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Joseph L. Koen, M.D., FAANS
| Medical School: | Ohio State University College of Medicine Columbus. Ohio |
| Internship: | Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina |
| Residency: | Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina |
| Board Ceritfication: | American Board of Neurological Surgery |
Dr. Joseph Koen is a board certified neurosurgeon with Neurosurgical Specialists in Norfolk, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies and then his doctorate in medicine at The Ohio State University. He trained in neurosurgery at Duke University Medical Center under Dr. Robert Wilkins, Dr. Blaine Nashold, and Dr. Allan Friedman. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Instructor in Neurosurgery for the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at EVMS, and also Clinical Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Koen is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Dr. Koen specializes in brain tumors, both benign and malignant. He has advanced training in skull-base approaches as well as in CyberKnife and Varian True Beam stereotactic radiosurgery. Dr. Koen brought the technique of awake craniotomy and brain mapping to Hampton Roads in 1999. This is utilized for more difficult tumors located in eloquent areas of the brain such as speech and motor cortex. Many times tumors previously thought to be unresectable can be successfully treated with this technique. He was the first to use implanted chemotherapy for malignant brain tumors and was a study investigator for this procedure. Other techniques for brain tumors Dr. Koen brought to our community include minimally invasive procedures such as; endoscopic pituitary tumor surgery, endoscopic skull base surgery, intraventricular endoscopy, keyhole craniotomy, tumor resection with tubular brain retractors, and laser ablation therapy. He also has developed a frameless, minimally invasive stereotactic biopsy system for brain tumors and other lesions.
Dr. Koen also has a special interest and expertise in cerebrovascular surgery, including intracranial aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous malformations, and dural arteriovenous fistulae. He also specializes in surgical treatments for trigeminal neuralgia including microvascular decompression, stereotactic radiosurgery, and percutaneous techniques (percutaneous radiofrequecy trigeminal rhizolysis, glycerol injection etc). Dr. Koen has performed intracranial endoscopic surgeries for brain tumors, cysts and hydrocephalus for more than two decades, also a first for our area. His current emphasis is on minimally invasive neurosurgery for the brain and spine. Dr. Koen was the first surgeon to perform minimally invasive spine surgery in Hampton Roads, and continues to routinely treat conditions such as herniated disc, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disc disease. Another technology pioneered by Dr. Koen in our region is artificial disc implantation or arthroplasty. This allows his patients to keep normal motion in the spine rather than losing range of motion as occurs with more commonly performed spinal fusion surgery. He has been involved in several studies for spinal surgery and implants over the years and currently is a consultant for developing technologies and implants for both spine and brain surgery.
Most recently Dr. Koen has launched the use of a robotic exoscope for microneurosurgery which may prove to replace the traditional surgical microscope. Along with this groundbreaking technology, he has implemented the use of the most advanced system of diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI, to identify the myriad brain white matter tracts which can improve the safety of surgical approaches to brain tumors, deep hemorrhages, and other lesions.
Dr. Koen is a member of:
AANS-American Association of Neurological Surgeons
CNS-Congress of Neurological Surgeons
SOLAS-Society of Lateral Access Surgery
Awake Brain Surgery
Awake Brain Surgery - First in Hampton Roads
Laser Brain Surgery
MRI Guided Laser Ablation of Brain Tumor-First in Hampton Roads
Synaptive Robotic Microscope and BrightMatter DTI Brain Mapping
http://www.thehealthjournals.com/brighter-future-brain-surgery/