Cayuga Neurologic Services has highly trained, experienced neurologists who specialize in diagnosing and treating disorders of the central nervous system, comprising the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves.
Our Services
Diagnostics
The Department of Imaging Services at Cayuga Health are the most comprehensive in the region and has a reputation for remaining at the forefront of this critically important field of diagnostic medicine. We are technologically equal to the country’s premier medical centers. Our board-certified neuroradiologist works closely with an experienced team of registered radiological technologists who have earned additional certifications in specialty areas, including CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan.
A leading edge computerized picture archiving communication system (PACS) captures digital images and maintains them electronically, eliminating the need to print and store film. With connectivity to our PACS through a secure network, our physicians can review their patients’ imaging studies and radiologists’ reports as soon as they are completed. This system also facilitates physician consultations and patient referrals to the University of Rochester Medical Center (and other tertiary care centers), which provides a very high level of integrated care.
Our clinic provides EEG (electroencephalogram) and EMG (electromyogram), which are the two principal neurological testing modalities used to confirm or to rule out several different diagnoses.
Patients can be referred to the clinic by primary care providers and by physician specialists. Testing is performed under the direction of our department supervisor, a board-registered EEG technologist with 25 years of experience in the field. Test results are interpreted by members of our team of board-certified neurologists, all of whom have subspecialty training within the field of neurology including pediatric neurology, dementia, neuromuscular disease, epilepsy, and stroke.
An EEG test is used to measure the electrical activity of the brain. A number of electrodes are applied to your scalp to help diagnose conditions including epilepsy, sleep disorders and brain tumors.
An EMG test helps find out if muscles are responding the right way to nerve signals. Nerve responsive studies help diagnose nerve, damage, disorders, or disease.
NCS measures the flow of electrical current through motor nerves (control your muscles and movement) and sensory nerves (carry signals to your brain about things you touch, taste, smell and see) to detect the presence and extent of peripheral nerve damage.
Neurology
Neurologists diagnose and treat disorders of the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spine, and peripheral nervous system and muscles. The Department of Neurology, a subspecialty of internal medicine, was established at Cayuga Medical Center in the mid-1980s. Our team includes both adult and pediatric neurologists.
There are many types of medical diseases of the central nervous system. Among the most common neurologic conditions we treat are:
- Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Stroke
- Epilepsy
- Dementia
- Migraines and other headache disorders
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes a person to have recurrent, unprovoked seizures. These seizures occur when the electrical activity in the nerve cells of the brain are disrupted. Seizures vary from person to person and can involve staring, abnormal movements and loss of consciousness. Epilepsy can occur at any time of life; however, it has the highest incidence in the very young and in the elderly. Among people with epilepsy, two-thirds are able to satisfactorily control their seizures and lead a normal life. However, one-third of those with epilepsy are still coping with uncontrolled or poorly controlled seizures.
There are two basic categories of epilepsy: generalized seizures and focal seizures.
- Generalized seizures involve all areas of the brain at once and cause loss of awareness and often loss of consciousness. This type of epilepsy is most commonly diagnosed in children.
- Focal (or partial) seizures begin in one part of the brain and may only impact the part of the body controlled by that specific area of the brain. The onset of focal seizures can begin at any time of life. Within each of those basic categories there are several different types of seizures.
At Cayuga Neurologic Services we treat pediatric and adult epilepsy, employing various types of treatment.
A stay in an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) can help diagnose and treat your condition by providing doctors with the time and resources to diagnose why you’re having seizures, determine the type of seizures you’re having, modify medication or find the reason for continued seizures. The EMU is typically part of a larger hospital and is staffed by healthcare professionals who have expertise in epilepsy care, including neurologists, epileptologists, EEG technicians, and nurses. During your stay, you will be monitored by EEG recording and will also have video recording of your events. This allows healthcare professionals to gather information about your seizures and make the most accurate diagnosis or treatment recommendations for your types of seizures.
Pain Management
Our caregivers treat patients with a variety of chronic pain problems including:
- neck and back pain from spinal disorders, herniated disks, and osteoporosis
- myofascial pain
- chronic regional pain syndrome
- post-herpetic neuralgia
- intractable cancer pain
- post-operative pain that remains unresolved.
The scope of pain management includes both medical and non-medical therapies. Our pain management specialists treat pain with medication, nerve blocks, and implanted technologies (such as dorsal column stimulators). The pain management team also works closely with a number of physicians and area health-care practitioners on a referral basis, including specialists in neurology, physiatry (physical medicine specialists), psychology, physical and occupational therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and spiritual healing. An individual treatment plan is designed for each patient, depending on the patient’s problem and preferences.
Stroke
Cayuga Medical Center is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and the Joint Commission. This designation process raises diagnostic and treatment standards and improves access to high quality care for patients with a diagnosis of stroke or TIA, Studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association have shown that patients treated at hospitals with a Stroke Center have reduced mortality and morbidity, fewer complications, improved long-term outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction.
The designation as a Primary Stroke Center involves the collaboration of a multidisciplinary group including emergency physicians and nurses, neurologists, radiologists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, and rehabilitation specialists. Team members are available to respond 24/7 in the Emergency Department for the evaluation and treatment of stroke patients.
The scope of pain management includes both medical and non-medical therapies. Our pain management specialists treat pain with medication, nerve blocks, and implanted technologies (such as dorsal column stimulators). The pain management team also works closely with a number of physicians and area health-care practitioners on a referral basis, including specialists in neurology, physiatry (physical medicine specialists), psychology, physical and occupational therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and spiritual healing. An individual treatment plan is designed for each patient, depending on the patient’s problem and preferences.
Signs and symptoms of stroke usually occur suddenly. The easiest way to remember them is to BE FAST:
- B: Balance: Trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
- E: Eyes: Trouble seeing from one or both eyes
- F: Face: facial droop, one side of the mouth has difficulty moving that is most noticeable when the person tries to smile
- A: Arms: Numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body
- S: Speech: Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- T: Time: If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately
- Another sign of stroke is a sudden, severe headache, often described as the worst headache of the person’s life, sometimes with nausea or seizures
Do not try to drive yourself to the hospital – your symptoms could get worse while you’re driving. Also, activating emergency medical services (EMS) ensures that your care starts before you even arrive at the hospital, as well as notifying the hospital that you’re on your way. If possible, you or a family member should note the time you were last known to be well or without symptoms: this is a crucial piece of information for your care team to determine what treatments you are able to receive.
Medical Rehabilitation
Before anyone is admitted to our medical rehabilitation unit, our multidisciplinary care team conducts a thorough patient assessment to determine if our approach to care and level of intensity is appropriate for the individual. To be admitted to the unit, you must be determined to have the stamina necessary to participate in three hours per day of active therapy. We will only accept you into the program if we believe we can truly help.
Each patient who comes to us for help is an individual with specific challenges to overcome. Our goal is to help you recover abilities, regain confidence, and return home with the skills needed to live life to the fullest.
You will work hard and so will our care team. We focus our efforts and our attention on your progress; we celebrate your successes and help you plan for the future. Families and friends are an integral part of the rehabilitation process, and we teach them how to reinforce the gains made through therapy. The work you and family do here prepares you to cope with changes in lifestyle following your trauma or illness.
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgeons specialize in the surgical treatment of conditions of the brain and the spinal cord. They use the most advanced computer and imaging technology in the diagnosis of neurologic problems and in the operating room during surgery. Our neurosurgeons manage the surgical treatment of patients with cerebrovascular hemorrhage and aneurysms, head injuries, spinal problems, tumors of the central nervous system, and congenital abnormalities.
Cayuga Medical Center launched its neurosurgery program in 1996. In 2013, after nearly two decades of steady growth, we became clinically connected with the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Department of Neurosurgery. This important relationship has increased regional access to advanced neurosurgery.
- Area residents have the advantages of excellent local neurosurgery and a direct link to one of the most highly rated neurosciences programs in the nation.
- Patients who can be treated in Ithaca, stay here and receive their care locally.
- Patients with more complicated brain and spinal cord injuries or aneurisms that require highly specialized care are referred to URMC.
- This tiered system is a very effective model of care that avoids unnecessary transfers of patients who are best served at Cayuga Medical Center.
Comprehensive medical center services support the work of our neurosurgeons:
- Cayuga Neurologic Services of Cayuga Medical Associates, comprising a very experienced team of board-certified neurologists
- Outstanding neurological imaging provided by the region’s most comprehensive Department of Imaging Services and the experienced specialists at Radiology Associates of Ithaca, including a fellowship trained neuroradiologist
- A talented team of intensive-care medicine specialists and hospitalists
- One of the most consistently highly rated inpatient Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Units in the country
- The most extensive outpatient physical therapy programs in the region, including practitioners with experience and training in neurologic conditions and musculoskeletal problems of the neck and spine
- The Ithaca Center for Pain Management, staffed by physicians who are board certified in physical medicine, anesthesiology and pain management
COLLABORATIONS
University of Rochester Medicine
The level of care at URMC is widely recognized as among the best in the nation. U.S. News and World Report has ranked the URMC Department of Neurosciences among the top hospitals in the country and the number one hospital in the Rochester metro area. The relationship with URMC helps to advance neurosciences at Cayuga Medical Center in a rapidly evolving field. The criteria and protocols developed at URMC for stroke patients and spinal surgery patients are available at Cayuga Medical Center.
In an additional collaboration with URMC, the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit was created at Cayuga Medical Center in 2015, advancing the level of care for area patients diagnosed with epilepsy. Neurologists and neurosurgeons on staff at Cayuga Medical Center continue to collaborate on services that can be offered jointly.
RESOURCES
Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
what our neurology patients are saying
“I’ve got more hope now.”
