Heather Kistka, MD

Neurosurgeon

Dr. Heather Kistka is a Neurosurgeon in Goshen, IN with special training and skill in diagnosing and surgically treating disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system. As a Neurosurgeon, Heather Kistka, MD performs surgery on the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves to remove tumors, relieve chronic pain and treat wounds, vascular disorders and diseases such as Parkinson's and epilepsy. Neurosurgery is the medical specialty that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of brain, spinal cord, spinal column, and peripheral nerve diseases and disorders. Significant diseases and conditions treated by Neurosurgeons include aneurysms, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), brain tumors, carotid artery blockage, stenosiscervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) disorders, spinal cord injury, and epilepsy. Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Neurosurgeons include cortical mapping, cerebrovascular surgery, functional neurosurgery, peripheral nerve surgery, radiosurgery, skull base surgery, spine surgery, stereotactic neurosurgery, trauma surgery, and surgical implantation of deep brain stimulators to treat Parkinson Disease and certain type of tremors.

A neurological surgeon provides the operative and non-operative management (i.e., prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care, and rehabilitation) of disorders of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their supporting structures and vascular supply; the evaluation and treatment of pathological processes which modify function or activity of the nervous system; and the operative and non-operative management of pain. A neurological surgeon treats patients with disorders of the nervous system; disorders of the brain, meninges, skull, and their blood supply, including the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries; disorders of the pituitary gland; disorders of the spinal cord, meninges, and vertebral column, including those which may require treatment by spinal fusion or instrumentation; and disorders of the cranial and spinal nerves throughout their distribution.