How the UPMC Neurological Institute Cares for Traveling Patients

UPMC is one of the few medical centers in the U.S. that offers the full array of surgical options for brain conditions, and the UPMC Neurological Institute is home to leaders in the neurosurgical field. U.S. News and World Report ranks UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside among the top hospitals in the nation for neurosurgical and neurological care. Our surgeons have pioneered minimally invasive techniques, developed stereotactic radiosurgery, and refined complex surgical interventions.

Your care team will take the time to understand you, your condition, the context of your situation, and what brought you to us. Our team of neurologic and neurosurgical experts will look at your condition from every direction to find the path that is least disruptive to the brain, spine, critical nerves, and blood vessels. Our goal is to get you back to the life that you want as quickly as possible.

At the UPMC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, our goal is to give you a seizure-free life. We offer the full spectrum of modern surgical techniques for epilepsy, including less invasive and robotic-assisted surgeries. As a level 4 epilepsy center, we have the highest ranking by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC).

Our Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program experts focus on helping your child enjoy a seizure-free life so that they can achieve their goals. Before epilepsy surgery, it’s vital that our experts pinpoint the part of the brain where the seizure is coming from. If surgery is right for treating your child’s epilepsy, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh offers a range of techniques, including stereo-EEG using the ROSA^® robotic system or laser ablation.

At the UPMC Chiari Center, our experts will conduct a thorough examination to determine your specific type of malformation. They will then create a unique treatment plan intended to reduce pressure on nerve tissue, create a normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid, and stop the progression of change in the brain and spinal canal. Our Chiari specialists are some of the most experienced in their field, leading to better post-surgical and recovery outcomes.

Our neurosurgeons have been pioneering cranial nerve disorder treatment for more than 25 years, playing a major role in the development and refinement of current and future surgical techniques and technology. Our team offers cutting-edge microvascular decompression surgery to treat neurovascular compression syndromes including trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, geniculate neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

UPMC’s neurosurgeons care for more than 500 people yearly with trigeminal neuralgia (TN).

UPMC offers a range of treatment options for TN, including:

• Gamma Knife^® radiosurgery — This uses hundreds of highly focused radiation beams to take action inside the brain. UPMC pioneered Gamma Knife technology in North America.
• Microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery — This treats the cause of TN by stopping the blood vessel from squeezing the trigeminal nerve.

UPMC is among the most skilled in the world for pituitary and skull-base tumor and lesion treatment. Our Pituitary Center of Excellence has taken on the most complex and challenging cases for 25 years. Using a one-stop approach, our center provides the full range of tests and treatments. UPMC pioneered the endonasal endoscopic surgical approach.

Your Traveling Patient Services liaison is your first point of contact with UPMC. You will hear from a UPMC TPS liaison within 24 hours of submitting an inquiry form.

Our liaisons help with:

• Offering a single point of contact to help navigate the UPMC network.
• Coordinating referral information and requesting imaging.
• Assisting with travel arrangements to Pittsburgh.
• Answering your questions.

To make your experience as easy as possible, your nurse navigator will guide you through your treatment process.

Our nurse navigators help with:

• Complete care coordination between your referring provider and UPMC.
• Expedited case review and appointment scheduling.
• Preferred accommodations with our partner, Family House.
• Symptom consultations and care consultations.
• Answering your questions.

Family House provides a convenient, comfortable, and affordable stay for patients and their families traveling to Pittsburgh for expert medical care. The atmosphere at Family House is designed with traveling patients in mind. Complimentary services include weekday breakfast, transportation to and from the hospital for your appointments, and stocked food pantries. That way, you and your family can focus on what matters most: your health.