NEUROVASCULAR SERVICES
The Neurovascular Section in the UAB Department of Neurosurgery is a team of top-notch clinicians with
expertise in cerebrovascular neurosurgery and neuroradiology. All of the faculty have fellowship training
and experience in one or more aspects of cerebrovascular care, ranging from open vascular neurosurgery to
endovascular neurosurgery and diagnostic neuroradiology. The team provides the state’s most extensive range
of specialized vascular neurosurgical services, available on a 24/7 basis. An important component of the UAB
Comprehensive Neurovascular and Stroke Center, the Neurovascular Section is a leader in cerebrovascular
education training and is deeply engaged in cerebrovascular research.
WHY UAB
UAB became the first Comprehensive Stroke Center in Alabama in 2015 and obtained biannual recertification in
2019. UAB is the highest volume center in Alabama for the management of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The
endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke has grown exponentially in recent years, and the performance of
the neurointerventional team has continued to improve, along with the rise in volume. This has been reflected by
steadily improving clinical outcomes, recanalization rates, and door-to-puncture times.
Mark R. Harrigan, MD, professor and department medical director, is coauthor of the “Handbook of
Cerebrovascular Disease and Neurointerventional Technique”, the third edition of which was published in
2018. This 1,000-page handbook has a global audience and has even been translated into Mandarin. The
Neurovascular Section has an active neurointerventional fellowship and in 2019 obtained recognition as a Society
of Neurological Surgeons Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST) Neuroendovascular Surgery
accredited fellowship.
UAB became a Regional Coordinating Center for the NIH-sponsored StrokeNet in 2018; Dr. Harrigan, along with
Toby Gropen, MD, and Ronald Lazar, PhD, are co-principal investigators in this prestigious effort, which carries
a five-year grant and has been charged with leading cerebrovascular trials at UAB and throughout the region.
UAB has been an active center for enrollment for several major cerebrovascular clinical trials, including MISTIE III,
MyRIAD, DEFUSE 3, CREST 2, and ENRICH, and through these trials, UAB has helped formulate current national
treatment strategies. In addition, the Neurovascular Section research unit has emerged as a leading center
for research into the management of stroke due to traumatic cerebrovascular injury. In total, members of the
Neurovascular Section published 58 peer-reviewed publications in the last two years.
BY THE NUMBERS
IN 2019:
• 1,961 patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke were admitted to UAB.
• 203 patients with acute ischemic stroke underwent endovascular treatment.
• 93 patients with intracranial aneurysms were treated by the Neurovascular Section.
• 44 patients with carotid stenosis underwent carotid endarterectomy or stenting by
Neurovascular Section faculty.
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UAB Neurosurgery Annual Report 2020