Dr. Michael T. Stechison

Dr. Stechison was born and educated in Toronto. He obtained his M.D. degree from the University of Toronto in 1981. He received his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Toronto as well as simultaneously obtaining his Ph.D. from the Dept. of Anatomy. He was the first trainee in the University of Toronto Neurosurgery Program to complete his Ph.D. while performing his residency training.

In 1989, Dr. Stechison joined the Faculty of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He was appointed as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, as well as being appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy. His research lab in the Dept of Anatomy focused on neural circuitry research as well as cadaveric research studying aspects of the trigeminal nerve. In addition he researched, illustrated, and taught surgical approaches to the neurosurgery residents focused on the new subspecialty area of skull base surgery. Dr. Stechison also worked in his laboratory to formulate a fibrin glue recipe from a patient's own blood to act as a sealant and prevent cerebrospinal fluid leaks. His article has been quoted many times in other publications and this recipe has been used by many neurosurgeons long before the FDA approved a commercial product of this type.

In addition, Dr. Stechison founded the Neurosurgery Clinical Electrophysiology Service at Ohio State University. This provided service to neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons enhancing the safety of surgery of both the brain and the spine. If the nervous system was being adversely affected by the surgical procedure, this technique provided an "early warning system" in the patient under general anesthesia so that the surgeon could alter the procedure and potentially avoid damage to the nervous system. As well, Dr. Stechison developed in the laboratory and in the operating room techniques for monitoring the cranial nerves. This resulted in the development of a new intraoperative technique for mapping the trigeminal nerve root entry zone to assist in making precise lesions that would affect pain in a known specific distribution on the face. Dr. Stechison published many articles resulting from both this laboratory and clinical research in this area.

In 1993, Dr. Stechison was invited by Dr. Peter Jannetta to join the Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh as Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and the Neurosurgical Director of the Center for Cranial Base Surgery. He benefited by filling the position vacated by Dr. Sekhar whose pioneering efforts had founded this Center. It had earned an international reputation as the first North American multidisciplinary service dedicated to prolonged surgical procedures using disassembly of the craniofacial skeleton to facilitate surgical approaches to complex tumors which in many cases had previously been considered inoperable. This involved the collaboration of neurosurgeons with otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and ophthalmologists, and often entailed very complex reconstructive techniques. Dr. Stechison continued this work. In addition, he continued his intraoperative neurophysiology research and continued to expand his surgical experience in trigeminal and other cranial nerve microsurgery in the remarkably large patient population attracted to the University of Pittsburgh by Dr. Jannetta, who popularized the currently accepted gold standard procedure of microvascular decompression for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. In addition, Dr. Stechison collaborated with the esteemed neurophysiologist Dr. Aage Moller in some of this work.

In 1995 Dr. Stechison left his career as an academic neurosurgeon and entered private practice. He rose to the challenge of setting up a neurosurgery program at a large hospital serving southwest Georgia where he served as the Chief of the Neurosurgery Service for nine years. In 2004, he returned to his urban roots and moved to Atlanta and founded Greater Atlanta Neurosurgery, P.C.

Dr. Stechison has authored many basic science and clinical research articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Experimental Brain Research, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery, Skull Base Surgery, and Journal of Neuro-oncology. He was the first person in the world to use the digitized brain biopsy probe in conjunction with the Stealth Station image-guidance platform, the results of which were published in the journal entitled Neurosurgery. He recently performed the first procedure in Atlanta using a new minimally invasive OptiMesh system to treat vertebral compression fractures involving polyethylene mesh and bone graft.

When he is not operating, Dr. Stechison can usually be found running in Piedmont Park or on the hilly streets of Atlanta training for his next marathon. In addition, he enjoys playing the piano with his favorite musicians—his son, Mike on guitar, and his daughter Caroline on drums. In August 2006, Dr Stechison released a CD of his music, "By Myself, Now and Then". To hear Dr. Stechison's music, go to www.michaelstechison.com.