The Neurosurgery Operating Room

Learn more about our exciting hospital expansion by visiting growing.lpch.org Note that during this expansion, routes to Packard Children’s Hospital and our outpatient clinics in Palo Alto have changed.

Contact Us
Department Office:
(650) 497-8775

New Patient Coordinator:
(650) 724-5326
Pediatric neurosurgeries are performed in the Ford Family Surgery Center - a state-of-the-art surgical facility designed specifically for children. Two operating rooms (ORs) are specialized for our team so that we can perform the entire spectrum of complex neurosurgical techniques.
 
We use the most advanced technology to make surgery safer. We also use several surgical techniques to remove brain and spinal cord tumors without harming critical tissues:

• The BrainLAB integrated operating room for MRI-guided stereotactic navigation
  The BrainLAB image guidance system:
  • Integrates images from several types of pre-operative brain scans into a three-dimensional (3D) super-image of your child’s brain or spine. This 3D image can be displayed on large plasma screens in the OR and viewed through the operating microscope.
  • Provides information on your child’s nervous system function before the surgery begins. This allows the neurosurgeon to see the brain’s motor and sensory tracks so they can be avoided during the surgery.
  • Allows a GPS-like tracking of each surgical tool in real time and displays the tool’s location on the brain-image. This allows our neurosurgery team to perform more complex, high-risk surgeries with greater safety. 
    
    
• Intraoperative CT and ultrasound
  Intraoperative imaging with computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound allows our neurosurgery team to display the brain tumor’s location and monitor the tumor’s removal as surgery is taking place. This greatly improves precision and patient safety. Only a few hospitals in the United States have this technology.
  
  
• High-resolution microscopy video and image storage
  The ability to store and recall video and images from the operating room helps us to train and educate the next generation of pediatric neurosurgeons.

Next Generation Operating Room

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital is expanding its walls in order to meet growing community needs for specialized pediatric and obstetric care. The expansion includes new, high-tech operating rooms.
 
Our two new neurosurgery operating rooms will be equipped with the latest technology to help make neurosurgery safer and more effective. This technology includes:

• A 3T MRI scanner that will be used during surgery. The MRI will help guide the neurosurgeon during surgery. It will also help the neurosurgeon determine if a surgery is successful before the child even leaves the operating room.
• The ability to see the insides of blood vessels during surgery (intraoperative angiography), combined with BrainLAB image guidance. This will be used for combined interventional and surgical techniques to treat or remove vascular malformations and brain and spinal cord aneurysms.

Related Information

• Learn more about the Ford Family Surgery Center and how to prepare for your child's surgery.