MUSC Health Neurosurgery at East Cooper Medical Pavilion

Dr. Stephen Kalhorn is a Professor of Neurosurgery at MUSC and is board-certified. He trained at NYU Langone Medical Center and completed an enfolded minimally invasive and complex spine surgery fellowship at NYU Langone Medical Center, Bellevue Hospital, and the Manhattan VA.





Dr. Kalhorn takes care of adult patients with brain, spinal cord, and spinal column disorders, including brain tumors, spinal tumors, and degenerative, infectious, iatrogenic, and traumatic conditions affecting the spine, such as back pain, neck pain, spine fractures, and scoliosis. He is particularly interested in adult spinal deformity, thoracic disk herniations, and SI joint dysfunction.





[In this short video](https://player.vimeo.com/video/871062464?badge=0&autopause=0&quality_selector=1&progress_bar=1&player_id=0&app_id=58479), Dr. Stephen Kalhorn, Director of MUSC Health's Spine Center, discusses the multidisciplinary team of spine experts who ensure the best possible outcomes for your spine needs.





Dr. Kalhorn takes care of adult patients with brain, spinal cord, and spinal column disorders, including brain tumors, spinal tumors, and degenerative, infectious, iatrogenic, and traumatic conditions affecting the spine, such as back pain, neck pain, spine fractures, and scoliosis. He is particularly interested in adult spinal deformity, thoracic disk herniations, and SI joint dysfunction. His specialties also include endoscopic spine surgery.

Dr. William Vandergrift is an associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at MUSC. He trained at the Medical University of South Carolina for neurosurgical residency and at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California, for fellowship in minimally invasive brain surgery. His medical school training was completed at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He has a mechanical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.Dr. Vandergrift takes care of patients with brain and spine disorders. He has a special interest in brain tumors and skull base surgery for tumors including pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas and gliomas. He also works with the epilepsy team to perform surgery for intractable epilepsy including laser ablations, open resections and vagal nerve stimulators.

Holly Gardner attended The Ohio State University for her undergraduate degree in nursing and then received her master's degree as a family nurse practitioner from the University of Cincinnati. She has worked with the MUSC neurosurgery team since 2012.

Dr. Abhay Varma is faculty in neurosurgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residency in India and fellowships in brain tumor surgery and spine surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Toronto, and the Cleveland Clinic. He specializes in managing adult brain tumors, hydrocephalus, Chiari malformation, adult spinal and spine tumors, and peripheral nerve disorders, including children with brachial plexus injuries (neonatal brachial plexopathy). His surgical practice offers microsurgery and endoscopic surgery. He also offers brain mapping and awake craniotomies for patients with brain tumors in eloquent areas, like the motor strip, the speech areas, and perisylvian tumors. Dr. Varma accepts new patients in downtown Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and Murrells Inlet.

Dr. Sunil Patel is board certified in neurological surgery, with additional fellowship training in skull base surgery, cerebrovascular surgery, and microneurosurgery. He has been in practice for over 20 years and is currently the chair of neurosurgery at MUSC. He has special expertise in minimally invasive neurosurgery of the brain and spine and endoscopic spine surgery.

Istvan Takacs, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Functional and Stereotactic Surgery Program, and Director of the Gamma Knife Center at MUSC. He earned his M.D. from the University of Lund, Sweden, entered Neurosurgery residency training at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, followed by fellowships at the University of Toronto in Pediatric Neurosurgery and at the University of Arizona in Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery. Dr. Takacs' research focus has been on cortical and deep brain stimulation for psychiatric indications and movement disorders. He has also been involved in stem cell therapy research for Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. His clinical focus is on surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, and pain and stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial tumors, vascular malformations, trigeminal neuralgia and essential tremor.