A Neurosurgeon’s Arsenal

The list of our high-tech equipment reads like a classified military document. There’s the Stealth Navigator and the O-Arm. The Pentero microscope. There’s the Ultrasonic Aspirator and ICP Monitor. You’d have to be a brain surgeon to understand it.

Exactly.

The aforementioned list includes some of the state-of-the-art technology in the arsenal of Dr. Jeffrey Dembner, neurological surgeon and medical director for NorthBay’s Center for Neuroscience.

And brain surgery is among the sophisticated tasks he can perform with these tools and his highly trained surgical team.

A sparkling new surgery suite was opened to much fanfare in June, ready for everything from exacting brain and spine surgery to orthopedic repair. There are five, big-screen monitors overhead, so if the physician uses the surgical microscope, not only can microsurgery be performed, but the team can follow the progress and anticipate the next steps.

“All this reflects NorthBay’s foresight and commitment to provide the safest, most cutting-edge and most comprehensive neurosurgery services to the communities of Solano County and beyond,” says Dr. Dembner.

He recalls a situation in Newport Beach, where a colleague told a patient her brain tumor was inoperable. Dr. Dembner was familiar with the Stealth Navigation equipment and offered a second opinion. He was able to remove her tumor—even though it was located deep inside her head—with a minimally invasive, low-risk approach.

“Anyone can buy these tools or build a fancy operating room,” he says, “but you have to know how to use them to their full advantage. The Neuro team at NorthBay has the expertise and the skills to employ these expensive tools to maximize the health and wellness of individuals who require our care.”

The following state-of-the-art tools allow the surgeon to quickly and effectively make real-time, data-driven decisions in the operating room, leading to safer, more precise procedures and a reduced risk:

Stealth Navigator and O-Arm Function • Employing a pre-operative MRI or CT scan, the system allows the surgeon to navigate specific regions of the brain for procedures such as tumor removal.

Surgical Microscope • Helps the surgeon focus on the precise point of pathology during a surgery.

Ultrasonic Aspirator • Allows the surgeon to perform procedures in close proximity to delicate anatomical structures with more precision than blades.

ICP Monitor • Intracranial Pressure Monitoring uses a device, placed inside the head, to sense the pressure inside the skull and sends measurements to a recording device.

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