Brian J. Dlouhy, MD – Univ of Iowa pediatric/adult neurosurgeon

Dr. Dlouhy

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Chiari and Craniovertebral

E X P E R I E N C E

Dr. Brian J. Dlouhy is a pediatric and adult neurosurgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. He completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Iowa, enhanced his training with a fellowship in minimally invasive neurosurgery in Sydney, Australia, and completed a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Washington University and St. Louis Children's Hospital. He has published numerous studies on Chiari malformations, disorders of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ), and epilepsy surgical treatment strategies. He has been invited to give multiple talks at national and international meetings about these conditions. Because of this experience, Dr. Dlouhy has a unique skillset to treat infants, children, and adults with Chiari malformations, disorders of the CVJ, and epilepsy using minimally invasive techniques to allow for the best possible outcomes.

Child Brain Development

Chiari and CVJ Disorders

Dr. Dlouhy's basic science and translational research lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). This research uses animal models and studies children with epilepsy to investigate how breathing is inhibited during seizures. Dr. Dlouhy's research lab at the University of Iowa has recently published multiple papers recently that suggest seizure spread to areas of the brain such as the amygdala inhibit breathing during seizures and is likely the inciting event leading to cardiorespiratory failure and SUDEP.

Epilepsy and SUDEP

In our study of the causes and mechanisms underlying Chiari malformations and syringomyelia, Dr. Dlouhy's research lab uses a combination of a large database of patients at the University of Iowa, high resolution brain/spinal cord imaging, and other research tools to hopefully develop better treatment strategies for patients with Chiari malformations, syringomyelia, and complex disorders of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ).

In our pediatric clinical research epilepsy monitoring unit, while localizing the seizure focus, we study normal brain function (speech, language, hearing, emotion) and brain physiology of children with epilepsy. This research will allow a better understanding of how brain function develops in children. The child's brain has a remarkable ability to recover from injury. This is called plasticity - something we lose as we age. Understanding brain plasticity and the neural networks in children may allow us to recreate these lost neural pathways for treatment of brain injury.

R E S E A R C H