Think Neuro

We provide comprehensive care for patients with all types of brain tumors including benign and malignant brain tumors, skull base tumors, and metastatic brain tumors that arise from cancers elsewhere in the body.

Contact us:

Pacific Brain Tumor Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, CA

310-582-7450 | pacificbraintumor.org | pacificneuro.org

The network of vessels that transport blood to your brain looks like two trees. The trunks are the carotid arteries, which run up through the neck and branch into the brain, getting smaller and smaller as they ascend. Sometimes, those branches develop a dangerous malformation called an aneurysm. It happens when the artery wall weakens and begins to bulge. An aneurysm often looks like a berry hanging from a branch. About one in 50 Americans will develop an aneurysm in their lifetime. The lucky ones will never know it. But in some patients, the aneurysm bursts like a balloon, and blood pours into the brain, damaging tissue, in an event commonly called a hemorrhagic stroke. Neurosurgeon Dr. Adi Iyer, knows his way around the branching arteries that feed our brains. He treats a variety of diseases there. When a hemorrhagic stroke patient comes into the hospital, he treats the ruptured artery as fast as he can because time lost is brain lost. Listen to this episode to learn how Dr. Iyer does it, and how he can treat aneurysms before they burst.

Dr. Sehati, is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes the treatment of a wide variety of brain, spine and spinal cord disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. His expertise is in surgical and nonsurgical management of degenerative, traumatic and neoplastic (tumor) diseases of the brain and spine with a focus on minimally invasive techniques. His practice is based primarily at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Dr. Sehati believes in clinical excellence and comprehensive care for all of his patients. His compassionate approach involves working as a partner with his patients, honoring patient individuality and dignity, understanding the patient’s needs and preferences, discussing all aspects and options of treatment available, and implementing advanced, state-of-the art techniques for optimal outcomes.

Benjamin Pulli, MD, is a fellowship trained interventional neuroradiologist with a focus on vascular disorders of the brain, head/neck, and spine. He employs state-of-the-art minimally invasive endovascular and percutaneous surgical techniques to treat patients with intracranial aneurysms, acute stroke, brain arteriovenous malformations, dural arteriovenous fistulas, tumors, and chronic back pain.

Having grown up in Austria, Dr. Pulli moved to the US after completing medical school in Innsbruck, Austria. He completed post-doctoral research training in Neuroradiology and Molecular Imaging at Harvard Medical School, followed by a Radiology residency and Neuroradiology fellowship training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He then completed a second fellowship in Interventional Neuroradiology/Endovascular Neurosurgery at Stanford University.

Dr. Pulli has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and received prestigious scientific grants from institutions such as the Radiological Society of North America and Ernst Schering Foundation.

To learn more about Dr. Pulli and other PNI Doctors please visit

https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/about-us/our-team/

Our multidisciplinary team is here to help you and your loved ones understand your condition and determine an optimal treatment plan. Because of our expertise, we treat many patients with the most challenging of pituitary and skull base tumors, including many with prior treatments (recurrent or residual tumors) and patients who have been deemed “non-operative”.

Pacificpituitary.org

310-582-7450

Dr. Walavan Sivakumar is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a focus on skull base and minimally invasive and endoscopic neurosurgery. Selected as a multiple-year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, Dr. Sivakumar has a particular interest and expertise in brain tumors, skull base tumors, pituitary/ parasellar tumors, and intraventricular brain tumors, and he applies the keyhole concept, utilizing advanced neuroimaging and microsurgical techniques to minimize collateral damage to the brain. He practices at PNI-South Bay located at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California. In addition, he treats patients at the Spine Institute at Little Company of Mary to help relieve and cure back conditions due to spine involvement.

Visit Dr. Sivakumar's profile: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/walavan-sivakumar/

Samuel Hou, MD, Ph.D., is a neuro-interventional surgeon (interventional neuroradiologist) at the Pacific Stroke and Neurovascular Center, serving the Providence Health System in Southern California. Dr. Hou’s

surgical techniques specialize in the endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke, brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and arteriovenous fistulas of the brain and spine. He is board certified by the American Board of Radiology with a specific sub-specialization in diagnostic neuroradiology.

As both a clinician and scientist devoted to the well-being of his patients, Dr. Hou’s interests are focused on how to advance and optimize patient care and management in the treatment of complex neurovascular diseases through techniques that are minimally invasive.

For more information:

pacificstroke.org | 818-847-6049

Employing state-of-the-art, minimally invasive techniques, Daniel Kelly, MD, Neurosurgeon, Director and Co-Founder at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, describes how the pandemic has accelerated brain tumor treatment, streamlined care, and reduced hospital and ICU stays for all brain tumor types at PNI.

Meet Dr. Christopher M. Putman, a board-certified interventional neuroradiologist with over 20 years of experience. He treats a variety of complex intracranial, head and neck, and spine vascular conditions including acute stroke, cervical and intracranial stenosis, vascular malformations, cerebral aneurysm and venous occlusive diseases.

To learn more about Dr. Putman and his expertise, visit: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/christopher-putman/