David Gordon, MD, is regional chair of neurosurgery for Northwell facilities in Westchester, chief of neurosurgery at Phelps Hospital and chair of neurosurgery at Northern Westchester Hospital.Throughout his career, Dr. Gordon has evaluated innovative approaches for the treatment of cerebrovascular disease, including brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and stroke. He specializes in both open surgical and endovascular, catheter-based approaches to treat these conditions. He has additional specialization in open and endoscopic skull base surgery for tumors and vascular conditions. His practice includes the surgical management of tumors, such as pituitary tumors, meningiomas and metastatic disease. He also treats brain aneurysms, AVMs of the brain and spinal cord, arteriovenous fistulae and stroke, as well as trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.Dr. Gordon's love of medicine began at Brown University. "I started college thinking I was going to be an English teacher," he says, "but an introductory course in neuroscience hooked me. My decision to study medicine comes from an interest in the brain."After attending Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Dr. Gordon began his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Washington and continued his training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed two fellowships, one in skull base surgery at Roosevelt Hospital and the other in endovascular neurosurgery, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals.Dedicated to collaboration, Dr. Gordon works with a group of neurosurgeons and other neurological specialists to create the safest and most effective treatment plans for patients. "A team approach to care is the only effective approach," he says.Dr. Gordon is assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the AANS/CNS Joint Cerebrovascular Section. He's been a Castle Connelly Top Doctor for the last several years. Outside of his professional duties, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters, and playing guitar "poorly," he adds."The conditions I treat can produce a lot of stress for people," Dr. Gordon says. "I view my job as not only offering surgical treatment of their condition, but also showing the humanistic and compassionate side of medicine, so my patients get the best of both worlds."