Neurocritical care
Expert neurological care when every moment matters
When you or a loved one is dealing with life-threatening injuries and disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system, you want the best, most experienced care possible. As a regional referral center, Penn Medicine provides highly specialized neurological and neurosurgical expertise for people from across the Philadelphia area and beyond.
We treat people with acute neurological emergencies, neurological complications related to other serious medical conditions, and patients recovering from complex neurosurgical procedures. We’re also here to support you from surgery and intensive care to rehabilitation and life back at home, providing ongoing care focused on physical function, cognitive recovery, and emotional well-being.
Collaborative expertise for complex neurological conditions
Penn Medicine brings together specialists from nationally recognized programs in stroke, epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and neurosurgery. Our combined expertise helps us effectively address a wide range of challenging neurological conditions. Teams coordinate seamlessly to determine the most appropriate response, whether that includes emergency neurosurgery, advanced neurological monitoring, rehabilitation planning, or long-term follow-up care.
This collaborative approach is key for people with serious neurological issues who need complex care quickly. Our NeuroICUs are staffed around the clock by board-certified neurointensivists, advanced practice providers, neurocritical care fellows, and specially trained nurses. We use advanced monitoring and neurodiagnostic technologies to assess brain function, identify complications, and guide treatment decisions.
People recovering from neuro trauma benefit from our specialized outpatient services designed to address persistent symptoms such as headaches, memory changes, sleep disturbances, mood concerns, and difficulties returning to daily activities. For people experiencing disorders of consciousness such as coma, Penn Medicine offers the RECOVER Program, which helps assess recovery, guide treatment decisions, and support patients and their caregivers.
Through close partnerships among neurology, neurosurgery, rehabilitation medicine, neuropsychology, psychiatry, and physical and occupational therapy, Penn Medicine helps you and your loved ones navigate both the immediate and lasting effects of neurological injury.
Conditions we treat
Advancing innovative neurocritical care through research
Penn Medicine is shaping the future of neurocritical care through research and clinical trials aimed at improving outcomes. Physician-scientists across our neurology and neurosurgery programs are continuously exploring new approaches to diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and recovery following acute neurological injury. Their discoveries have helped usher in sophisticated technologies that monitor brain function and physiology, yielding valuable insights into more precise and effective treatments.
For eligible patients, clinical trials may provide access to promising approaches being studied for acute neurological diseases. These research efforts help Penn Medicine bring new knowledge into patient care while continuing to improve outcomes for people with severe neurologic injury.
As a leading academic medical center, Penn Medicine also trains the next generation of neurocritical care specialists through one of the nation’s most established fellowship programs. This environment of discovery, collaboration, and education supports continuous innovation and fuels advances in neurological and neurosurgical care.
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Patient stories
Actress returns to the stage after finding seizure relief
“Even though it had only been five years, epilepsy had taken away [the] career that meant so much to me.”
A tiny laser gave one patient relief from lifelong seizures.
"Minimally invasive surgery with lasers allows us access to areas [of the brain] that were traditionally not accessible in many patients."
How discoveries become cures, in a virtuous cycle
Public investments in biomedical research have an outsized effect, driving new scientific insights, economic growth, and ultimately treatments and cures.
How future cures begin as ideas in laboratories
The successes of CAR T research show the importance of the cycle of science—sparking new ideas and clinical trials that give patients better options.
Emergency protocol delivers fast, lifesaving stroke care
Dick recalled a paramedic asking him questions, but he was unable to respond. The moments that followed were largely a blur.
A remarkable recovery after a ruptured brain aneurysm
I immediately knew something was wrong. I get migraines. This was nothing like a migraine.
An unexpected diagnosis and a surreal surgery
“No one ever wants to go through this, but having this support system in place for my own journey has helped me to feel like I’m in the best hands at every turn.”
Former news anchor recounts brain surgery at Penn Medicine
“I was a Penn Medicine brain surgery patient. I am also a woman thriving now with a healthy brain.”
When Coach Kepler needed rapid care
"I am so grateful that the coaches knew the signs of stroke,” said Marianne Kepler. “By acting so swiftly, they helped save Darryl’s life. Know the signs of stroke. If you or someone you know are showing symptoms, don’t delay getting help,” she said.