The annual Pool Symposium was held once again here at Columbia and the theme this year was pediatric neurosurgery. Dr. Neil A. Feldstein, Dr. Richard Anderson, and Dr. Saadi Ghatan from the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center were all there and each presented in their areas of expertise. Dr. Feldstein spoke about...

As captain of her high school cheerleading squad, Brittany Irwin was the picture of health. Hidden in her brain, though, was a condition that was about to take over her life. “I had headaches since I was in 7th grade—small ones at the back of my head,” says Brittany, “But I thought that...

For a long time, when children were diagnosed with Chiari malformation type I (CMI), they were automatically pulled from all sports and rough play in an effort to protect them from injury. It was assumed that their neurological condition, whether symptomatic or not, was precarious enough that the...

Dr. Neil Feldstein from the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center recently spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.  He was part of a panel of presenters on Surgical Management of Chiari and Syringomyelia.   In particular he spoke about the management of Chiari I Malformations...

In her new memoir "Composed," singer Rosanne Cash tells how she survived brain surgery for a Chiari Malformation. She warmly talks about her surgeon Dr. Guy McKhann and her physical therapist Dr. Evan Johnson...

Last year Tom and Terri Hughes sat in a tidy hospital waiting room while their 13 year old son Troy underwent brain surgery.  Hours later, when Troy's surgeon, Dr. Neil A. Feldstein from the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center emerged from the operating room and asked Tom and Terri into a small...

Surgeons* at the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center treat a number of children with a neurological birth defect called Chiari Malformation (CM).  Increasingly, they are finding that the most risky part of their surgical treatment, that is, opening the dura, may not always be necessary.  They...

A young boy with a rare case of  Type One Chiari Malformation (CMI) was the first to undergo a new minimally invasive spine surgery through his nose.  Dr. Richard Anderson from the Pediatric Center and his colleagues presented this case at the annual Pediatric Neurosurgery Section meeting...

This year at the annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) they added pediatrics to their Integrated Medical Learning (IML) program.  Dr. Neil Feldstein from the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center was one of the presenters during a session on the surgical management of Chiari Malfo...

What is a Chiari malformation? A Chiari malformation is a congenital (present at birth) defect in the area of the back of the head where the brain and spinal cord connect. The condition is also called Arnold Chiari malformation. There are four types of Chiari malformations, including the...