Prof. Dr. Ralf A. Kockro

Prof. Dr Ralf Kockro is a specialist neurosurgeon at the Hirslanden Hospital, Zurich. The Neurosurgery Department of the Hirslanden Hospital is equipped to the highest technical standard and the most complicated surgery is performed on the brain, spinal cord and the spine. The Hirslanden Neurosurgery Department is the only hospital department in Switzerland where an intraoperative MRI, CT and an angiography unit are available and this enables tissue-conserving and, at the same time, safe and effective surgery to be performed. Minimally invasive procedures are the focus of our neurosurgery and, in this context, detailed preparation and surgical planning with the aid of high-definition and three-dimensionally reconstructed MRI and CT data are of particular importance because these enable the performance of individually tailored, and hence very precise, surgical approaches.

In all phases of patient care, the Neurosurgery Department of the Hirslanden Hospital is embedded in a close interdisciplinary collaboration, which, over and above the actual surgical procedure, guarantees the highest specialist standard of treatment for each condition.

Prof. Dr Kockro specializes, in particular, in the field of microneurosurgery for brain tumors and tumors of the spinal column and adjacent structures. He heads the development of a navigation system, which provides the surgeon with essential information during surgery about the optimum surgical approach using a 3-D image overlay, and he is involved in several studies in the field of intraoperative MRI, fluorescence and ultrasound. Particularly for malignant tumors, the MRI information obtained during the surgery, together with continuous electrophysiological signals (neuromonitoring), produces a crucial benefit for patient safety and, at the same time, a high success rate for the complete excision of tumors. In the field of pituitary surgery (pituitary adenomata), Prof. Dr Kockro performs endoscope-guided surgery and in open MRI in order to achieve the optimum excision of the tumor. Of course, in performing surgery via the nose, he acts in concert with ORL specialists.

A further focus of Prof. Dr Kockro’s work is in the field of vascular neurosurgery. He has developed an online calculator for assessing the risk of any verified aneurysms (www.kockro.com) and works in close interdisciplinary collaboration with his colleagues in the Neuroradiology Department in order to be able to provide, individually in each case, the best treatment possible for the closure of an aneurysm. Arterio-venous malformations (AVMs) and fistulae are also analyzed across disciplines and the best strategy for the conclusive closure is prepared. If there is surgery on an aneurysm or an AVM, the individual anatomical situation is portrayed in high-definition in a virtual simulator, unique in Switzerland, the development of which Prof. Dr Kockro has headed for more than 10 years. Based on this 3-D simulation, the procedure is performed with the highest possible level of effectiveness and the least possible risk. Microvascular decompressions, such as for trigeminal neuralgia or hemifacial spasm, are also precisely simulated and planned prior to the procedure and hence are performed precisely and gently.

Of course, endoscopic techniques are also used for almost all vascular surgery and for surgery on the base of the skull. Thereby, the surgical site can be accurately illuminated and inspected and, even in areas which are difficult to view, thanks to the angled lines of sight, gentle surgery can be successfully performed without blind manipulation.

The focus of the spinal surgery of Prof. Dr Kockro is minimally invasive microsurgery. This ranges from dilating the narrowed spinal canal by means of locally limited and precisely planned perforation of the vertebral arch, which maintains stability, through intervertebral disc surgery and to artificial discs in the region of the cervical spine (prosthetic intervertebral disc).

In the field of hydrocephalus, Prof. Dr Kockro has worked in close collaboration with one of the leading hospitals in this field worldwide, the University of Heidelberg, for some years. Prof. Dr Kockro has wide experience, both in terms of the evaluation and of the treatment of the various forms of hydrocephalus, which also includes, in particular, endoscopic techniques for restoring the CSF flow.

Prof. Dr Kockro is a specialist consultant for all major neurosurgical scientific journals and he is the lead author of a large number of frequently cited scientific publications and chapters of textbooks. He holds three international patents in the field of computer-guarded neurosurgery.

You can go to the website of Prof. Dr Kockro here.