Neurology

The Neurology Unit comprises four full-time faculty active in patient care, teaching and some research.  The Unit provides neurologic care and consultations for hospitalized patients with diseases of the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and muscular system.  The Unit provides outpatient consultation and follow-up for patients with a wide range of neurologic disease, including headache, dizziness, seizures, peripheral neuropathies and many others.

The Unit also operates a clinical neurophysiology laboratory and a neurovascular laboratory. The neurovascular laboratory has two duplex ultrasound devices for carotid examination, an ocular plethysmography machine and two transcranial Doppler machines to provide intracranial vascular procedures. The laboratory is certified in extracranial cerebrovascular disease and certification is pending in intracranial vascular disease. The clinical neurophysiology laboratory provides electroencephalograms for inpatients and outpatients, electronystagmograms and evoked potentials including somatosensory, visual and brainstem auditory potentials. Electromyography and nerve conduction velocities are performed by a separate sub-unit of the clinical neurophysiology laboratory which does a variety of specialty testing such as single fiber and pelvic floor examination.  A dedicated 11 bed Stroke Acute Care Unit utilizes clinical protocols and is under the direction of the neurology unit.

Medical residents share the consultations and follow-up with neurology residents, psychiatry residents and fourth year students when they are on the service.  The resident participates fully in the team’s approach to patient care.  Residents learn through a combination of case-based discussions, guided reading and scheduled conferences including Neuroradiology conference, and Neurology Grand Rounds at Strong Memorial Hospital.  A major focus of the rotation places attention on the performance and interpretation of the neurologic examination; with localization and differential diagnosis emphasized.  The resident will develop skills in managing many common neurologic disorders likely to confront the primary care clinician. Residents participating in a Neurology Major see patients in the outpatient department while those on the standard Neurology Rotation are involved with inpatient and outpatient care.

Faculty:        

Richard Barbano, MD – Unit Head
came to Rochester in 1993 to join the faculty at the UR after training at Columbia-Presbyterian in NYC. He is currently Associate Professor in the Movement Disorders division and is Director of the Botulinum Toxin and Dystonia Clinic. He is starting as Chief of the division at RGH and will be initiating a Movement Disorders clinic.

Gerald Honch, MD
has been a mainstay of clinical neurology at RGH since coming to the hospital in 1973. He has been providing EEG and vascular sonography services and will continue his longstanding clinical care.

Lawrence Samkoff, MD
has been at RGH since 2001. He is part of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at SMH and will continue this affiliation as he starts an MS clinic at RGH in addition to his general neurology practice.

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