5th Neurosurgery Clinic – Clinic of Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery

Our Department specializes in the treatment of the full spectrum of vascular diseases of the brain, the cervical region, and the spinal cord. Our team consists of a neurosurgeon, an interventional radiologist, a neurologist, and a vascular surgeon, all with specialized training in the United States.

The Director of the Clinic, Neurosurgeon Dr. Machinis, has completed dual training (dual-trained neurosurgeon) in the United States and uses endovascular or open cerebrovascular techniques, depending on the particular characteristics of each case.

Minimally invasive brain surgery

Through modern neuronavigation systems and specialized microsurgical instruments, the surgeon is guided to the most difficult-to-access areas of the brain through incisions of only a few centimeters. This makes it possible to remove benign and malignant tumors (primary and metastatic), as well as vascular malformations.

Minimally invasive brain surgery also includes the use of an endoscope through the nasal cavity, at the skull base, allowing access to deeper areas of the brain (anterior cranial fossa, sella turcica, clivus, etc.). In this way, pituitary adenomas, Rathke’s cleft cysts, meningiomas, chordomas, craniopharyngiomas, and other conditions of the aforementioned anatomical regions are treated in the optimal way. The main advantage of minimally invasive brain surgery is the reduction of morbidity caused by the surgical approach. As a result, the patient has smaller scars, or even none at all, less postoperative pain, a shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery.

Minimally invasive spine surgery

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) involves performing surgery on the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine with the smallest possible surgical trauma compared with conventional surgical methods. To achieve this, tubular dilators or an endoscope and microsurgical instruments are used, allowing surgical procedures to be performed with high precision, without the need for extensive surgical approaches. At the same time, with the use of an appropriate state-of-the-art neuronavigation system (O-arm, Medtronic), very small incisions or the percutaneous placement of screws are performed with remarkable precision. In contrast to traditional “open” surgery, MISS achieves less trauma to the tissues, reduced hospitalization time, much lower blood loss with usually negligible need for transfusion, minimization of postoperative pain, smoother and faster postoperative mobilization of the patient, as well as a reduction in the rate of wound infection.

Minimally invasive spine surgery can be applied for decompression of the nerve roots or spinal cord in appropriately selected patients in cases of disc herniation, osteophytes, foraminal or spinal stenosis; for stabilization of the spine with percutaneous spinal fusion in cases of instability and fractures; as well as in kyphoplasty/elastoplasty procedures for osteoporotic or metastatic fractures.

Medical Staff

Director, Neurosurgeon
Theofilos Machinis

Consultant Neurosurgeons
Christina Zournatzidi
Argyro Chondrozoumaki