{"id":2876,"date":"2009-04-08T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/med-anesthesiology.sites.unc.edu\/our-department\/clinical-divisions-sections\/neuroanesthesia-division\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T15:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T19:12:33","slug":"neuroanesthesia-division","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/anesthesiology\/our-department\/clinical-divisions-sections\/neuroanesthesia-division\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuroanesthesia Section"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Neuroanesthesia team at UNC provides specialized care for patients undergoing complex brain and spine surgeries. We work closely with neurosurgeons, neurologists, and critical care teams to deliver evidence based, best practice and safe anesthesia care tailored to each patient\u2019s neurologic condition. Our faculty are experts in managing intracranial pressure, cerebral blood flow, and anesthesia care supporting neurophysiologic monitoring and optimal outcomes in procedures such as brain tumor resections, aneurysm repairs, spine fusions, functional neurosurgery, and stroke interventions. We are also actively involved in research, education, and quality improvement initiatives aimed at advancing perioperative neuroscience care. UNC Anesthesiology’s Neuroanesthesia Section is led by Section Chief Samuel Blacker, MD<\/strong><\/a>. Dr. Blacker is also Medical Director of UNC Anesthesiology Support Services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UNC’s Neuroanesthesia Section has multiple projects under development in patient care, education and research, including:<\/p>\n

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  1. Implementing the system-wide spine ERAS pathway (Developed, pre-implementation)<\/li>\n
  2. Developing a cross-disciplinary craniotomy ERAS\/best practices pathway in collaboration with UNC Neurosurgery<\/li>\n
  3. Improving anesthesia care with emergency stroke thrombectomy procedures<\/li>\n
  4. Supporting the SNACC EVD safety campaign<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Developing successful EVD-themed Neuroanesthesia Grand Rounds and education (Projected rollout: December 2025)<\/li>\n
  6. Increasing academic output.Multiple Neuroanesthesia Section members are involved in academic research and scholarly projects. Recent publications include: 1) A review of anesthesia care for emergency craniotomies; 2) A meta-analysis examining optimal timing of anesthesia care after stroke; and 3) An evaluation of practices, challenges, and quality improvement of external ventricular drain care in low- and middle-income countries. Two current projects are an anesthesia practice review of the stroke thrombectomy literature and a large meta-analysis of external ventricular drain infections over time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Samuel\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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    \n Samuel Blacker <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
    \nDirector, Neuroanesthesia
    \nMedical Director, Anesthesia Support Services<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Kenneth\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    \n Kenneth (Brad) Brown Jr <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

    \n
    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Benjamin\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    \n Benjamin Cobb, MD <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
    \nAssistant Residency Program Director<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Lindsey\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    \n Lindsey Gouker <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

    \n
    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"mia\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    \n Mia Kang <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"James\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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    \n James Mason <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Ric\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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    \n Ric Serrano <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"Robb\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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    \n Robb Wasserman <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

    \n
    \n \t\t\n
    \n \"James\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    \n James Williams <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

    Professor of Anesthesiology<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n \n