The Neurosurgical Procedure Manual: Step-by-Step Techniques for Common Cranial, Spinal, Pain, and Functional Procedures is a practical, procedure-focused guide for neurosurgeons, neurosurgical residents, fellows, neurologists, interventional pain physicians, spine specialists, and advanced practitioners who want a clear, organized approach to common neurosurgical procedures.
Written by Dr. Ghassan Taraben, MD, PhD, FAAN, this manual bridges anatomy, clinical judgment, procedural technique, patient safety, complication management, and documentation. It is designed as a hands-on educational reference for physicians and trainees who need more than theory: they need a structured method for understanding when to perform a procedure, when not to perform it, how to prepare, how to execute it safely, how to confirm correct placement, and how to manage complications.
The book covers a wide range of high-yield neurosurgical and neuro-interventional topics, including:
Neurocritical care and CSF procedures such as external ventricular drain placement, ventriculostomy, ICP monitoring, lumbar puncture, lumbar drains, and shunt reservoir access.
Spinal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including epidural steroid injections, selective nerve root blocks, facet injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, sacroiliac joint injections, piriformis injections, trigger-point injections, and occipital nerve blocks.
Pain neuromodulation procedures including spinal cord stimulator trials, permanent spinal cord stimulator implantation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, and intrathecal drug delivery pumps.
Functional neurosurgery procedures including deep brain stimulation, DBS lead placement, generator implantation, lesioning procedures, and neurosurgical treatment of spasticity.
Common cranial and bedside procedures including burr holes, chronic subdural hematoma drainage, cranial wound management, and brain abscess aspiration.
Spine procedures beyond blocks including vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, percutaneous spine biopsy, minimally invasive lumbar decompression, and cervical and lumbar disc procedures.
The manual also includes practical chapters on procedure-specific complications, hemorrhage, infection, hardware failure, neurologic deterioration, rescue strategies, checklists, procedure note templates, patient instructions, anticoagulation risk tables, medication references, imaging checklists, equipment trays, and a neurosurgical glossary.
Each procedure chapter follows a consistent format: purpose, indications, contraindications, anatomy, pre-procedure evaluation, equipment, positioning, step-by-step technique, confirmation of placement, post-procedure care, complications, clinical pearls, common mistakes, and sample documentation.
This structure makes the book highly usable as a neurosurgery procedure manual, resident teaching guide, clinical checklist reference, interventional spine resource, neurocritical care procedural guide, and neuromodulation practice companion.
The Neurosurgical Procedure Manual is ideal for readers seeking a clear, clinically focused, safety-oriented guide to common cranial, spinal, pain, functional, and bedside neurosurgical procedures.
