Neuroanesthesia Division

Our UVA Neuroanesthesia Faculty
Priya Singla, MD & Bhiken Naik, MBBCh discuss an upcoming spinal case.
Zhiyi Zuo, MD, PhD, and Nadia Lunardi, MD, PhD discuss Neuroanesthesia procedures.
Zhiyi Zuo, MD, PhD prepares for a day in the OR.

About

Neuroanesthesia as a subspecialty practice in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia (UVA) dates back to 1977 when Dr. Robert Bedford joined the department as a faculty member. He became a national figure in neuroanesthesia, publishing clinical findings on intracranial pressure and hemodynamic changes during neurosurgical procedures. The division has other notable alumni, such as Dr. David Stone.

The Neuroanesthesia Division now has 10 faculty members covering the full range of neurosurgery cases and major orthopedic spine cases. These include functional neurosurgery, brain tumor surgery and intracranial aneurysm surgery. There is also a state-of-art facility where intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be performed. In addition, the University of Virginia hospital is a comprehensive stroke care center. Our faculty covers stroke calls around the o’clock. In total, we perform about 2400 neurosurgical cases each year in the operating rooms

A Message from the Division Chief

University of Virginia Nadia Lunardi, MD, Anesthesiology

Nadia Lunardi, MD, PhD, Neuroanesthesia Division Chief

The Neuroanesthesia Division is very dynamic. Our faculty provide excellent care to patients and also excels in education and research. We have developed a comprehensive educational curriculum for medical students, residents and trained neuroanesthesia fellows.

Diverse faculty academic interests include: education and simulation training, educational research, basic science and translational research, and data science. A unique feature of the division is that three faculty members attend intensive care units, including a neurosurgical intensive care unit. These faculty members provide perspectives on how patients do after surgery and an opportunity to broaden the view of patient care for neurosurgical procedures.

We look forward to collaborative work on education, research and patient care. We also welcome talented people to join us, either as a trainee or as a member of the team.

Our Division

Faculty Clinical Programs

The Neuroanesthesia Rotation

The Neuroanesthesia Rotation offers a great variety of cases and exposure to complex neurosurgical procedures. These procedures include craniotomy for tumor resection and arteriovenous malformations, endovascular and open treatment of aneurysms, transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, and advanced functional surgeries, such as deep brain stimulator placement, focused ultrasound and epilepsy surgery.

Our renowned spine surgeons perform significantly large spinal fusions (with multiple levels) that require advanced monitoring, and often significant resuscitation. The neuroanesthesia rotation exposes residents to many advanced techniques, including asleep and awake fiberoptic intubation, alternative airway techniques, anesthesia to facilitate neurophysiological monitoring, thromboelastography and ICP monitoring. There are two operating rooms with capability for intraoperative MRI as well as a Comprehensive Stroke Center with a large referral area for interventional thrombectomy procedures.

UVA Neurosurgery and Neurology are consistently ranked in the top fifty in the nation resulting in significant referrals of complex cases. The Neuroanesthesia Division faculty are nationally recognized for our excellence in research and in education.

Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesia and Clinical Care (SNACC)

The Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesia and Critical Care (SNACC) under the Trainee Engagement Committee developed a curriculum resource for residents to utilize during their Neurosurgical Anesthesia rotations. The “Neuroanesthesia Classroom” project is led by Dr. Kamilla Esfahani and Dr. Lauren Dunn.

We divided the core concepts into Basic and Advanced Neuroanesthesia Classrooms with week-by-week guides. The goal is to provide junior and senior anesthesiology residents with focused exposure to PBLDs, articles, and CME questions among other valuable SNACC resources to supplement their learning during a four-week neuroanesthesia rotation.

Research Specialty Impact