Compassionate, personalized care and medical excellence are chief hallmarks of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. The department consists of nine highly trained faculty neurosurgeons, 12 advanced practice providers and other amazing support staff who put patients’ needs first.

We have positioned ourselves as the region’s premier neurosurgical provider, caring for patients throughout Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia and beyond. We treat a wide array of diseases and conditions affecting the brain and spine. Tumors, aneurysms, degenerative disc diseases and movement disorders are some of them.

We use a multidisciplinary approach in collaborating with specialists from other departments and services on many of our cases. Those include endocrinology, neurology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, pathology, radiology and TraumaOne. This is all with the aim of yielding the best outcomes possible for our patients. In addition, most of our faculty are fellowship-trained, representing the following subspecialties:

• Cerebral vascular and endovascular neurosurgery
• Complex and minimally invasive spine
• Functional and stereotactic neurosurgery
• Neuro-oncology and skull base neurosurgery
• Neuro-trauma
• Pediatric neurosurgery

Spine and skull base centers

This year, we held a grand opening celebration for the Comprehensive Spine Center, located at UF Health North. We provide state-of-the-art care for the treatment of all types of spine disorders, from chronic back pain to complex conditions such as adult scoliosis. Other conditions treated include intervertebral disc disease, spinal tumors and spine deformities.

Our team of specialists meets weekly to review patient cases and develop individualized treatment plans. Strong camaraderie among faculty and staff is strong, as we regularly rely on each other for perspective and expertise. Kourosh Tavanaiepour, D.O., an assistant professor of neurosurgery, directs the spine center, which is the only one of its kind in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.

Meanwhile, the Skull Base Center, located at UF Health Jacksonville, continues to welcome patients who seek treatment for brain tumors and related conditions. The center is led by Daryoush Tavanaiepour, M.D., and co-directed by Rui Fernandes, M.D., D.M.D., an associate professor and associate chair of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

We are equipped to handle complex skull base pathologies and use the latest advancements in technology and treatment — some of which are the result of our own research and clinical trials. This is the only such center between Atlanta and Miami.

Education and training

We teach medical students and train resident physicians who rotate through our department as part of other UF COMJ residency programs. Those include neurology, oral and maxillofacial surgery and orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation. We also train neurosurgery residents from Mayo Clinic Jacksonville via a partnership with that hospital. We take pride in helping prepare the providers of tomorrow for practice.