediatric Division specializes in the treatment of hydrocephalus, a congenital defect in which accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain. Advances in endoscopic surgical technology (using thin tubes with a fiberoptic camera system to look into body cavities) have allowed surgeons to treat some forms of hydrocephalus without placing a ventricular shunt.

This new endovascular procedure, called a third ventriculostomy, involves opening a hole in the floor of the third ventricle allowing trapped cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to be escaped and reabsorbed, therefore bypassing a blockage in the normal CSF pathways.

Neurosurgeons can work within the ventricular system using small endoscopes that are about the diameter of spaghetti, or two to three millimeters in diameter. This allows a third ventriculostomy to be performed safely through a small opening in the skull. The procedure is best performed in children older than one year with aqueduct stenosis or in older children with acquired forms of obstructive hydrocephalus.

Additionally, the pediatric neurological surgery team also deals with pediatric trauma. This team of medical experts is highly skilled in this area and includes full-time physicians trained in pediatric trauma as well as specially trained pediatric nurses.

To contact the Pediatric Division at Miami Children's Hospital please call (305) 662 8386.