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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HOSPITAL SPOTLIGHT + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + +++ +++ Akron General (L-R) Neurosurgeons Ghassan F. Khayyat, MD, Georges Z. Markarian, MD, and Kamel F. Muakkassa, MD, are spearheading the development of Akron General's new Neuroscience Institute. PHOTO © TODD BISS, COURTESY OF AKRON GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER rosurgery services continue to increase. To meet the need in mid northeast Ohio, Akron General Health System has created a new Neuroscience Institute. The new Neuroscience Institute, which AS became an offi cial service line at Akron General in April, includes a wide array of services. Plans for 2011 focus on neurosur- gery and include + renovation of four operating suites + addition of a Gamma Knife radiosurgery system + installation of intraoperative MRI and CT, along with surgical navigation and planning equipment. Imminent plans call for a dedicated neurological intensive care unit and an interventional pain management program. "Gamma Knife radiosurgery is an incisionless treatment for tumors of the brain that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Akron General is the fi rst hospital between Cleveland and Columbus to obtain this advanced technology," says Georges Z. THE BABY BOOMER generation continues to age, demand for neurologic and neu- Markarian, MD, chair of Neurosciences at Akron General. "Intraoperative imaging technology, like MRI and CT, is also used mainly for patients with brain tumors. It enables surgeons to image the patient's brain before surgery is completed to make sure all of the tumor has been removed. This helps prevent additional surgery." In addition to Dr. Markarian, two other neurosurgeons from the Akron/Canton area are spearheading the development of the Institute: Kamel F. Muakkassa, MD, and Ghassan F. Khayyat, MD. Having directed neurosurgery departments at Akron/Canton area hospitals, all three are well known and highly respected and have practiced with the Center for Neuro and Spine, Inc. (CNS) for the past 17-27 years. This summer, Krishna B. Satyan, MD, and Sarel (Charl) J. Vorster, MD, joined CNS and the Institute's team. Recruitment of several neuro- scientists is currently under way. In addition to general neurosurgery, they will offer specialized care including neurooncology, skull base surgery, endovascular neurosurger y and complex spinal procedures. "Initially, much of the patient care at the Neuroscience Institute will focus on disorders of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves," explains 28 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2011 Dr. Markarian. "As the Inst itute expands, it will include many addi- tional neurological areas, and there will be a major focus on non-surgical neurologic disease." The Institute's outpatient services are provided at CNS's Akron office on S. Cleveland-Massi llon Road. Other offices are located in Canton and Green. "This unique relationship with the three neurosurgeons was born from their prescience and accelerates the presence of leading-edge medicine to the Greater Akron community," says Vincent J. McCorkle, FACHE, president/CEO of Akron General Health System. In the past eight months under McCorkle's leadership, Akron General has recruited six new cardiologists, partnered with the 12-member Physicians Urology medi- cal group and created a new Plastic Surgery Institute with the addition of three plastic surgeons. "These initiatives reinforce Akron General 's mission to improve the health and lives of its patients and the community," McCorkle says. For more information about Akron General, visit www.akrongeneral.org. For the Neuroscience Institute, call 330-344-3100. n Creates Neuroscience Institute, Installs 1st Gamma Knife in Summit County