Skip to main content
2024 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting Main banner
Back

Rocco A. Armonda, MD, FAANS

Director of Neuroendovascular Surgery
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Silver Spring, MD, US

Rocco A. Armonda, MD, (Col, Ret., USA, MC) is director of Neuroendovascular Surgery for MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, surgical co-director for the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at MedStar Washington. He is a Professor of Neurosurgery at Georgetown University and Associate professor and Director of Neurosurgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He has been actively engaged over the past two years in assisting, advising and advocating for Ukrainian neurosurgeons since the Russian invasion. Applying his experience to the modern management of current combat casualties in the largest European conflict since WWII. His focus has been on one of the largest and closest far-forward Mechnikov Medical Center in Dnipro, Ukraine. Here he has been working closely with Prof Andrii Sirko, Chief of Cerebral Neurosurgery/Neurotrauma and Neuro-oncology as well as Prof. Yuri Cherednychenko, Director for Neuroendovascular Surgery.
Dr. Armonda graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and from the Uniformed University of the Health Sciences ( USUHS) in 1990, with academic honors. His surgical internship and neurosurgery residency were completed at Walter Reed Army MEDCEN. He was selected for a fellowship in Cerebrovascular Surgery and Interventional Neuroradiology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia from 1997-99. He recently joined MedStar Health in 2013, after a 31-year military career in which he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Iraq as commander of a far-forward neurosurgery team, the Army Medical Proficiency 'A' Designator for excellence in both clinical and academic medicine in 2009, the Legion of Merit in 2013 for a career of care for combat neurotrauma patients and the Young Neurosurgeon's Award in 2005 from the AANS.

He focuses on the areas of cerebrovascular disease using both endovascular as well as microsurgical techniques, neurotrauma, and neurocritical care. He has advanced the use of multi-modal monitoring in the military and treatment techniques to patients with neurotrauma and stroke with both invasive and non-invasive monitoring. His seminal work includes the detection and treatment of traumatic cerebral vasospasm, traumatic pseudoaneurysms, decompressive craniotomy for wartime trauma, cranial-facial post-traumatic reconstruction, multimodal AVM treatments, and the design and deployment of the advanced neurointerventional operating room. He is part of the Comprehensive Stroke Team at Washington Hospital Center with rapid neuroendovascular rescue for large vessel occlusive ischemic stroke. He also leads the use of minimally-invasive image guidance removal of parenchymal hematomas.

His research efforts include clinical studies in cerebrovascular disease ,neurotrauma injuries, and neurocritical care. Specifically on the long-term outcomes of wartime post-hemicraniectomy patients, nanotechnology designed biologically active stents for neurovascular disease, non-invasive monitoring of cerebral blood flow applications of therapeutic temperature control, the neurovascular effects of blast injuries, and neurosurgical surgical simulators for hemicraniectomy training modules.

He is forever grateful for the support of his family, his wife Heidi, their four children Gabriella , Madison , Emma,and Michael and his two older girls Michelle , and Adrianna. They remain active in outdoor activities including triathlons, camping, swimming and vacationing in Cape Hatteras.

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Presentation(s):