The Wayne State University Department of Neurological Surgery is committed to training individuals to become independent practitioners capable of providing the highest quality neurosurgical care. The training includes education in the basic sciences, training in the cognitive and technical skills necessary to practice neurosurgery, and the development of sufficient knowledge and maturity such that clinical judgment can be appropriately applied in the care of patients.

The neurosurgery training program requires one year of general surgery that is integrated in the program. Neurosurgery applicants successfully matching to our program will complete this year in the General Surgery program at the Detroit Medical Center. The neurosurgery residency program is six years in length, five years of neurosurgery and one year of research, for a total of seven years of post-graduate training. Three hospitals support the training program. The primary training site is Harper University Hospital. This hospital provides adult neurosurgery for treatment of cerebrovascular and endovascular problems, stereotactic and neuro-oncology radiosurgery procedures and epilepsy surgery via integrated computer networks, including Gamma Knife. Pediatric neurosurgery is performed at Children's Hospital of Michigan which is also a Level I trauma center. This hospital is a major referral center for craniofacial reconstruction, myelodysplasia and pediatric brain tumors. Detroit Receiving Hospital is our adult emergency and Level I trauma center. Reconstructive spine surgery is performed here, and this hospital is the major center for neuro critical care.

The neurological surgery service is organized into multi-specialty care teams, with each neurosurgeon focusing on his/her practice in the following areas of clinical expertise: Cerebrovascular, Endovascular, Surgical Epilepsy, Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, Neuro Oncology, Pediatric and Congenital Disorders, Neuroendocrine and Skull Base Disorders, Spinal Disorders, and Pain Neurosurgery. In each area, neurosurgeons work closed with affiliated neurologists, oncologists, neuroradiologists, endocrinologists, psychiatrists, neuropathologists, and rehabilitation specialists to provide the best possible care for both simple and complex disorders of the brain and spine.

In addition, the department provides training in advanced and innovative technologies for the treatment of neurological surgery disorders, including microvascular decompression, intraoperative angiogram and MRI, endovascular therapies, frameless stereotactic navigation, intraoperative care with multimodality monitoring, radiosurgery (Gamma Knife) and complex spine instrumentation and augmentation technologies.

It is expected that the physicians completing this program will be competent in the operative and non-operative care of patients in all areas that encompass neurosurgery. Neurological surgery includes treatment of adult and pediatric patients with disorders of the nervous system, including disorders of the brain, meninges, skull, and its blood supply including the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries, disorders of the pituitary gland, disorders of the spinal cord, meninges and vertebral column, and disorders of the cranial and spinal nerves throughout their distribution.