Neuro Anesthesia Rotation
The rotation in neuroanesthesiology gives residents extensive experience in the care of patients for a wide variety of neurosurgical procedures. In addition, neurosurgical emergencies that occur during on-call time represent a substantial portion of our non-elective cases. The Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia is comprised of world-renowned individuals who attract patients from a world-wide referral base. Our annual caseload of neurosurgical procedures is approximately 2,200. The particular strengths of our institution include cerebrovascular surgery, craniobasal and craniofacial surgery, benign and malignant intracranial tumors, transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, stereotactic procedures, spinal surgery, and epilepsy surgery. The University of Virginia also has state of the art facilities for all types of neuroradiology including a gamma knife, the newest MRI equipment, and interventional radiologists at the cutting edge of their specialty. As part of the neuroanesthesia care team, you will be a part of one of the country's finest institutions for the care of patients with neurological disease.
The neuroanesthesiology faculty represents a group combining clinical and academic excellence. Dr. Robert Bedford is an internationally known neuroanesthesiologist whose career has included leadership positions in academia and in government. A past president of the Society of Neurosurgical Anesthesia and Critical Care , he has been chairman of the department of anesthesiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and chief of anesthesiology at James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital in Tampa, FL. In addition, Dr. Bedford served as the acting Director of the FDA's Division of Anesthetic, Critical Care and Addiction Drug Products. Presently, he spends half of his time instructing our residents in the neurosurgical operating rooms at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Thomas Pajewski currently heads the division of neuroanesthesiology. In addition to his medical degree, he holds a PhD in biochemistry from Rice University. Dr. Pajewski's clinical investigations are focused on patients with pituitary tumors as well as patients undergoing spine surgery. His laboratory has been studying anesthetic effects on the nitric oxide-cyclic GMP signaling pathway in the central nervous system. Dr. Pajewski also studies the effects of local anesthetics on inflammatory mediators in models of experimental pancreatitis. His research has been supported by a grant from the Foundation for Anesthesia and Education Research.
Dr. Zhiyi Zuo, known to all as "Z", he holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge in receptor pharmacology and physiology. After earning his medical degree, Dr. Zuo completed anesthesiology training programs in both China and at the University of Virginia. His laboratory research focuses on the role of anesthetics and glutamate homeostasis in neuroprotection and is supported by the Foundation for Anesthesia and Education Research and the American Heart Association. Additional neuroanesthesiology faculty include Drs. David Bogdonoff, Edward Nemergut, and Marcel Durieux .