About Columbia Neurosurgical Associates

Our Practice
Columbia Neurosurgical Associates is a specialty medical practice consisting of seven licensed physicians dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of those with neurological conditions.  Our purpose and goal is to provide each individual with timely, compassionate attention and the highest quality of diagnostic and interventional care.  We fully realize the great anxiety or fear that accompanies a neurological diagnosis and referral to see a Neurosurgeon.  Our purpose is to ease your anxiety, educate you and your family as to the problem, explore options and involve you in all decisions regarding your care.  Rest assured that not all referred patients need surgery.  In fact, the majority of our patients do not have surgery.  Also be assured that if an operation is contemplated, you will receive the highest of technical and surgical skill.  Our practice is among the largest and most influential in the state.  We are a regional referral center and serve as a leader in advancing the “state of the art” of neurosurgical care.

Our History
Founded in 1953 by Dr. William Ledyard, Columbia Neurosurgical Associates has been the premier neurosurgical practice in the Midlands for fifty years.  Dr. Daniel Paysinger,  Dr. Jack Smith, and Dr. Robert Clark, three highly respected neurosurgeons, later joined Dr. Ledyard in Columbia.  Over the ensuing half century, our practice has expanded in number and scope.  The explosive advance in diagnostic, hospital and surgical technology has allowed our subsequent surgeons to perform operations and offer treatments that were simply unavailable to our founding physicians.  Our evolution has been remarkable, yet we strive to maintain the personal element of caring for real people.  This attitude, this commitment and success has resulted in a stellar reputation among our medical colleagues and the people of the region.  As is true throughout Medicine, we at Columbia Neurosurgical Associates stand tall on the shoulders of our predecessors.

Our Affiliations
Our Physicians are affiliated with full medical privileges at the Lexington Medical Center, Palmetto Baptist Medical Center, Providence Hospital and Providence Northeast Hospital. We have privileges for gamma knife at Palmetto Richland Hospital.

Our Locations
We have two convenient office locations:  One in Northeast Columbia at 720 Rabon Road just off I-77 and near the Providence Northeast Hospital.  The other in West Columbia at 132 Sunset Court across the street from Lexington Medical Center.

Our MRI department (NORTHEAST MRI CENTER)
We as neurosurgeons rely heavily on MRI imaging to aid in your diagnosis and in the decisions regarding surgical intervention.  There are many good MRI facilities throughout the area but often there are problems with delays in scheduling or receiving the results.  In addition, there are some machines that produce suboptimal images or the area of concern is not adequately demonstrated requiring repeat studies.  In response, our practice provides a MRI department which utilizes the latest in MRI technology.  This allows our physicians to obtain imaging studies in a timely manner with rapid review of the results.  It also allows us to be specific in our imaging preferences and to obtain the type of clear and focused images that we require for surgical intervention.  The MRI department is fully licensed, staffed by medical personnel and is capable of contrasted imaging if needed.  Our staff is experienced with all manner of patients and can help with those who are in pain, fearful of the equipment or claustrophobic.  All images are interpreted by experienced, qualified radiologists.  The Columbia Neurosurgical Associates MRI department (Northeast MRI Center) is located at our Rabon Road facility in Northeast Columbia.

Our Pain Management Center 
Not all painful conditions require surgery.  A vital part of the non-operative management of conditions such as spinal pain of the neck or back or nerve pain into the arms or legs is our Pain Management Center.  Dr. Steven Storick and Dr. Eva Jane Rawl, board certified anesthesiologists and pain specialists serve our patients with non-operative treatment of painful disorders. Their widely respected expertise includes the optimal use of medications, combination of medications, physical modalities, and interventions such as muscle or spinal injections and nerve blocks.  Our Pain Management Center cares for patients outside our surgical practice and includes both brief and long-term treatment depending on the individual’s condition and need.  A consulting neurosurgeon is readily available to the Pain Management Center for additional input and assistance if needed.