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About Us

Our 
Story

History

In 1952, Dr. Ronald Dolan (MD Queens 1944; D 1998) was the first general neurosurgeon to come to Hamilton. Since that time the division has expanded continuously, and now provides comprehensive neurosurgical care for a catchment of over 2.5 million people. Patients requiring subspecialty care may also be transferred from more distant locations. 

Organization

The Division of Neurosurgery at McMaster University is comprised of talented, dedicated and highly skilled neurosurgeons, offering a complete spectrum of neurosurgical care for both adult and pediatric patients. Dr. Sheila Singh leads the academic division in a collaborative fashion with our full neurosurgical team. 

We provide a thorough evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve, with subspecialty trained neurosurgeons.  Through both inpatient and outpatient services we offer the highest standard of individualized care to patients at each of our sites, under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Sunjay Sharma (Head of Service, Neurosurgery, Hamilton General Hospital) and Dr. Femi Ajani (Head of Service, Pediatric Neurosurgery, McMaster Children’s Hospital).

As a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited training program, our talented and highly educated surgeons stay current with ongoing training methodologies and research to offer world class care to our patients.  Under the guidance of residency program director Dr. Blake Yarascavitch, our program offers an exceptional training experience that engages our residents and learners and provides them with the skills they require to succeed in careers in academic neurosurgery.

The adult neurosurgery program within Hamilton Health Sciences operates out of Hamilton General Hospital, an 865 bed facility which functions as the regional level 1 trauma centre and comprehensive stroke center. The adult neurosurgery service performs over 1500 surgeries annually. Additional procedures occur at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, which focuses on minimally invasive spinal and craniocervical junction procedures for enhanced recovery. The pediatric neurosurgery program operates primarily out of McMaster University Medical Centre, and performs approximately 250 surgeries annually. We couldn't care for everyone alone, and our regional network of associated hospitals provides essential preoperative, perioperative, and convalescent care. 

 

The McMaster Division of Neurosurgery treats a wide range of neurosurgical diseases and conditions. A non-comprehensive selection of treated conditions are described below. If you wish to refer a patient, please refer to the appropriate neurosurgery centralized intake.

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