Skull Base Center

Tumors at the base of the skull make treatment highly complex. Hard to reach, these challenging tumors affect several areas of the body, from brain function and balance to speaking and swallowing. Home to the world’s foremost pituitary program, UVA offers the kind of world-class expertise skull base tumors require.

Skull Base Specialists: The Best Possible Care

Treating these delicate tumors may require surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or all of the above. That's why our expert team includes specialists in:

Neurosurgery
Head and neck surgery
Sinus and skull base surgery
Ear disorders (otology/neurotology)
Neuroradiology
Pituitary disorders (endocrinology)
Radiation oncology

The team meets regularly to discuss your individualized treatment plan and ensure you’re getting the best possible care. We also have a dedicated nurse practitioner who will work with you to manage multiple appointments and tests.

Take a look at the range of conditions we treat.

Advanced Surgery Options

The latest techniques we’re using include:

Minimally invasive procedures that allow tumor removal with less damage to the brain and surrounding structures
Operating room monitors that assess the function of the nervous system, including facial nerve, auditory nerve, vocal cord and sensory and motor nerve monitoring, which minimizes complications during surgery
Stereotactic radiosurgery, including Gamma Knife, for faster planning and treatment of complex tumors without invasive surgery

We're also installing one of the first operating room MRIs in the region, which will allow our surgeons to use real-time images of all the surrounding areas during surgery.