Trauma & Neurosurgery

Programs & Services

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St. Michael's Hospital is the designated downtown Toronto trauma centre for adults and is one of 12 lead trauma hospitals in Ontario. Our Cara Phelan Centre for Trauma Research conducts leading-edge research on trauma prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, with an emphasis on head injury. Seventy per cent of our trauma patients have suffered some type of head injury, and neurosurgical intervention is required in the most severe cases. The Hospital's neurosurgical unit, one of the largest in Canada, specializes in traumatic brain injury and neurooncology (treatment of brain tumours).

The Trauma & Neurosurgery program includes:

Trauma team equipped to deal with multiple trauma injuries in adults.
Multidisciplinary approach with professionals from diverse areas of expertise working together to provide patient-centred care.
Head injury clinic provides rehabilitation follow-up after discharge.
Trauma prevention programs.
State-of-the-art traumatic brain injury research laboratory, researching improved treatment options from mild concussion to major injury.
Clinical trials unit to compare different treatment/rehabilitation options.

Neurosurgery Areas of Specialty

Brain injury due to trauma.
Cancer that has spread to the spine.
Ear tumours.
Photodynamic therapy (treatment of tumours using lasers).
Pituitary tumours.
Tumours located at the base of the skull (previously considered inoperable).
Vascular neurosurgery, aneurysms and facial nerve conditions.