When UNC Health patient Marlene D. learned she needed a cyst removed from her lumbar facet joint, her biggest concern wasn’t the surgery. It was the anesthesia. UNC’s Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Motion Preservation Program Director and Professor of Neurosurgery  Cheerag Upadhyaya, MD, MBA, MSc, FAANS, FACS, listened to his patient’s needs. He consulted...

The UNC Movement Disorders team has a quarterly Deep Brain Stimulation Support Group for those who are considering DBS and those who have been living with DBS for many years. We meet each quarter on Fridays from 1:00 – 2:30 pm. The first half hour is dedicated to education led...

Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya has been appointed as Clinical Supply Chain Medical Director at UNC Health. In this role, Dr. Upadhyaya will collaborate with supply chain leadership to provide strategic guidance and clinical insight across key initiatives, including the Value Analysis Program, procurement strategies, and other essential areas within the supply chain....

Minimally invasive spine surgeon, Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya traveled to Taichung, Taiwan to present at the Taiwan Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (TSMISS) annual meeting at the China Medical University. TSMISS is a professional organization in Taiwan dedicated to the advancement of minimally invasive spinal surgery and improving patient care....

After a freak accident that left David with a fractured C2, he was taken by helicopter to UNC Health for spine surgery.  In November 2024, David left his house to go collect political signs that he had set out around town for a friend. At one of the stops, five...

Imaging during an emergency room visit confirmed the presence of a large brain tumor. Lisa was transported by ambulance to UNC Health in Chapel Hill for surgery. Lisa, a mother of four in her late 40’s, experienced occasional sinus headaches and migraines. However, in the summer of 2022, she began...

UNC Neurosurgery organized the first Innovation Summit in Chapel Hill featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Ricardo Komotar from the University of Miami.  The Department of Neurosurgery at UNC Chapel Hill hosted the Inaugural Innovation Summit in the Skull Base & Spine Dissection Simulation Center on campus led by Dr Dominique Higgins....

The newly announced joint UNC Health and Duke Health Children’s Hospital is a goal that Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Children’s Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Scott Elton has worked towards since he joined UNC Health 14 years ago. Dr. Elton shares what the first freestanding Children’s Hospital in North Carolina will...

Dr. Vibhor Krishna and Dr. Daniel Roque travel to New Delhi to celebrate a landmark development for neurological care in India and present at the “Transforming Neuroscience: MR-Guided HIFU – A Game Changer” Symposium. Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor is now available at...

UNC Neurosurgery faculty members participated in the annual 2025 NC Triangle Head for the Cure 5K race on Sunday, February 23, 2025 to raise money for brain cancer research, and to support brain cancer survivors and their families. The Department of Neurosurgery at UNC Health has a long-standing relationship with...