Conditions & Treatments

Developed by neurosurgeons, this resource provides patients and their families trustworthy information on a wide range of neurosurgical conditions and diseases. Learn about disease and injury risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options.

Select the treatment or condition you are interested in for more detailed information.

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Patient Content

A Neurosurgeon’s Guide to Stroke

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 26, 2024
Stroke is an abrupt interruption of constant blood flow to the brain that causes loss of neurological function.
Patient Content

AANS Patient Education Videos

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 26, 2024
AANS Patient Education Videos. Low Back Pain: Basic Information and Steps Toward Healing.
Patient Content

Anatomy of the Brain

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: June 14, 2024
The Multifaceted Functions and Growth of the Human Brain
Patient Content

Anatomy of the Spine and Peripheral Nervous System

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 4, 2024
The spinal cord lies inside the spinal column, which is made up of 33 bones called vertebrae. Five vertebrae are fused together to form the sacrum
Patient Content

Arteriovenous Malformations

By:
  • Brian Hoh, MD, FAANSis the James and Brigitte Marino Family Professor and chair of neurosurgery at the University of Florida. Dr. Hoh specializes in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery, including the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, AVMs, cavernous malformations, carotid artery stenosis, stroke and moya moya disease.
Last updated: April 4, 2024
Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are defects in the vascular system, consisting of tangles of abnormal blood vessels (nidus) in which the feeding arteries are directly connected to a venous drainage network without interposition of a capillary bed.
Patient Content

Artificial Cervical Disc Surgery

By:
  • Neel T. Patel, MDNeurosurgery Resident at the Penn State College of Medicine at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn.
  • Scott D. Simon, MD, FAANSAssociate professor of neurosurgery at the Penn State College of Medicine at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn. He specializes in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery and his research interests include cerebrovascular device design and retro-viral delivered gene therapy for neural regeneration.
Last updated: June 18, 2024
An artificial cervical disc seeks to replace the movement and cushioning function of damaged cervical disc. Cervical disc disease can cause neck pain or pain in the nerves of the arm and shoulder. The standard surgery seeks to replace the disc with any number of devices, the end goal being to fuse the upper and […]
  • Spine
Patient Content

Artificial Lumbar Disc Surgery

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 4, 2024
Low back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide.
Patient Content

Astrocytoma Tumors

By:
  • Pierpaolo Peruzzi, MD, PhD, FAANS
  • Vikram Prabhu, MD, FAANS
Last updated: May 29, 2024
The brain is made up by many different cells, including neurons, which constitute the electric circuitry responsible for brain functions, and astrocytes, which provide the structure and support for neurons to work properly.
Patient Content

Azalea Butler’s Patient Story

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 26, 2024
Azalea Butler is an adorable 4-year-old with Noonan Syndrome, which has caused a multitude of health conditions, including Chiari type I malformation and syringomyelia, bone abnormalities, heart disease, among others.
Patient Content

Brain Tumors

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: June 25, 2024
A brain tumor, known as an intracranial tumor, is an abnormal mass of tissue in which cells grow and multiply uncontrollably, seemingly unchecked by the mechanisms that control normal cells.