Barrow Neurological Institute

Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is the world's largest dedicated neurosurgical center and a leader in neurosurgical training, research, and patient care.[2] More operative neurosurgical procedures take place at Barrow than at any other institution in the United States.[2] Under the directorship of Dr. Michael Lawton,[3] the institution's unique capabilities and achievements are recognized internationally.

Barrow was started by Dr. John Green and Dr. Betty Clements as a regional center for patients with neurosurgical issues. It was named after a donation from Clyde Barrow, whose family owned companies including Joy Manufacturing.[4] The institution has rapidly expanded over the last 30 years.[2] Barrow receives referrals from all over the world and is internationally recognized for the treatment of disorders such as cerebrovascular aneurysms, hypothalamic hamartomas and other brain tumors, complex spinal disorders, stroke, and Parkinson's disease at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. The center is home to the largest neurosurgical residency program in the United States, and hundreds of neurosurgeons from around the world visit yearly to attend the Spetzler-Rhoton Skull Base Course and the Barrow Symposium.[5] Dr. Lawton is assisted in his leadership role by Dr. F. David Barranco[6] and Dr. Jeremy Shefner.[7]

One of Two Neuroscience Towers at Barrow.

The clinical volume at Barrow Neurological Institute is unparalleled by any other institution in the United States. There are 11 dedicated neurosurgical ORs, typically with 2 cases per room, averaging 18 to 20 cases per weekday and 100 cases per week. Previous figures reported to the ACGME for re-accreditation in 2007-8 academic year was a total of 6,681 cases (not including the majority of supplementary procedures).[8] Additionally, the institution is home to a 64-bed neurosurgical ICU, the largest of its kind in the world. The neurosurgical operating rooms at Barrow were completed in 2006[9] and are still considered state of the art.[8] Each operating room is about two times the size of a traditional operating room and fitted with three 64-inch plasma screens, two high definition cameras, and access to a single 3T intraoperative MRI.[9] These 11 dedicated neurosurgical operating rooms with ancillary staff sub-specialized only in neurosurgical care, are the most of any single institution in the world.

Barrow Neurological Institute accepts four residents per year to its neurological surgery residency program, making it the largest program of its kind in the country.[10] Graduates from the program have gone on to chair other neurosurgical programs, head various national neurosurgical societies, and have patented a number of neurosurgical devices.[8] Due to Barrow Neurological Institute's high clinical volume and emphasis on resident education, the center has garnered a reputation for producing technical masters in numerous fields within neurosurgery, and has become one of the most sought after neurosurgical training programs in the world.[2]

Barrow Neurological Institute also offers three fellowships: Cerebrovascular under the direction of Dr. Michael T. Lawton, Neuroendovascular under the direction of Drs. Felipe C. Albuquerque and Andrew F. Ducruet, and complex spine under Dr. Juan Uribe.

In 2019, Doximity ranked the Neurosurgical Residency Program at Barrow Neurological Institute as the #2 training program in the U.S.[1] Additionally, in 2014 Khan et al. performed a comprehensive analysis of the academic productivity of 1225 Neurosurgeons in the United States. The authors found that the Barrow Neurosurgery Department was #2 in terms of overall academic productivity.[11]

• Michael Lawton
• Felipe C. Albuquerque - Vice-Chair AANS/CNS CV Section, Editor JNIS
• David F. Barranco
• Steve Chang
• Brian C. Fitzpatrick
• Andrew F. Ducruet
• David Fusco
• Mark Garett
• Andrew Little
• Taro Kaibara
• U. Kumar Kakarla
• Frederick F. Marciano
• Stephen M. Papadopoulos - CNS President
• Francisco Ponce, MD - Neurosurgery Residency Program Director
• Randall W. Porter - Founder of Medical Memory
• Nader Sanai - Scientific Program Chair, AANS/CNS Section on Tumors
• P David Adelson - CNS President
• Jeremy Shefner
• Andrew G. Shetter
• Laura Snyder
• Kris A. Smith - President, Arizona Neurosurgical Society
• Volker K.H. Sonntag - Honored Guest, CNS
• Robert F. Spetzler - Honored Guest, CNS
• John E. Wanebo
• William L. White
• Joseph M. Zambraski - Founding member, Resident CSNS Committee

• I Want to Thank My Brain For Remembering Me, by Jimmy Breslin - former Pulitzer Prize winner's book on his treatment at the Barrow Neurological Institute For a brain aneurysm[12]
• The Vow (2012) - movie based on the real story of patient treated at the Barrow Neurological Institute who woke up with severe memory loss after a TBI
• Pam Reynolds case - notable standstill operation performed by Robert F. Spetzler that took place at the Institute in 1991 in which a 35-year-old American woman was induced into clinical death for the removal of a large aneurysm in her brain, later to accurately recall the events after claiming to have had a near-death experience[13]
• Ronan (song) - song by Taylor Swift on Ronan Thompson, a young boy with neuroblastoma treated at Barrow Neurological Institute
• The Healing Blade - written by Edward J. Sylvester, the book covers the history of Barrow Neurological Institute and the standstill procedure popularized by Robert Spetzler

• The Barrow Residency Program
• The Barrow Neurological Institute
• Becker Hospital Review
• U.S. News & World Report
• Barrow Residency Brochure