ABOUT THE DOCTOR

Mark S. Stern, M.D.

Board Certified Neurosurgeon/ Spine Surgeon

Mark S. Stern, MD, is board certified by the American Board of Neurosurgery. He is an active member of the American Association of Neurosurgeons, California Neurosurgeons Association, San Diego Academy of Neurosurgeons, and American Medical Association. Dr. Stern began his medical training at the Albany Medical College in New York. While in medical school, he was awarded a fellowship in oncology at Leads Infirmary in Leads, England. Upon completing his fellowship, he accepted an internship and residency at Georgetown University, where he was immersed in general surgery. His primary interest however remained spinal disorders, pain management, and pediatric neurosurgery. During this time, he focused on writing a number of research articles on these topics and would eventually be rewarded with a fellowship in neurological surgery from the National Institute of Health (NIH).  Upon completion of this second fellowship, Dr. Stern moved to Los Angeles to finish his residency training at the University of Southern California. Here he continued to perfect his microsurgical skills in the areas of vascular tumors, aneurysms, cranial base brain tumors, and all manner of spinal pathology.

Dr. Stern is currently the chief of the division of neurosurgery at Palomar Medical Center. Under his leadership, he has instituted a number of protocols at both hospitals such as Radiosurgery, Stereotactic surgery and minimally invasive neurosurgery and micro neurosurgery. However, one of the most important items brought by Dr. Stern was the introduction of breakthrough technology, such as image-guided procedures, to our North County hospitals. His persistence to use new technology to provide high quality and efficient care has enhanced the success rate of numerous surgeries.

ABOUT THE DOCTOR

Anthony A. Virella, M.D.

Board Certified Neurosurgeon/ Spine Surgeon

Dr. Virella is a Board-Certified, Fellowship trained Neurological Spine Surgeon with advanced training in the management of complex spinal disorders. He attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, (P&S) one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the United States. He is a graduate of the UCLA Neurosurgery Residency Program under the direction of Neil A. Martin, M.D., F.A.C.S. He completed his complex spine in-folding resident fellowship at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic Foundation with Dr. Edward C. Benzel, M.D. Additional work included a second fellowship in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at the UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center with Larry T. Khoo, M.D. Dr. Virella is a nationally recognized specialist in the field who has authored numerous articles and lectured nationally and internationally in the field of complex and minimally invasive spine surgery.

Dr. Virella evaluates and treats patients with a variety of spinal and cerebral disorders including: Spinal Tumors, Herniated discs and nerve root impingement of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, Spinal instability resulting from degenerative spinal disease and trauma, including cervical, thoracic, and lumbar fusions. Minimally invasive spinal surgery.

He served as the Director of Neurological Surgery at the Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, California from April 2005 thru June 2007. He is currently in private practice in the Mission Viejo and welcomes new patients. Dr. Virella is a board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

ABOUT THE DOCTOR:

Mario Ammirati, M.D.
Board Certified Neurosurgeon/ Spine Surgeon

Dr. Mario Ammirati is a board-certified neurosurgeon who recently opened his private practice in Sorrento Valley (San Diego) after 20+ years of operating his own skull base surgery lab in Ohio. He has two clinics – one in Sorrento Valley and one in La Mesa. He performs surgery at Sharp Grossmont Hospital and Surgical Center of San Diego (and currently in the credentialing process for Paradise Valley Hospital and several more). He has 30+ years of neurosurgical and spine surgery experience; he has been published in 160+ medical journals and publications, and he has co-written the guidelines for the treatment of brain metastases and primary brain tumors for the American Neurosurgical and Cancer Associations. Newsweek Magazine published a physician-voted survey in which Dr. Ammirati was listed among the “Top 3% of Neurosurgeons in the U.S. in 2015.”

Dr. Ammirati has performed 4,000+ procedures on skull base and benign and malignant tumors in the brain and spine/lumbar. He’s known by his peers for correctly diagnosing and treating patients who were otherwise misdiagnosed (e.g. brain tumors hidden behind blood clots; normal pressure hydrocephalus misdiagnosed as dementia/Alzheimer’s). He takes personal injury cases, and has 20+ years of experience as a medical expert – providing IMEs and testifying for both plaintiff and defense attorneys.

He trained in neurosurgery at Northwestern University Medical School. Afterwards, he completed a 2-year fellowship with Professor Samii, the leading world expert in skull base neurosurgery. He contributed to writing the guidelines for the treatment of brain metastases and Brain Tumors on behalf of American Neurosurgical/Cancer Associations. Dr. Ammirati was one of the first neurosurgeons in the USA to use computers and intraoperative Computerized Tomography (CT) to place instrumentations (screws) in the spine, thereby decreasing the number of badly-positioned screws and hence the need for reoperation while optimizing patient outcomes.

Since the beginning of his career in 1989, Dr. Ammirati has personally trained more than 120 neurosurgery residents and fellows from all over the world in the delicate art of neurosurgery/skull base surgery and spine surgery. These surgeons have used the techniques that they learned from Dr. Ammirati at prestigious neurosurgical institutions such as, amongst others, Harvard and Cleveland Clinic. He is also one of the world’s foremost leaders in diagnosing, removing and treating benign brain tumors with care and precision, while prioritizing his patients’ quality of life and physical functions. He prides himself in being the most considerate doctor to his patients, who meet him at the most vulnerable time in their lives.

Dr. Ammirati’s treatment philosophy is based on adherence to the most up to date reliable scientific evidence that is tailored to the need of each individual/unique patient. Indeed, no guideline completely fits each unique patient.

Dr. Ammirati has contributed chapters on Skull Base Surgery in the last 3 editions of the #1 neurosurgery textbook in the world (Youman’s Neurological Surgery), and his contributions to the advances of medicine in general include authoring 13+ textbooks on skull base tumors and meningiomas, speaking at hundreds of conferences over 40 years, and publishing more than 165 peer-reviewed research papers that uncover and perpetually evolve techniques to improve outcomes and lives through neurosurgery.