The Division of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology, part of NYU Langone Health’s Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, provides patients with the latest evidence-based anesthesiology care. We perform more than 2,200 neurosurgical and neuroradiological procedures annually. Overseen by John L. Ard, MD, division director, our faculty also provide educational opportunities to physicians in training and pursue innovative research.

Our Role in Education

The Division of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology trains medical students and residents at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Medical students can elect to take a week of specialty training in our division, which typically includes one-on-one, hands-on training with an anesthesiology attending.

Trainees in the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine Residency spend a minimum of two months on the neurosurgical anesthesiology service and assist in the care of patients undergoing lengthy and complex intracranial and spinal procedures. Most residents rotate in our division during their final year of training to gain more experience administering complex anesthesia.

Our Role in Research

Research conducted by our division faculty has appeared in prestigious anesthesiology journals. Dr. Ard has published on awake craniotomy, and his colleague Tessa W. Huncke, MD, has published research on minimizing blood loss during spine surgery, among other topics.

As part of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine’s research program, our division is conducting an assessment of a train of four muscle twitch monitors that gauge the effectiveness of muscle relaxants.

Our Role in Patient Care

Our faculty provide anesthesiology care for neurosurgical procedures performed in NYU Langone’s Kimmel Pavilion, which includes six operating rooms and two hybrid radiological suites. Two of the operating rooms are equipped for MRI, which is used for intraoperative imaging. Advanced technology like this helps NYU Langone maintain its reputation as a leader in neurosurgery.

Procedures include the surgical resection of tumors and vascular lesions, as well as the surgical treatment of epilepsy and movement disorders. The safety of surgery is enhanced with sophisticated neurophysiological monitoring and total intravenous anesthesia. About 90 percent of patients receiving craniotomy with total intravenous anesthesia require neurophysiologic monitoring by our anesthesiologists. We also monitor anesthetic depth using a processed electroencephalogram to ensure patient safety and comfort.

Our anesthesiologists provide care for patients referred from NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, including those who require awake craniotomy. We also see patients needing surgery for neurovascular pathologies, like arteriovenous malformations, cerebral aneurysms, or carotid artery stenosis.

We provide anesthesia for all types of spinal surgery, including lumbar discectomy spinal tumor resection, and spinal fusion performed with robotic assistance. Most spinal surgery requires sophisticated intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring. In addition, patients with cervical spine disease frequently require specialized airway management with fiber-optic scopes and video laryngoscopy.

Increasingly, our faculty work with interventional neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons who perform minimally invasive procedures for intracerebral and spinal vascular lesions, including arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms. We also provide care for patients referred from NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Stroke Center who need emergency procedures to open occluded cerebral arteries.

Contact Us

For more information about our division, please contact Dr. Ard at john.ard@nyulangone.org.