Regardless of the surgical approach, the Saint John's Neuroscience Institute and Brain Tumor Center teams strive to make surgery safer, less invasive and more effective.  Drs. Kassam and Kelly have a collective series of over 3,000 conventional craniotomies and skull base approaches  performed for a wide variety of brain and skull base tumors. 

This 25-year surgical experience, combined with the latest in surgical technology, allows them to choose a tailored approach that is both patient-specific and tumor-specific.

Utilizing surgical navigation (like GPS for the brain), intra-operative ultrasound, refined micro-instruments, endoscopy and electrophysiological monitoring brain function, even conventional craniotomies are now able to be performed with a greater margin of safety and less disruption of normal tissues. Applying these innovative technologies in patients undergoing craniotomy for brain or skull base tumor removal, gives the best possible chance for a rapid and complete recovery.