Dr. Robert M. Friedlander
is an internationally recognized leader in cranial neurosurgery, offering highly specialized, individualized care for patients with complex brain conditions. His practice focuses on Chiari malformations, brain tumors, aneurysms, and cavernous malformations, with particular expertise in adult Chiari malformation.
A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Friedlander completed his neurosurgical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He began his career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he became one of Harvard’s youngest full Professors of Neurosurgery. He was later recruited to serve as Chair and the Walter E. Dandy Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh, leading one of the nation’s premier academic neurosurgical programs.
Dr. Friedlander’s practice is structured around direct physician involvement, detailed review of imaging and prior records, and adequate time to discuss whether surgery is indicated and, when it is, the appropriate approach.
Dr. Friedlander has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Surgery, Nature, and Science.
He has authored three single-author review articles in The New England Journal of Medicine, including reviews on Chiari malformation and cerebral arteriovenous malformations.
He maintains a national and international referral practice, particularly in adult Chiari malformation, having evaluated several thousand patients and performed approximately 700 surgeries for this condition, including published research evaluating different surgical techniques and demonstrating that cognitive and affective symptoms may be reversible with expert surgical treatment.
