Dr. Brenton Pennicooke, MD
Missouri Neurosurgeon & Compex Spine Surgery Specialist
St. Louis • St. Peters
Brenton Pennicooke, MD, MS is a spine fellowship-trained and board-certified neurosurgeon and complex spine surgeon at Washington University Physicians serving Saint Louis, St. Peters, and surrounding cities in St. Louis County, Missouri. Additionally, he is Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Dr. Pennicooke completed post-residency fellowships in complex spinal reconstruction and minimally invasive spine surgery under the guidance of both neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons. His diverse training gives him a unique insight into treating a wide range of spinal diseases from significant spinal deformity/malalignment to herniated discs. He is an expert in utilizing artificial intelligence, advanced machine learning, and causal inference to analyze patient-outcome data. His research endeavors to extensively understand the nuances of spinal disease, develop personalized patient treatment regimens, and build novel clinical support tools.
Neurosurgery and Complex Spine Surgery Specialties
Cervical Myelopathy
Repair of compression of the spinal cord in the neck (cervical area of the spine).
Spinal Tumors
Spinal cord gliomas, spinal meningiomas, spinal schwannomas, spinal hemangioblastomas and metastatic spine tumors.
Recovery Prognostics
The use of artificial intelligence to predict recovery after spinal surgery.
Emergency Brain Surgery
Subdural hematomas, traumatic brain injury, and epidural hematomas.
Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery Specialties
Cervical Myelopathy
Repair of compression of the spinal cord in the neck (cervical area of the spine).
Spinal Tumors
Spinal cord gliomas, spinal meningiomas, spinal schwannomas, spinal hemangioblastomas and metastatic spine tumors.
Recovery Prognostics
The use of artificial intelligence to predict recovery after spinal surgery.
Emergency Brain Surgery
Subdural hematomas, traumatic brain injury, and epidural hematomas.
Why Do St. Louis County Patients Choose Dr. Pennicooke for Neurosurgery and Complex Spine Surgery?
Neurosurgery and Complex Spine Surgery Training
As the spine subspecialty has evolved, more fellowship opportunities for highly specialized training in treating disorders of the spine have become available. As a result, Dr. Pennicooke has the advantage of completing highly regarded post-residency fellowships under the guidance of both neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons. His fellowships at both New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center & Cornell University and University of California-San Francisco were focused on Complex Spinal Reconstruction and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. This diverse training under renowned spine experts provides him with an extremely comprehensive understanding of the brain and spine. His assessment of patients draws from both expertises and backgrounds.
High-tech Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Improve Patient Outcomes
Dr. Pennicooke held a third fellowship in Predictive Analytics/Machine Learning Research at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center & Cornell Tech. The last decade has seen a significant increase in the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in neurosurgery. AI benefits patients by complementing Dr. Pennicooke’s surgical skills to provide the best possible interventional and noninterventional care. Its application enhances his ability to provide accurate diagnoses and predict recovery after spine surgery in clinical treatment and can help him make decisions during surgical interventions that improve patient outcomes.
In essence, Dr. Pennicooke tracks all of his patients over time using specific outcome metrics. This allows him to use artificial intelligence to evaluate and predict which patients do best with a certain surgical approach or with no surgery at all. The use of AI also allows him to tailor his approach to the activity level of the patients. In other words, his treatment approach is not one size fits all, but based on your unique symptoms and characteristics.
