Best Brain Surgeon: Dr. Robert F. Spetzler at Barrow Neurological Institute

By Phoenix New Times Staff Mon., Oct. 8 2012 at 7:00 AM

Categories: Best of Phoenix 2012

Photo by Katie Johnson

Dr. Robert Spetzler in his office at St. Joseph's Barrow Neurological Institute.

We've spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we're finally ready to publish our results. Nerd alert! Now presenting Scientific Phoenix.

We hope to never suffer any cerebral damage in our lifetime, but we do know the right guy for the job, if the worst happens. (Come to think of it, we should probably write down his name and tape it to the fridge in case of said damage.)

Dr. Robert Spetzler is director of the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he and his team lead the nation in the number of brain surgeries performed and brain surgeons trained. A celebrity in the medical world, Dr. Spetzler specializes in aneurysms, skull base tumors, and other brain malformations and has operated on nearly 6,000 brain aneurysms in his career, which is more than anyone else in the world.

In 1986, Dr. Spetzler took on the role of director at Barrow and banded together a group of skilled neurosurgeons to form Barrow Neurological Associates. He helped create a residency program that medical students from across the country aspire to make, at a hospital that patients all over the globe seek access to. He also was a key player in developing a life-saving surgical technique (the cardiac standstill) for safely removing aneurysms, as well as new surgical tools, including the 3D microscope. The man's busy. So while it's nice to know he's there if we need him, if you foresee yourself engaging in any act of physical stupidity, we suggest you take his advice and "helmet your head."

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