My name is Yashar Kalani. I'm a neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia Health Care System. I am the director of skull base, cerebrovascular, and endovascular neurosurgery. I treat brain and spinal tumors and vascular disease. I take care of patients, both adult and children, who have blood vessel disorders of the brain and the spinal cord. I also treat brain tumors and tumors that happen at the base of the skull. It can require working with plastic surgeons or ear, nose, and throat surgeons to approach some of those. 

I became fascinated with the brain when I was in medical school and graduate school. I became interested in looking and studying the blood vessels of the brain and tumors of the brain and spinal cord because I thought that was one of the most challenging frontiers and a place that I could help patients and make a difference in people's lives. 

I offer patients combined microsurgical and endovascular therapies for aneurysms and complex vascular malformations. Patients can come and be evaluated by somebody who's got a skill set and able to give them both options that are currently available for treatment of these types of diseases. 

New patients who come to see me can expect that I will explain the disease process to them. They can expect that I'll go over the various treatment options. In consultation and discussion with the patient, we'll come up with the best course of action and [inaudible 00:01:21] for the patient. 

UV has a culture of excellence. It's a culture built on a longstanding tradition that patients are the center of our care stream and they're the center of our goal. They're the people who we come to work for every day. It's small enough that that's still preserved and it's still important, but it's large enough that you're going to get the absolute best quaternary care that's needed for your complex disease.