Dr. Gregory Cannarsa, MD

Gregory Cannarsa, MD is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon and treats conditions involving the brain including aneurysm bleeds, tumors or other masses, hydrocephalus and he also treats Neurovascular conditions such as Carotid Stenosis, Brain Aneurysms, and Stroke.
CLINICAL BACKGROUND
While completing my neurosurgical residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center/Shock Trauma Center, I trained in all types of Neurosurgery both cranial and spinal. My focus is on cranial applications of Neurosurgery including stroke, brain tumors, hydrocephalus, brain bleeds, trauma, aneurysms, and other cerebrovascular malformations. During my time at Shock Trauma, we dealt with a wide range of life and death situations on a daily basis including severe brain bleeds and spinal cord injurie; that type of training taught me quickly about what is important and how make critical, efficient decisions in providing patient care. I had great mentors there, including Dr. Marc Simard, who is one of …the world’s experts in cerebrovascular Neurosurgery. I have completed two additional fellowships including an enfolded endovascular fellowship at the University of Maryland/Shock Trauma, and a cerebrovascular and endovascular fellowship at Swedish Neuroscience Institute.
SURGICAL PHILOSOPHY
“Try to be as minimally disruptive as possible to the patient.” That includes not only the surgery itself, but everything from before the surgery to the recovery after the surgery. Any type of neurosurgical condition is going to be very challenging, and a difficult time for our patients and for their families. Minimally disruptive is a philosophy meaning we try to make the whole process as easy and as painless as possible. For example, in some cases with just a small needle stick into the artery, we can treat an aneurysm. However, in other cases, a larger surgery is needed, and my goal is to always ensure the surgery is as least disruptive and as minimally invasive as possible to ensure the quickest recovery for the patient. Another way in which the minimally disruptive philosophy can bring joy to the patient as well as the care team is after the surgery there can be times when we do a good enough job concealing the incision with a “hair sparing” technique that the nursing staff isn’t aware the patient has had surgery. So for the patient and for the care team, it really is a source of joy that what was once thought to be a potentially disfiguring surgery or a painful surgery is really not that in the end. When a patient looks the same as when they went into surgery they often get the same treatment as they did before surgery and their mindset and attitude benefit tremendously. It’s what I would want for my family and that’s why I do it.
WHAT DO I VALUE?
I value the patient interaction. Nothing brings me more joy than to guide a patient through surgery-before, during, and after-and get them through to the other side in great condition and having them make a great recovery. To see a patient doing well after surgery and even something as simple as the patient saying, “it wasn’t as bad as I thought and I have much less pain than I thought,” is what brings me joy. For me, if there was no patient then we wouldn’t have a purpose, so every interaction I have with the patient is what brings meaning to what we do. So in everything we do, that’s what we think of first.

• Physicians Regional Healthcare System Pine Ridge
• Nch Baker Hospital Downtown

Apex Brain & Spine PLLC

3530 Kraft Rd Ste 203

Naples

FL

34105

USA

(239) 215-4890

https://www.apexbrainandspine.com/

• Neurological Surgery
• Vascular & Interventional Radiology

• Aneurysm Clipping
• Aneurysm Coiling
• Aneurysm Treatment
• Angiogram
• Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion
• Arteriovenous Fistula Brain
• Artificial Disc Replacement
• Brain Surgery
• Brain AVM embolization
• Brain Tumor Embolization
• Brain Tumor Surgery
• Brain aneurysm coiling
• Burr Hole Drainage
• Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA)
• Carotid Stenting
• Carotid Angioplasty and Stenting
• Cerebral Angiography
• Cerebral Shunt
• Cerebrovascular Angioplasty and Stenting
• Cerebrovascular Surgery
• Cervical laminectomy
• Cervical laminoplasty
• Chiari Malformation Treatment
• Chiari decompression
• Complex and Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion
• Craniectomy
• Craniotomy
• Cyberknife Radiosurgery
• Disc Replacement Surgery
• Discectomy Procedure
• Discectomy Surgery
• Embolization (Coil/Stent) Brain Aneurysm
• Embolization Brain AVM
• Embolization for Subdural Hematomas
• Embolization of Epistaxis (Nosebleeds) and Trauma
• Embolization of Head
• Neck
• and Spine Tumors
• Image Guided Spine Surgery
• Intraspinal/Intrathecal Pump (ITP)
• Intrathecal Drug Delivery Systems
• Kyphoplasty
• Lumbar Decompression Surgery
• Lumbar discectomy
• Lumbar Microdiscectomy
• Lumbar Spinal Fusion
• Microneurosurgery
• Microneurovascular Decompression
• Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF)
• Posterior cervical fusion
• Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy
• Posterior Spinal Instrumentation
• Revision Spinal Surgery
• Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Fusion
• SI Joint Fusion
• Spinal Angiography
• Spinal Decompression
• Spinal cord tumor surgery
• Spine Fusion
• Spine Surgery
• Stereotactic Biopsy
• Stereotactic Surgery
• Stent Placement
• Thoracic Laminectomy
• Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
• VP Shunt

• Vertebral Compression Fractures
• Vertebral Compression Fracture
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Subdural Hematomas
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Stroke mechanical thrombectomy
• Stroke
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spondylosis
• Spine Trauma
• Spine Tumors
• Spine Fractures
• Spine compression fracture
• Spine Arthritis / Facet Disease
• Spine arteriovenous malformation
• Spine (cervical
• thoracic
• lumbar
• sacral)
• Spinal Tumor
• Spinal Trauma
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Spinal Compression Fractures
• Spinal Aneurysms and AVMs
• Slipped Disc/ Herniated Disc
• Sacroilitis / Sacroiliac Joint Pain and Dysfunction
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
• Radiculopathy
• Pituitary Tumors
• Meningiomas
• Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
• Lumbar Radiculopathy
• Lumbar and Cervical Radiculopathy
• Intracranial stenosis
• Intracerebral hemorrhage
• Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
• Intracranial Injury
• Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease
• Herniated Nucleus Pulposus (HNP)
• Herniated or Bulging Disk
• Hemorrhagic stroke
• Glioblastoma
• Foraminal Stenosis
• Dural arteriovenous fistula
• Disc Herniations -Cervical
• thoracic and lumbar
• Disc Herniation
• Discogenic Back Pain
• Degenerative Spinal Conditions
• Cervical stenosis
• Cervical Radiculopathy
• Cervical Myelopathy
• Cervical Spinal Stenosis
• Carotid Artery Disease
• Carotid Stenosis
• Brain Metastasis
• Brain Tumor
• Brain AVM
• Brain Cancer
• Brain arteriovenous malformations
• Brain Aneurysm
• Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)