Barrow Neurological Institute


Barrow Neurological Institute is the world's largest neurological disease treatment and research institution, and is consistently ranked as one of the best neurosurgical training centers in the United States. Founded in 1962, the main campus is located at 350 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix, Arizona.

Introduction

Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is the world's largest dedicated neurosurgical center and a leader in neurosurgical training, research, and patient care. More operative neurosurgical procedures take place at Barrow than at any other institution in the United States. Under the directorship of Dr. Michael Lawton, the institution's unique capabilities and achievements are recognized internationally.
Barrow was started by Dr. John Green and Dr. Betty Clements as a regional center for patients with neurosurgical issues. It was named after a donation from Clyde Barrow, whose family owned companies including Joy Manufacturing. The institution has rapidly expanded over the last 30 years. Barrow receives referrals from all over the world and is internationally recognized for the treatment of disorders such as cerebrovascular aneurysms, hypothalamic hamartomas and other brain tumors, complex spinal disorders, stroke, and Parkinson's disease at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. The center is home to the largest neurosurgical residency program in the United States, and hundreds of neurosurgeons from around the world visit yearly to attend the Spetzler-Rhoton Skull Base Course and the Barrow Symposium. Dr. Lawton is assisted in his leadership role by Dr. F. David Barranco and Dr. Jeremy Shefner.

Clinical volume

The clinical volume at Barrow Neurological Institute is unparalleled by any other institution in the United States. There are 11 dedicated neurosurgical ORs, typically with 2 cases per room, averaging 18 to 20 cases per weekday and 100 cases per week. Previous figures reported to the ACGME for re-accreditation in 2007-8 academic year was a total of 6,681 cases. Additionally, the institution is home to a 64-bed neurosurgical ICU, the largest of its kind in the world. The neurosurgical operating rooms at Barrow were completed in 2006 and are still considered state of the art. Each operating room is about two times the size of a traditional operating room and fitted with three 64-inch plasma screens, two high definition cameras, and access to a single 3T intraoperative MRI. These 11 dedicated neurosurgical operating rooms with ancillary staff sub-specialized only in neurosurgical care, are the most of any single institution in the world.

Education

Barrow Neurological Institute accepts four residents per year to its neurological surgery residency program, making it the largest program of its kind in the country. Graduates from the program have gone on to chair other neurosurgical programs, head various national neurosurgical societies, and have patented a number of neurosurgical devices. Due to Barrow Neurological Institute's high clinical volume and emphasis on resident education, the center has garnered a reputation for producing technical masters in numerous fields within neurosurgery, and has become one of the most sought after neurosurgical training programs in the world.
Barrow Neurological Institute also offers three fellowships: Cerebrovascular under the direction of Dr. Michael T. Lawton, Neuroendovascular under the direction of Drs. Felipe C. Albuquerque and Andrew F. Ducruet, and complex spine under Dr. Juan Uribe.

Rankings

In 2019, Doximity ranked the Neurosurgical Residency Program at Barrow Neurological Institute as the #2 training program in the U.S. Additionally, in 2014 Khan et al. performed a comprehensive analysis of the academic productivity of 1225 Neurosurgeons in the United States. The authors found that the Barrow Neurosurgery Department was #2 in terms of overall academic productivity.

Current Faculty