New Jersey Pediatric Neuroscience Institute
Catherine Mazzola, MD
Specialty: Pediatric Neurosurgery
Home to the largest group of board-certified pediatric neurosurgeons and neurologists in the state, the New Jersey Pediatric Neuroscience Institute (NJPNI) provides comprehensive, patient-centered care for both pediatric and adult patients and their families.
Family-Centered Treatments
A board-certified pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Catherine Mazzola and her team at NJPNI believe every patient should receive exceptional and individualized treatment. The practice specializes in treating children with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, brain tumors, other birth defects and neurological conditions. All doctors are currently offering telemedicine appointments for the convenience and safety of their patients.
“Our practice is very family-centered, and we strive to make the evaluation and treatment process for each child as stress-free as possible,” Dr. Mazzola says. “As a mother of five, I personally relate to all the pressures on parents these days.”
The NJPNI neurosurgeons provide services at most major pediatric hospitals in the state, including Morristown, Saint Barnabas and Hackensack University Medical Centers and University Hospital in Newark. They’re all actively involved in clinical research and have published numerous articles in neurosurgical journals.
Dr. Mazzola has presented at national neuroscience meetings and received grants from the Children’s Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and New Jersey State Cancer Commission; she has also published many nationally-recognized pediatric guidelines.
“We strongly believe in evidence-based medicine,” she says. “We’re very proud of the quality of care we provide to our patients.”
Improving Patients’ Quality of Life
The doctors make themselves available at night and on weekends for emergency office visits and consultations, and they participate in many insurance plans. With the help of a compassionate team of nurse practitioners, they provide a comprehensive array of surgical as well as minimally invasive therapeutic options to improve each child’s health and quality of life.
“We understand the stress involved in caring for a sick child, and we make certain each child receives the necessary therapies and interventions,” says Dr. Mazzola, who was the first pediatric neurosurgeon in New Jersey to launch multidisciplinary programs in the areas of spasticity, cerebral palsy, craniofacial disorders and pediatric brain tumors.
Comprehensive and Collaborative Care
The pediatric doctors at NJPNI use the most advanced cutting-edge technologies in order to provide patients with the best possible treatment and outcomes. They collaborate with an extensive network of neurologists, therapists, psychologists and orthotists to develop an individualized care plan for each patient, whether in the office, at home or a hospital. All of the doctors were trained in US-based pediatric neurosurgical fellowship programs.
Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. John Collins came to NJPNI after 20 years of experience in academic pediatric neurosurgery. His career has focused on the surgical treatment of brain tumors; he has vast experience in the treatment of complex congenital spinal abnormalities. Recently added to the NJPNI team, pediatric neurologist Dr. Jeffrey Kornitzer specializes in neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism, seizures, tics and autonomic disorders. Dr. Leyda Sanchez Ortiz reads EEGs for children.
Dr. Mazzola is the founder of the Craniofacial Center at Goryeb Children’s Hospital, the Pediatric Brain and Spine Tumor Center and the Spasticity and Gait Disorder Center of Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
