Spinal and Cranial Trauma

Cranial and Spinal Trauma refers to any type of injury sustained by the central nervous system or associated skeletal features, the skull and spine. This type of treatment is almost always urgent and non-elective, exclusively for victims of accident or assault. Metropolitan Neurosurgery offers comprehensive neurosurgical care and, in the agonizing situations necessitating these types of procedures, relatives and friends can be assured that our surgeons rank atop the best of the Twin Cities for all manner of traumatic brain and spine injuries.

Our treatments are effective and aggressive in preserving and enhancing neuro-function. Since the field of neurotrauma is constantly evolving, Metropolitan Neurosurgery doctors are involved in national and international conferences on the subject. This allows our doctors to stay up-to-date on developments in neurotrama, such as when a trendy experimental technique achieves a rate of success that makes it widely usable. We seek to use only those new techniques that have been proven successful, like all of the trusted procedures we employ in healing spine, spinal cord, and nerve root function. Our doctors will talk with honesty and compassion regarding potential outcomes and realistically discuss possibilities for treatment of spinal and cranial trauma.

Metropolitan Neurosurgery doctors are on-call at a number of local emergency rooms and have established teamwork and rapport with the caring nurses and practitioners in all of our affiliated hospitals. Our doctors work with Trauma Services teams at each hospital regarding decisions for surgery and with other specialists at a given hospital, taking into account the range of injuries beyond the cranial and spinal trauma, as well as the impact of the head and spinal injuries. Generally, the region of the injury corresponds to the effect on the nerves; for example, injuries to the cervical spine (starting at the shoulders) impact the neck and arms, to the thoracic spine (comprising the ribcage) impact the trunk region, and to the lumbar/sacral spine (lower back) impact the legs.

Some patients will not need surgery, but rather intercranial pressure monitoring, spinal fluid drainage, and other non-invasive procedures to prevent brain swelling and damage. The doctors and staff of Metropolitan Neurosurgery are well-versed in operative and non-operative treatments to manage spinal trauma, seeking to maintain and, where possible, improve the spine and nerve systems through surgery and rehabilitation. In this, we work with renowned local hospital rehabilitation services in the Twin Cities. We are involved every step of the way in the treatment and rehabilitation of spinal and cranial trauma, assisting an active trauma clinic, including checkups throughout and beyond the year after a major surgery. Our doctors are compassionate in caring for spinal and cranial trauma throughout the process of treatment and recovery.

About the Author: Kyle M. Uittenbogaard, M.D.

Kyle Uittenbogaard, M.D., joined Metropolitan Neurosurgery in 2010. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Uittenbogaard specializes in brain tumors, spinal cord tumors, trigeminal neuralgia, skull base surgery, and spinal surgery. Dr. Uittenbogaard received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, graduating with honors and with distinction. He completed his M.D. in 2004 at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He completed his internship in 2005 at the University of Minnesota and residency in 2010 at the University of Minnesota, in Neurological Surgery. Dr. Uittenbogaard has lived in the Twin Cities since 2004. He is originally from the small, rural town of Sheldon, Iowa. Outside of medicine, he enjoys water skiing, downhill skiing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Dr. Uittenbogaard’s patients selected him for the 2012 Patients’ Choice Award. He has been active in administrative positions at several of the hospitals he attends, and is a member of the Minnesota State Trauma Advisory Council, as well as the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Minnesota Neurosurgical Society. In 2015, he was a guest of the Neurosurgical Society of America annual meeting. Dr. Uittenbogaard is accepting new patients. He is on the medical staff at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Maple Grove Hospital, Mercy Hospital, North Memorial Medical Center, Ridgeview Medical Center, and Unity Hospital.

Spinal and Cranial Trauma