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Neurosurgery

Checked: 12-07-2023 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 12-07-2025

Overview

A paediatric neurosurgery service is available at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for children aged 16 years and under.

This is mainly a tertiary service and treats the following conditions:

Vascular malformations of the brain and spine including arteriovenous malformations, cavernomas, cerebral aneurysms and Moyamoya disease.
Craniofacial conditions excluding patients diagnosed with congenital craniofacial syndromes Hydrocephalus (congenital and acquired)
Chiari malformations
Spinal dysraphism (spina bifida, tethered spinal cord)
Tumours affecting the central nervous system
Paediatric spinal conditions including cervical, thoracic and lumbar disc prolapse, spinal stenosis, craniocervical abnormalities including atlantoaxial subluxation, cervical deformity
Management of spasticity (Selective Dorzal Rhizotomy, Intrathecal Baclofen Pump)
Lesions of the skull vault (dermoid cyst, epidermoid cyst, skull malformations or tumours.

Exclusions:

Thoracolumbar spinal deformity (scoliosis, kyphosis)
Peripheral nerve disorders, ulnar nerve compression and brachiaplexus disorders
Syndromic craniofacial conditions including Crouzon's disease and Pfeiffer syndrome
Vein of Galen malformations

Referral

Referrals will normally come from other secondary care clinics but is also available via eRS.

For information on Advice & Guidance available please see Paediatric A&G page for details.

Red Flags

If you have a high index of suspicion that a child has a possible brain or CNS tumour you should discuss concerns with the paediatric emergency department on the same day (Tel: 0117 3428 666).

See the Children and young people USC (2WW) section for further details.

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

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