Our Practice
Children’s Neurosurgical Associates performs most of our procedures at the Neurosurgery Division at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland. We also work at UCSF and CPMC (California Pacific Medical Center) in san Francisco. At Children's Hospital, we provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient services for infants, children and adolescents with neurosurgical disorders. Children with brain tumors, spinal disorders, congenital anomalies, craniosynostosis, spasticity, epilepsy and hydrocephalus are cared for by our team of pediatric neurosurgeons, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner and social worker dedicated to the care of pediatric patients.
Our practice uses the latest and most advanced diagnostic and treatment technology available. We are committed to offering our patients the best care using equipment that will contribute to the most positive outcomes possible for your child.
At Children’s, Dr. Sun and his team perform about 350 to 400 surgeries each year. They use state-of-the-art equipment including a system allowing very precise endoscopic surgery.
Our program is equipped with a computer-guided stereotactic neurosurgery station, intraoperative CT and ultrasound, a neuroendoscope for minimally invasive, state-of-the-art brain surgery, and intra-operative CT scanner. Our patients receive the finest post-operative care in the largest pediatric intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit Northern California. Transport teams are available to receive patients 24 hours a day.
A computer navigation system loaded with images of a patient’s skull and brain, made with MRI scans, provides exquisitely accurate mapping. Combining the navigation system with a tiny camera inserted through very small incisions into the skull gives Dr. Sun an amazing tool for precision surgery.
In 2001, he used the system to remove a tumor threatening a child’s spinal cord.
“The only possible way to get to the tumor was through the mouth,” said Dr. Sun. With help from a team including a cranio-facial plastic surgeon, the surgery was successful.
In another collaboration with the cranio-facial surgeon, Dr. Sun performed surgery on a 6-year-old boy with severe craniosynostosis. The boy’s skull sutures had fused. During a six-hour surgery, Dr. Sun cut the skull into several pieces and the two surgeons reconstructed the boy’s skull, increasing the circumference of his head by four centimeters.
“All the girls think I’m cute now,” said the boy a year after his surgery.
The multidisciplinary neuro-oncology, spinal disorder, spasticity, epilepsy, and craniofacial programs ensure that neurosurgery patients at Children's Hospital receive complete, integrated outpatient care.