common and is referred to as surgical navigation, computer-assisted surgery, navigated surgery, stereotactic navigation. similar to a car or mobile global positioning system (gps), image-guided surgery systems, like curve image guided surgery and stealthstation, use cameras or electromagnetic fields to capture and relay the patient's anatomy and the surgeon's precise movements in relation to the patient, to computer monitors in the operating room. these sophisticated computerized systems are used before and during surgery to help orient the surgeon with three-dimensional images of the patient's anatomy including the tumor. real-time functional brain mapping has been employed to identify specific functional regions using electrocorticography (ecog) minimally invasive endoscopic surgery is commonly utilized by neurosurgeons when appropriate. techniques such as endoscopic endonasal surgery are used in pituitary tumors, craniopharyngiomas, chordomas, and the repair of cerebrospinal fluid leaks. ventricular endoscopy is used in the treatment of intraventricular bleeds, hydrocephalus, colloid cyst and neurocysticercosis. endonasal endoscopy is at times carried out with neurosurgeons and ent surgeons working together as a team. repair of craniofacial disorders and disturbance of cerebrospinal fluid circulation is done by neurosurgeons who also occasionally team up with maxillofacial and plastic surgeons. cranioplasty for craniosynostosis is performed by pediatric neurosurgeons with or without plastic surgeons. neurosurgeons are involved in stereotactic radiosurgery along with radiation oncologists in tumor and avm treatment. radiosurgical methods such as gamma knife, cyberknife and novalis radiosurgery are used as well. endovascular surgical neuroradiology utilize endovascular image guided procedures for the treatment of aneurysms, avms, carotid stenosis, strokes, and spinal malformations, and vasospasms. techniques such as angioplasty, stenting, clot retrieval, embolization, and diagnostic angiography are endovascular procedures. a common procedure performed in neurosurgery is the placement of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt (vp shunt). in pediatric practice this is often implemented in cases of congenital hydrocephalus. the most common indication for this procedure in adults is normal pressure hydrocephalus (nph). neurosurgery of the spine covers the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. some indications for spine surgery include spinal cord compression resulting from trauma, arthritis of the spinal discs, or spondylosis. in cervical cord compression, patients may have difficulty with gait, balance issues, and/or numbness and tingling in the hands or feet. spondylosis is the condition of spinal disc degeneration and arthritis that may compress the spinal canal. this condition can often result in bone-spurring and disc herniation. power drills and special instruments are often used to correct any compression problems of the spinal canal. disc herniations of spinal vertebral discs are removed with special rongeurs. this procedure is known as a discectomy. generally once a disc is removed it is replaced by an implant which will create a bony fusion between vertebral bodies above and below. instead, a mobile disc could be implanted into the disc space to maintain mobility. this is commonly used in cervical disc surgery. at times instead of disc removal a laser discectomy could be used to decompress a nerve root. this method is mainly used for lumbar discs. laminectomy is the removal of the lamina of the vertebrae of the spine in order to make room for the compressed nerve tissue. surgery for chronic pain is a sub-branch of functional neurosurgery. some of the techniques include implantation of deep brain stimulators, spinal cord stimulators, peripheral stimulators and pain pumps. surgery of the peripheral nervous system is also possible, and includes the very common procedures of carpal tunnel decompression and peripheral nerve transposition. numerous other types of nerve entrapment conditions and other problems with the peripheral nervous system are treated as well. conditions conditions treated by neurosurgeons include, but are not limited to: meningitis and other central nervous system infections including abscesses spinal disc herniation cervical spinal stenosis and lumbar spinal stenosis hydrocephalus head trauma (brain hemorrhages, skull fractures, etc.) spinal cord trauma traumatic injuries of peripheral nerves tumors of the spine, spinal cord and peripheral nerves intracerebral hemorrhage, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, interdepartmental, and intracellular hemorrhages some forms of drug-resistant epilepsy some forms of movement disorders (advanced parkinson's disease, chorea) – this involves the use of specially developed minimally invasive stereotactic techniques (functional, stereotactic neurosurgery) such as ablative surgery and deep brain stimulation surgery intractable pain of cancer or trauma patients and cranial/peripheral nerve pain some forms of intractable psychiatric disorders vascular malformations (i.e., arteriovenous malformations, venous angiomas, cavernous angiomas, capillary telangectasias) of the brain and spinal cord moyamoya disease recovery postoperative pain pain following brain surgery can be significant and may lengthen recovery, increase the amount of time a person stays in the hospital following surgery, and increase the risk of complications following surgery. severe acute pain following brain surgery may also increase the risk of a person developing a chronic post-craniotomy headache. approaches to treating pain in adults include treatment with nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (nsaids), which have been shown to reduce pain for up to 24 hours following surgery. low-quality evidence supports the use of the medications dexmedetomidine, pregabalin or gabapentin to reduce post-operative pain. low-quality evidence also supports scalp blocks and scalp infiltration to reduce postoperative pain. gabapentin or pregabalin may also decrease vomiting and nausea following surgery, based on very low-quality medical evidence. notable neurosurgeons saleem abdulrauf – developed "awake" craniotomy for complex aneurysms and vascular malformations. john r. adler – stanford university neurosurgeon who invented the cyberknife. alim-louis benabid – known as one of the developers of deep brain stimulation surgery for movement disorder. ben carson – retired pediatric neurosurgeon from johns hopkins hospital, pioneer in hemispherectomy, and pioneer in the separation of craniopagus twins (joined at the head); former 2016 republican party presidential candidate, and former united states secretary of housing and urban development under the trump administration. harvey cushing – known as one of the fathers of modern neurosurgery. walter dandy – known as one of the founding fathers of modern neurosurgery. christopher duntsch – former neurosurgeon who killed or maimed nearly every patient he operated on before being incarcerated. victor horsley – known as the first neurosurgeon. lars leksell – swedish neurosurgeon who developed the gamma knife. wirginia maixner – pediatric neurosurgeon at melbourne's royal children's hospital. primarily known for separating conjoined bangladeshi twins, trishna and krishna. henry marsh – leading english neurosurgeon and pioneer of neurosurgical advancements in ukraine frank henderson mayfield – invented the mayfield skull clamp. b. k. misra – first neurosurgeon in the world to perform image-guided surgery for aneurysms, first in south asia to perform stereotactic radiosurgery, first in india to perform awake craniotomy and laparoscopic spine surgery. karin muraszko – first woman to occupy a chair of neurosurgery at an american medical school (university of michigan). hirotaro narabayashi – a pioneer of stereotactic neurosurgery. ayub k. ommaya – invented the ommaya reservoir. wilder penfield – known as one of the founding fathers of modern neurosurgery, and pioneer of epilepsy neurosurgery. ludvig puusepp – known as one of the founding fathers of modern neurosurgery, world's first professor of neurosurgery. joseph ransohoff – known for his pioneering use of medical imaging and catheterization in neurosurgery, and for founding the first neurosurgery intensive care unit. majid samii – pioneer of cerebello-pontine angle tumor surgery. world federation of neurosurgical societies coined a medal of honor bearing samii's name which would be given to outstanding neurosurgeons every two years. juliet sekabunga nalwanga – uganda's first female neurosurgeon. hermann schloffer invented transsphenoidal surgery in 1907. robert wheeler rand – along with theodore kurze, md was among the first to introduce the surgical microscope into neurosurgical procedures in 1957 and published first textbook on microneurosurgery in 1969. robert j. white – established the vatican's commission on biomedical ethics in 1981 after his appointment to the pontifical academy of sciences and was famous for his head transplants on living monkeys. gazi yaşargil – known as the father of microneurosurgery.