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Surgical PracticeDr. Michael E. Ivan is a neurosurgeon and scientist at the University of Miami Miller School Of Medicine who specializes in complex brain tumor, skull base tumor, and epilepsy surgery. He acts as the Neuro-oncology Site Disease Group Leader, Director of Research for the University of Miami Brain Tumor Initiative within Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is the Principal Investigator of the Ivan Brain Tumor Lab. He is also the Chief of Cranial Neurosurgery and Neuro-oncology, and Co-Director of Neurosurgery at Jackson South Medical Center. Dr. Ivan has one of the busiest clinical cranial neurosurgery practices in Florida which includes surgery and radiosurgery (gamma knife) on skull base tumors, primary brain tumors (glioblastoma, gliomas), secondary brain tumors (metastatic), meningiomas, pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, and epileptogenic lesions of the brain. He leads the way in the use of novel techniques in neurosurgery such as fluorescence guided …surgery, awake craniotomies, robotic surgery, advanced brain mapping techniques, augmented reality in neurosurgery, and the use of advanced neuro-imaging, allowing a safer and more complete surgery to be performed.Dr. Ivan was recently part of the first skull base team in Florida to implant an auditory brainstem implant to restore hearing loss after acoustic neuroma resection. He also specializes in minimally invasive surgery such as Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT), minimal port access surgery, and endoscopic neurosurgery allowing patients to have little to no incision and have the ability to go home after one day.ResearchThe University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine, he continues clinical research focused on improving and prolonging the quality of life of his patients, which has led to more than 85 publications and 10 book chapters. He has also given more than 70 invited lectures on brain tumors throughout the world. Dr. Ivan is one of the few neurosurgeons in the country with a research lab focused on brain tumors. His team studies patient's tumors to develop new treatments targeting their genetic makeup, pathways of invasion, and growth mechanisms. Dr. Ivan's Brain Tumor Lab has won multiple national and local research awards and grants for their work on novel translational Neuro-oncology therapies. Dr. Ivan also serves as Principal-investigator on several "state of the art" clinical trials focused on new therapies for brain tumor treatment.BackgroundAfter graduating from Cornell University with B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Dr. Ivan received his Doctorate of Medicine and Masters Degree from UMDNJ/Rutgers University. While at New Jersey Medical School, he served as President of his class and was honored as a Gold Humanism Scholar. He then completed his neurological surgery training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), consistently ranked as one of the top neurosurgical programs in the US. At UCSF, Dr. Ivan focused on the treatment and management of brain tumors, vascular malformations, epilepsy, and skull base lesions. He was awarded the Howard Naffziger award for best clinical resident and received multiple awards for his research on brain tumors and stereotactic neurosurgery. After residency, he moved to Miami and completed a fellowship in Surgical Neuro-oncology at the University of Miami. As a testament to his dedication to medical education, Dr. Ivan was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award for Cherished Housestaff from UCSF and the Department of Neurological Surgery Teaching Award from the University of Miami. Dr. Ivan continues to be active as an instructor for the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine.LeadershipDr. Ivan is recognized as an international leader in neurosurgery. He is on the executive board of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurosurgeons (CNS) Joint Tumor Section, the Vice-Chairman of the Young Neurosurgeon's Committee for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and is the President-elect of The Florida Neurosurgical Society. He has acted as the past planning chair of the AANS Tumor Section Meeting. He is the future planning co-chair for the CNS/AANS Tumor Symposium in 2020, which will be held in Miami, Florida. He is also one of a handful of selected members of the CNS Leadership Institute. Dr. Ivan is an active member of the Society of Neuro-oncology and North American Skull Base Society. He is also a reviewer for articles in the Journal of Neurosurgery, Operative Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, Journal of Lasers in Medicine and Clinical Neurosurgery.

Dr. Ivan's Ratings and Reviews

4.9

192 Ratings with 166 written Reviews

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I do not recommend it, worse after surgery

July 19th, 2023

Dr. Michael Ivan operated on my father's brain tumor (a Glioblastoma). We weren't allowed in the hospital due to Covid. After the surgery Dr. Michael Ivan called us and we asked about 10 minutes worth of questions. We were obviously extremely scared and upset and when I asked him what question haven't I asked, he very rudely told me that I asked more questions than anyone ever has and that my phone call was taking too long. He also told us our dad had only months to live. Long story short, we flew my dad to another state for a 2nd opinion. Within 2 weeks he under went another brain surgery and the new surgeon told us Dr. Ivan had left over 50% of the tumor in my dad's head. The new surgeon removed the tumor entirely. The new surgeon told us that Dr. Ivan never should have done an awake craniotomy and that was probably why he didn't remove the entire Glioblastoma. My dad is still alive, tumor free and thriving a year later. If we hadn't flown our dad to another state for the… 2nd opinion he would have died. If you go to Dr. Michael Ivan I can not stress enough to get a 2nd opinion.

February 10th, 2023

1 person found this helpful

He was amazing. He is a wonderful surgeon. Kind and friendly

December 1st, 2021 | Source: Partner

The best doctor I have ever had. Because of the outcome of surgery (which was very successful) i have decided not to go back to europe and live in the US. (the best doctors are here)