Traumatic Injury Program

A traumatic injury can happen in the blink of an eye — in a fall or a car accident, after a misstep on the job or a collision on a playing field, even as the result of a gunshot. When the incident results in damage to the head, neck, or back, the Traumatic Brain and Spine Injury Program at Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery is ready to respond. Together, the spine surgeons of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine and the brain and pediatric specialists provide world-class care for those who have suffered a traumatic injury.

The program’s world-renowned neurosurgeons have treated some of the most high-profile injury cases in New York, including a window washer who survived a 47-story fall and a Brooklyn flight attendant who was airlifted home after breaking her spine in a three-story plunge from a hotel balcony in the Dominican Republic.  But most of our lifesaving work never makes the evening news: Every day in New York, our experts are ready to respond when an ambulance arrives or the phone rings — NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center is a Level 1 trauma center capable of providing expert medical treatment in emergencies.  Our neurosurgeons are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to participate in the emergency care of injuries to the brain and spine.

The Traumatic Injury Program also treats non-emergency cases, including those less severe injuries that nevertheless cause pain and affect quality of life – and some of New York’s top athletic teams, including the New York Giants, New York Jets, and New York Islanders, put their trust in our experts to ensure their players are in top condition.

To achieve the best outcomes for our patients, our neurosurgeons take a multidisciplinary, personalized approach to each case and work with physiatrists, neurologists, pain specialists, and other experts to create a comprehensive treatment plan.

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Physician assistant Kaitlyn Twomey, left, joins Dr. Judy Ch’ang, medical director of the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit on 2South, in welcoming the new portable MRI scanner.

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What our Patients Say

When Jeff Kaplan puts his mind to something, he does it. The 32-year-old is an electronic music producer, manages his own e-commerce business, volunteers with Athletes Unlimited and the Special Olympics as well as at a rehab center, and is a...

Our Care Team

  • Professor of Neurological Surgery, Spinal Surgery
  • Co-Director, Spinal Deformity and Scoliosis Program
  • Director, Spinal Trauma/Adult and Pediatric Spinal Surgery
Phone: 212-746-2260
  • Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery
  • Director of Spinal Surgery
Phone: 212-746-2152
  • Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery 
  • Leonard and Fleur Harlan Clinical Scholar
Phone: (888) 922-2257
  • Clinical Neuropsychologist
  • Associate Professor of Neuropsychology in Neurological Surgery
Phone: 212-746-3356
  • Vice Chair, Neurological Surgery
  • Director, Pediatric Neurological Surgery
Phone: 212-746-2363
  • Nurse Practitioner
Phone: 212-746-2260
I started my journey as the Global Neurosurgery Fellow in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the summer of 2023. I had just finished a complex spine fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, where the amount of technology available to perform spine...

Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery 525 East 68 Street, Box 99 New York, NY 10065 Phone: 866-426-7787