Minimally Invasive endoNeurosurgery Center
At one time, people with brain tumors, aneurysms, cranial nerve disorders, or spinal lesions faced extensive, potentially disfiguring surgery as their only treatment alternative, and often endured long and painful recoveries. For some, surgery may not even have been potentially possible. Now, there are new techniques that enable patients to recover comfortably in hours or days, rather than weeks or months – and with few or no incisions.
At UPMC’s Minimally Invasive endoNeurosurgery Center (MINC), a number of minimally invasive cranial, spinal, and vascular treatments have been pioneered and perfected, offering new hope to patients with complex brain, skull base, and spine disorders.
A New Method of Skull Base Surgery
Most notable among the treatments MINC offers is endoscopic transnasal brain surgery, also known as the Expanded Endonasal Approach (EEA). In 1998, MINC surgeons pioneered this type of surgery, which uses the patient’s nose and nasal sinuses as natural corridors. Originally used to reach pituitary tumors, today EEA is also used to access tumors of the skull base, central brain, and even the top of the spinal cord, thanks to the ongoing refinement of the technique and development of custom-designed surgical instruments by the MINC surgical team.
More than 1,000 EEA procedures have been performed by MINC surgeons at UPMC — making it a leading center in the world. Patients, family members, and physicians are encouraged to contact MINC to request appointments and referrals or get more information about our clinical programs for adults and children, including services for traveling or international patients.