Prof. Andreas Gruber

The Head of the University Department of Neurosurgery at the Kepler University Hospital is Prof. Andreas Gruber, specialist in neurosurgery and intensive care. At the same time, Prof. Gruber is also the tenured Professor of Neurosurgery at the medical faculty. He can look back on a variety of traineeships at prestigious university hospitals in England and the United States and, prior to his appointment at the Kepler University Hospital, he was employed as a Consultant at the Medical University of Vienna.

The scientific and clinical emphases of Prof. Gruber are cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery and neurosurgical intensive care. Under his responsibility, the neurosurgical team performs around 2600 procedures annually in five operating theaters. Procedures of this type are extremely difficult and, together with high-tech equipment, require specialists with enormous experience in their field.

The Department of Neurosurgery treats conditions and disorders of the central nervous system and the peripheral nerves surgically. The most sensitive nerve pathways of the human central nervous system are found in the brain, above all, and run through the spinal cord in the spinal column. Due to the close interweaving of the nerves with bones, muscles and blood vessels, stabilization procedures on the spinal column, intervertebral disc surgery and reconstructive surgery to the bones of the cranium, for example, come within the sphere of neurosurgery.

The conditions frequently treated at the Department of Neurosurgery in Linz include epilepsy conditions, tumors and vascular conditions. Another particular focus is pediatric neurosurgery. The specialists in this field are particularly concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions in children.

The specialist neurosurgeons in Linz under Prof. Gruber work not only in the operating theater with state-of-the-art equipment. Researchers at the Department of Neurosurgery are involved in the development of a three-dimensional training simulation for the surgical treatment of cerebral aneurysms. With the aid of this simulation, this very difficult procedure can be tested on a computer using real surgical instruments. Here, the simulation also returns haptic feedback in order to make the training as realistic as possible. With the aid of this technique, the specialists are able better to prepare themselves for the actual procedure.