Biography

Dr. Amin Kassam was born in 1967 in a village in Uganda and migrated to Canada at the age of five during the refugee crisis in 1972. He completed his undergraduate and medical school studies at the University of Toronto in 1991 and subsequently trained in Neurosurgery at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Kassam successfully received his board qualifications in Neurological Surgery in 1997. During his residency he also pursued postgraduate training in Clinical Epidemiology. Following his residency he came to University of Pittsburgh as a fellow in Cerebrovascular surgery and shortly thereafter was appointed to the faculty.

Administrative Experience
During the initial portion of his career Dr. Kassam focused on creating a comprehensive multidisciplinary team to manage complex intracranial and skull base pathology and was appointed as the Co-director of the Cranial Base Center in 1998. Understanding the limitations of conventional cranial and skull base surgery and not satisfied with outcomes, he along with his team pursued innovations that would allow for minimally invasive approaches to reach the central skull base. This led to the creation of the Expanded Endonasal Approach (EEA), a completely transnasal approach to access the central skull base using the nose as a corridor. In 2004 Dr. Kassam created the Minimally Invasive endoNeurosurgical Center (MINC) and served as its Director until 2009. This represented a unique multidisciplinary service line delivery model that aligned 2 ENT, 3 Neurosurgeons, and a Neurologist (stroke Interventionalist) under a single administrative structure and budget. The model was as administratively innovative as was the procedure created. MINC yielded unprecedented academic and clinical growth becoming one of the defining programs in the institution. Based on Dr. Kassam’s leadership, the center was able to establish an international brand name becoming a marquee program worldwide.

Clinical Portfolio
Dr. Kassam’s has built his career based on a strong clinical foundation focusing on being able to offer a comprehensive perspective to the management of complex intracranial pathology. His training in Microvascular surgery with Dr. Jannetta has allowed him to gain a unique experience with the management of cranial nerve disorders (hemifacial spasm, trigeminal neuralgia, geniculate neuralgia and glossopharyngeal neuralgia). He eventually became the Director of the Center for Cranial Nerve Disorders, which during his tenure performed over a 1,000 microvascular decompressions. In addition, Dr. Kassam served as the Director of the Exovascular program and served as the senior academic faculty surgically managing intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. This has provided him with a strong foundation in conventional microsurgical and skull base approaches.

Innovation and Procedural Development
Expanded Endonasal Approach (EEA)
Innovation and the drive for improved outcomes has been a central theme throughout Dr. Kassam’s career. This has led to the development of two minimally invasive approaches: the previously described EEA to access extraaxial pathology and the brain port to access intraaxial pathology. Dr. Kassam is recognized as a pioneer of this procedure and was amongst the first to achieve and describe several critical breakthroughs: youngest recorded patient, EEA for AVM resection of the skull base, EEA for Odontoid (upper spine) resection, first EEA for Aneurysm repair, Classification for EEAs, intradural extramedullary spinal canal tumor removal, transposition of the pituitary gland to reach difficult tumors, and hosted the first World Congress of Endosopic Skull base surgery (2005). The Expanded Endoscopic Endonasal Approach has been a paradigm shift in the management of these conditions, as it requires no incision using the nose as a natural portal. EEA offers the potential for reduced morbidity, shorter length of stay, less disfigurement, and greater comfort for the patient. Under his leadership the Center performed over 1,200 such approaches.

View EEA Surgical Video

Brain Port/Cannula
Over the past several years he has focused on translating this technology to work within the substance of the brain itself (intraaxial parafasicular surgery). This technology uses a brain cannula (tubular port system) and high definition parallel endoscopy (telescope) to work along the fibers of the white matter to access deep-seated tumors. Initially this was pursued for intraventricular tumors. In 2005 his team was one of the first to report removal of tumors within the ventricular space using the port independent of size, fibrosity or vascularity. In 2008 they reported this technique for intraaxial tumors of the white matter.

Cannulography
In spring of 2009 they developed the concept of Cannulography: combined white matter mapping of the brain with a paradigm for cannulating with the port and removing tumors while preserving white matter fascicles – parafasicular surgery.

360 Degree Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery
The strong foundation of conventional approaches and the innovations in minimally invasive access has positioned Dr. Kassam to be able to offer a unique comprehensive approach. The underlying principle is to avoid crossing the path of a nerve and minimize brain manipulation, thereby reducing morbidity and improving outcomes. Specifically, the approach for complex intracranial disease is designed exclusively based on the patient’s anatomy, rather than, familiarity with any given set of technologies. Dr. Kassam described this as the “360 degree approach” creating tailored and individualized care for each patient. Using this concept he along with his team has performed over 3,000 procedures.This has led to the development of a strong national and international referral base stretching across 5 continents.This has been based on his publications documenting improving outcomes, reduced complications and others demonstrating improved patient satisfaction.

Technology
The pursuit of technological developments has been integral to the development of these innovations. Dr Kassam has been at the center of this in the field of minimally invasive neurosurgery, having created the Surgical Technologies Assessment Group and serving as the CEO. He has contributed to the patent of a fluted ultrasonic endonasal aspirator and developed the Endoport and Endonasal Instrumentation trays. Several of the endoscopic instrumentation have been named after his children. In 2008, Dr. Kassam partnered with NICO Corporation to help develop the Myriad - a minimally invasive tissue ablator. Most recently he was responsible for creating the clinical concept of the Surgical Smart Suite, which subsequently led to Smart Suite LLC.

After 12 years at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Kassam has decided to relocate to Santa Monica, California and join Dr. Kelly. Several key factors were integral in making this decision. First, over a similar time period Dr. Kelly has pursued parallel efforts and is recognized worldwide as one of the other key figures in the field of minimally invasive neurosurgery. The combination of Kelly and Kassam represents over 2,000 endonasal cases and cumulative experience of over 2 decades, as well as, over 150 peer reviewed publications. This synergistic partnership when coupled with a progressive Health care system has created a unique and unparalleled opportunity to be able to use the academic, administrative, clinical and technology platforms developed over the past 12 years to create an international center of excellence in the Neurosciences. The Brain Tumor Center-Neurosciences Institute is based on three core competencies: innovative clinical care focused on minimally invasive approaches; the development and harnessing of evolving biopharmacological and biotechnology; and the dissemination of knowledge through national and international education. The mission of the institute is to deliver the best available care today and define and teach the care of tomorrow.

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