U of U Health Skull Base Team Earns Recognition from North American Skull Base Society
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The University of Utah Health Skull Base Surgery Program has been named a Multidisciplinary Team of Distinction by the North American Skull Base Society (NASBS). Announced earlier this year, the award recognizes centers that have distinguished experts from various specialties in the diagnosis and management of skull base conditions.
U of U Health joins 38 prestigious programs in North America that have received the designation and is one of only three within the Intermountain West.
Skull base surgery is among the most difficult of surgical subspecialties. Surgeons perform intricate procedures while navigating a small area that houses important nerves and blood vessels in the brain, head, neck and spine. Coordination among care teams is absolutely essential.
“Skull base tumors can’t be resolved by a simple surgery or a single specialist,” says Michael Karsy, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at U of U Health. “Our team works together under one roof to provide each patient with a personalized plan of care grounded in an interdisciplinary approach.”
A graduate of the U of U Neurosurgery residency program, Karsy re-joined the department last year after completing a fellowship in minimally invasive and open skull base surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Pennsylvania. Now, he works alongside neurosurgeons, neurotologists, rhinologists, and neuroradiologists who make up the U of U Health Skull Base Surgery Program.
Commending his colleagues for the designation, Karsy said “this is a great honor highlighting a high level of surgical care delivered to patients and a team effort from many individuals working together.”
The NASBS designation recognizes the work of William Couldwell, MD, PhD, professor and chair of neurosurgery, and Richard Gurgel, MD, MSCI, associate professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, who co-direct the skull base surgery team and represent the diverse nature of the program’s surgical expertise.
“The Department of Neurosurgery and Division of Otolaryngology have collaborated on thousands of skull base surgeries over the years,” said NIH-funded surgeon-scientist Gurgel. “Having a multidisciplinary skull base surgery team means that our patients receive better outcomes.”
U of U Health provides comprehensive access to leading-edge treatments for skull base conditions throughout the region. This designation not only reflects the depth of medical expertise across multiple medical specialties, but demonstrates U of U Health’s innovation and excellence in this field.