Lee Birnbaum, MD, MS

Department

Neurology

Lee Birnbaum, MD, MS

Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology; Ross J. Sibert Research Fund Distinguished Chair

Personal Statement:

Professor Lee Birnbaum, MD, MS, is a board-certified neurologist in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at UTHSCSA. He is also board certified in the subspecialty of vascular neurology. In addition to his clinical neurology training, Dr. Birnbaum completed a two-year endovascular neurosurgery fellowship. Dr. Birnbaum is the interim Director of Stroke at UTHSCSA, holder of the Ross J. Sibert Research Fund Distinguished Chair, and only endovascular neurologist in San Antonio. His dual training in neurology and endovascular neurosurgery gives him a unique understanding in the realm of vascular disorders of the nervous system. Dr. Birnbaum graduated medical school from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. As a medical student, he was awarded the Washington D.C. Health Care Fellowship award and completed research at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in Bethesda, Maryland. He was also awarded the Ohio State University Public Health Achievement Award for his medical research in Spain where he learned Spanish. Dr. Birnbaum remained in Columbus, Ohio to complete his medical internship year at Mount Carmel Health Systems. He then moved to Louisville, Kentucky and completed general neurology training at the University of Louisville. As a neurology resident, he was awarded Excellence in Clinical Education and membership to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of Louisville. Dr. Birnbaum then moved to New York City where he completed a two year fellowship in vascular neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. As part of this training, he graduated from the Columbia University School of Public Health with a master’s degree in neuro-epidemiology. Dr. Birnbaum remained in New York City for two more years to complete his endovascular neurosurgery fellowship under the tutelage of the renowned Dr. Alejandro Berenstein at Roosevelt Hospital. He then moved to San Antonio to join the Department of Neurosurgery at UTHSCSA. Dr. Birnbaum’s principal clinical interest is in the care of critically ill neurologic patients as well as the endovascular treatment of stroke, cerebral aneurysm, atherosclerotic disease, arteriovenous malformations, and other vascular disorders of the brain and spine. His clinical research is focused on the utilization of biomarkers and ultrasound to better stratify patients with stroke and optimize therapies. Dr. Birnbaum and the Department of Neurosurgery are participating in NIH sponsored clinical trials such as IMS-III and ARUBA. He is part of the first and only comprehensive stroke program in South Texas with the Brain and Stroke Network at Baptist Health System. He is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart/Stroke Association. Positions and Employment 2020 — Present Professor/Clinical, Neurology/Neurosurgery/Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 2018 — Present Co-Chair, Administrative, Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC), San Antonio, TX 2017 — 2020 Associate Professor / Clinical, Neurology/Neurosurgery/Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 2015 — 2017 Associate Professor / Clinical, Neurology/Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 2012 — Present ACGME Vascular Neurology Program, Director, Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 2010 — Present Division Chief, Vascular Neurology, Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 2009 — Present Vascular Neurology Clinical Director, Clinical, University Health System, San Antonio, TX 2009 — 2015 Assistant Professor / Clinical, Neurology and Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX


Education

Miami University, Oxford, OH
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY

Affiliations

Professional Memberships 2019 — Search Committee Emergency Medicine Chair UTHSA, Member 2017 — UTHP Health Information Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) Steering, Member 2017 — Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) on Stroke, Co-Chair 2015 — Presidential Clinical Excellence Award Committee, Member 2015 — Comprehensive Stroke Certification Steering Committee, Member 2014 — 2015 Search Committee Vice President for Research UTHSA, Member 2014 — Neurology Finance Committee, Member 2014 — Hospital Neurosciences Service Line: Strategy & Program Development Committ, Member 2013 —  Clinical Competency Committee: Neurosurgery, Member 2011 —  Institutional Review Board, Member 2011 — Clinical and Translational Science Award Committee, Grant Reviewer 2010 — 2017 Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) on Stroke, Vice Chair 2010 — Clinical Competency Committee: Neurology, Member 2010 — Education Committee, Member 2019 — 2021 Member, STROKE Neurovascular Intervention Science Committee of the Stroke Council 2018 — Reviewer, Interventional Neuroradiology 2018 — Reviewer, Frontiers | Editorial Office – Collaborative Peer Review Team 2018 — Member at Large, Medical Executive Committee 2015 — Reviewer, Internal and Emergency Medicine 2014 — Reviewer, Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions 2012 — Attending Physician, Baptist St. Luke’s Hospital 2012 — 2012 Other, KENS 5 News: Sleep and Stroke Risk 2012 — Director, Director, Vascular Neurology Fellowship 2011 — 2011 Other, “Curry Spice in Neuroprotective Against Stroke” 2011 — Member, Institutional Review Board 2010 — 2013 Reviewer, International Stroke Conference abstract reviewer 2010 — Reviewer, Reviewer for Clinical and Translational Science Award 2010 — Attending Physician, University Hospital Stroke Service 2010 — Attending Physician, Stroke Follow-up Clinic 2009 — Director, Director, Stroke Services 2009 — Interviewer, Neurology Residency Program Selection Committee

Publications

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications Davidorf FH, Craig E, Birnbaum L, Wakely P, Birnbaum LA. Management of medulloepithelioma of the ciliary body with brachytherapy. Am J Ophthalmol 2002 Jun;133(6):841-843. Birnbaum LA, Pereira E. The evolving treatment of intracranial aneurysms Jefferson County Medical Society Journal 2004 Jan Pereira E, Birnbaum LA. Diffusion weighted sequence on MRI for the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Dementia Review 2004 Feb Birnbaum LA, Pereira E. The evolving role of carotid artery stenting Jefferson County Medical Society Journal 2004 Nov Pereira E, Birnbaum L, Mader G. Overlapping stent-supported coil embolization of wide-neck basilar tip aneurysm: technical case reports. Neuroradiology 2005 Feb;47(2):153-157. Birnbaum LA, Sherry R, Pereira E. Isolated intracranial fibromuscular dysplasia presents as stroke in a 19-year-old female. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2005 Jun;63(2A):318-320. Birnbaum LA, Sacco R. Symptomatic Intracranial Stenosis: Insights from GESICA 2006 Jun. 1 p. Birnbaum L, Wright C, Rundek T, Huang L, Li L, Mitsuhiro Y, DeCarli C, Sacco R.. Subclinical Carotid Artery Disease is not Associated with White Matter Hyperintensities: The Northern Manhattan Study 2006 Oct. (Joint World Congress on Stroke: Cape Town, S.A.). Birnbaum LA. Role of Telmisartan in an ischemic Stroke Model 2010 Aug. (Neurosurgery Summer Research Day). Contreras C, Birnbaum LA. Teleneurology Increases the Use of IV tPA in Intra-Arterial Thrombectomy Patients 2011 Apr. (American Academy of Neurology: Honolulu, HI). Palacio S, Gonzales NR, Sangha NS, Birnbaum LA, Hart RG. Thrombolysis for acute stroke in hemodialysis: international survey of expert opinion. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2011 May;6(5):1089-1093. Jetter GM, Birnbaum LA, Ntsoane E, Cavazos JE, Karkar K, Morgan L, Caron JL, Papanastassiou AM, Szabo CA. Fetal PCAs in Medically Refractory Partial Epilepsies 2011 Dec. (American Epilepsy Society Conference). Birnbaum LA. Reperfusion is most associated with outcome in our intra-arterial thrombectomy cohort 2012 Jan. (American Society of Neuroimaging: Miami, FL). Julio Andino, MD, and Lee Birnbaum, MD. Acute Ischemic Stroke Guidelines Highlight Additional Evidence that StrokeSystems of Care Improve Outcomes on-line: American Heart Association; 2013 Jan. 1 p. Available from:http://my.americanheart.org/professional/Library/Guidelines-for-the-Early-Management-of-Patients-with AcuteIschemic-Stroke_UCM_448780_Article.jsp Birnbaum LA. Location of Intracerebral Hemorrhage in a Tri-ethnic Cohort: The ERICH Study 2013 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu, HI). Birnbaum LA. Effect of Addition of Clopidogrel to Aspirin on Stroke Incidence: Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials 2013 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu, HI). Birnbaum LA. Closing the Gap Development of a Reginal Stroke System 2013 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu, HI). Palacio S, Hart RG, Pearce LA, Anderson DC, Sharma M, Birnbaum LA, Benavente OR. Effect of addition of clopidogrel to aspirin on stroke incidence: Meta-analysis of randomized trials.[Epub ahead of print] Int J Stroke 2013 May McGinity M, Bartanusz V, Dengler B, Birnbaum L, Henry J. . Pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma (epithelioid sarcoma-like hemangioendothelioma, fibroma-like variant of epithelioid sarcoma) of the thoracic spine. Euro Spine 2013 May:506-11. Birnbaum LA. Contraindications to IVt-PA use in Acute Stroke at an Academic Center 2013 May. (UTHSCSA Annual Neurology Research Day). Birnbaum LA. Advanced neuroimaging and outcomes in our thrombectomy cohort 2013 May. (UTHSCSA Annual Neurology Research Day). Woo D, Rosand J, Kidwell C, McCauley JL, Osborne J, Brown MW, West SE, Rademacher EW, Waddy S, Roberts JN, Koch S, Gonzales NR, Sung G, Kittner SJ, Birnbaum L, Frankel M, Testai FD, Hall CE, Elkind MS, Flaherty M, Coull B, Chong JY, Warwick T, Malkoff M, James ML, Ali LK, Worrall BB, Jones F, Watson T, Leonard A, Martinez R, Sacco RI, Langefeld CD.. The Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ERICH) study protocol. Stroke 2013 Oct;44(10):120-125. ASPREE Investigator Group. Study design of ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE): A randomized, controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2013 Nov;36(2):555-564. Birnbaum LA, Misra V. Neurointervention in the Medical Specialties In: Birnbaum LA, Misra V. Chapter 7: Intra-arterial Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke. East Brunswick, NJ 08816: Springer; 2014. Birnbaum LA. The use of stentrievers is not associated with improved outcomes in our intra-arterial thrombectomy cohort 2014 Jan. (Working Group in Interventional Neuroradiology: Val d‘Isere, FR). White CL, Brady TL, Saucedo LL, Motz D, Sharpe J, Birnbaum LA. A Better Understanding of Readmission after Stroke by Including Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Perspectives 2014 Feb. p. ANS 15. (Stroke; vol. 45). Ali Seifi, MD, Kevin Carr, MD, Michael Moussouttas, MD, Lee Birnbaum, MD, Rodney Bell, MD, Fred Rincon MD. The Incidence and Risk Factors of Acute Myocardial Injury (AMI)After Acute Cerebral Ischemic(ACI)Events in the United States 2014 Feb. (2nd International Conference on Heart & Brain – ICHB 2014). Birnbaum LA. The STICH II Prognostic Score Predicts Outcomes in the ERICH Study 2014 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: San Diego, CA). Manan Shah; Jennifer Rasmussen; Lee Birnbaum; Charles Moomaw; Padmini Sekar; Jennifer Osborne; Esther Nanez; Anastasia Vashkevich; Daniel Woo . Effect of Hyperosmolar Therapy on Outcome Following Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: The ERICH Study 2014 Apr. (American Academy of Neurology: Philadelphia). Kevin Carr MD, Fred Rincon, MD MSc, Mitchell Maltenfort, PhD, Lee Birnbaum MD MS, Bradley Dengler, MD, Michelle Rodriguez JD, Ali Seifi MD. Incidence and Morbidity of Craniocervical Arterial Dissections in Atraumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients who underwent Aneurysmal Repair Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery 2014 Aug White CL, Brady TL, Saucedo LL, Motz D, Sharp J, Birnbaum LA . Toward a Better Understanding of Readmissions after Stroke: Partnering with Stroke Survivors and Caregivers Journal of Clinical Nursing 2015 Apr;24:1091-1100. Birnbaum LA. Correlation between CTA and subsequent DSA collateral scores in acute ischemic stroke 2015 Apr. (American Academy of Neurology: Washington, DC). Birnbaum LA. Outcomes of bypass procedures in patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease: A Case Series 2015 May. (European Stroke Conference: Vienna, Austria). Behrouz R, Godoy DA, Topel CH, Birnbaum LA,4, Caron JL, Grandhi R, Johnson JN, Misra V, Seifi A, Urbansky K, Di Napoli M. Early Hypoalbuminemia is an Independent Predictor of Mortality in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Neuro Critical Care 2016 Feb Santillan A, Johnson JN, Birnbaum LA. Embolization of a congenital arteriovenous fistula of the internal maxillary artery: a case report and review of the literature Interventional Neuroradiology 2016 Feb Behrouz R, Topel CH, Seifi A, Birnbaum LA, Brey RL, Misra V, Di Napoli M. Risk of intracerebral hemorrhage in HIV/AIDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis Neurovirol 2016 Apr Birnbaum LA, Rodriguez JS, Topel CH, Behrouz R, Misra V, Palacio S, Patterson MG, Motz DS, Goros MW, Cornell JE, Caron J. Older stroke patients with high stroke scores have delayed door-to-needle times Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases 2016 Nov;25(11):2668-2672. Behrouz R, Birnbaum LA, Jones PM, Topel CH, Misra V, Rabinstein AA.. Focal Neurological Deficit at Onset of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Frequency and Causes. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2016 Nov Deb Motz, Michele Patterson, Tracy Moore, Diana Barrett, Martha Buford, Cheryl Baker, Adam Blanchette, Kassandra Hunt, Sonja Widemon, Eric Epley, Preston Love, Lee Birnbaum, David Miramontes, David Wampler, Candace Mcalpine, Cheryl Prentiss, Dicky Huey. Evolution of an Organized System of Care Positively Impacts Regional Stroke Treatment 2017 Feb. p. ATP385. (International Stroke Conference; vol. 48). Yu F, Steven A, Birnbaum L, Altmeyer W. T2*-based MR imaging of hyperglycemia-induced hemichorea-hemiballism J Neuroradiol 2017 Feb Aachi R, Birnbaum L, Topel C, Seifi A Hafeez S, Behrouz R. Laboratory characteristics of ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation on or off therapeutic warfarin. Clinical Cardiology 2017 Dec Raghav V. Aachi, MD, MD; Alejandro Santillan, MD; Lee A. Birnbaum, MD, MS; Martin W. Goros, MS; Joel E. Michalek, PhD; Daniel Woo, MD, MPH. Efficacy of Intraventricular Administration of Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Intraventricular Hemorrhage in the ERICH Cohort 2018 Jan. (International Stroke Conference: Los Angeles). Michele Patterson MSN RN, Tracy Moore RHIA, Beth Cline MSN RN, Lee Birnbaum MD MS, Reza Behrouz DO. Screening For Large Vessel Occlusion – Comparing the Accuracies of the VAN Screening Tool and NIHSS 2018 Jan. (International Stroke Conference: Los Angeles). Agarwal T, Behrouz R, Topel C, Birnbaum LA. Validity of IntraCerebral Hemorrhage Score in Current Clinical Practice 2018 Apr. (European Stroke Conference: Athens, Greece). Shah M, Birnbaum L, Rasmussen J, Sekar P, Moomaw CJ, Osborne J, Vashkevich A, Woo D. Effect of Hyperosmolar Therapy on Outcome Following Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ERICH) Study J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2018 Apr White CL, Cantu A, Motz D, Patterson Michele, Caron JL, Birnbaum LA. Opportunities and Challenges in Secondary Stroke Prevention: A Mixed Methods Study Disability and Rehabilitation 2018 May Kasatwar N, Birnbaum LA. Do Older stroke patients with higher NIHSS scores have increased DTN time? 2018 May. (UT Health SA Neurology Research Day). Hart RG, Sharma M, Mundl H, Kasner SE, Bangdiwala SI, Berkowitz SD, Swaminathan B, Lavados P, Wang Y, Wang Y, Davalos A, Shamalov N, Mikulik R, Cunha L, Lindgren A, Arauz A, Lang W, Czlonkowska A, Eckstein J, Gagliardi RJ, Amarenco P, Ameriso SF, Tatlisumak T, Veltkamp R, Hankey GJ, Toni D, Bereczki D, Uchiyama S, Ntaios G, Yoon BW, Brouns R, Endres M, Muir KW, Bornstein N, Ozturk S, O‘Donnell MJ, De Vries Basson MM, Pare G, Pater C, Kirsch B, Sheridan P, Peters G, Weitz JI, Peacock WF, Shoamanesh A, Benavente OR, Joyner C, Themeles E, Connolly SJ; NAVIGATE ESUS Investigators. Rivaroxaban for Stroke Prevention after Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source. New England Journal of Medicine 2018 Jun Rodriguez-Torres A, Murphy M, Kourkoulis C, Schwab K, Ayres AM, Moomaw CJ, Young Kwon S, Berthaud JV, Gurol ME, Greenberg SM, Viswanathan A, Anderson CD, Flaherty M, James ML, Birnbaum L, Yong Sung G, Parikh G, Boehme AK, Mayson D, Sheth KN, Kidwell C, Koch S, Frankel M, Langefeld CD, Testai FD, Woo D, Rosand J, Biffi A.. Hypertension and intracerebral hemorrhage recurrence among white, black, and Hispanic individuals Neurology 2018 Jul Kasner SE, Swaminathan B, Lavados P, Sharma M, Muir K, Veltkamp R, Ameriso SF, Endres M, Lutsep H, Messé SR, Spence JD, Nedeltechev K, Perera K, Santo G, Olavarria V, Lindgren A, Bangdiwala S, Shoamanesh A, Berkowitz SD, Mundl H, Connolly SJ, Hart RG; NAVIGATE ESUS Investigators. Rivaroxaban or aspirin for patent foramen ovale and embolic stroke of undetermined source: a prespecified subgroup analysis from the NAVIGATE ESUS trial Lancet Neurology 2018 Dec de Leonni Stanonik M, Mascitelli J, McDougall C, Sy C, Birnbaum L.. Management of Tandem Occlusion: novel approach 2019 Jan. (American Neuroimaging Society Conference: San Juan, Puerto Rico). Birnbaum LA. Longitudinal Study of Young Patients With Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (ESUS) 2019 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu). Birnbaum LA. Microsurgery Treatment Rate for Unruptured Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations is Increased postARUBA 2019 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu). Teleb MS, de Leonni Stanonik M, Roth J, Franz D, Patterson M, Lynch J, Lin E, De Havenon A, Wampler D, Zaidat O, Birnbaum LA. Stroke VAN EMS Validation 2019 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Honolulu). Birnbaum L, Mascitelli J, McDougall C. Complications of Acute Stroke A Concise Guide to Prevention, Recognition, and Management In: Chapter 6: Endovascular and Post-Procedural Complicatios. Springer Publishing; 2019. Birnbaum LA, Behrouz R. Complications of Acute Stroke A Concise Guide to Prevention, Recognition, and Management 2019. 299 p. Birnbaum LA. Similarities and Differences in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Risk Factors by Race/Ethnicity 2019 May. (American Academy of Neurology 71st Annual Meeting). Kasatwar N, Birnbaum LA. Do Older stroke patients with higher NIHSS scores have increased DTN time? 2019 May. (American Academy of Neurology 71st Annual Meeting). Birnbaum LA, de Leonni Stanonik M, Patterson M, Wampler D, Stringfellow M, Miramontes D. Paramedic Use And Efficacy Of Pre-Hospital VAN Assessment To Detect LVO Stroke in San Antonio 2019 May. (European Stroke Organization Conference: Milano, Italy). de Leonni Stanonik M, Birnbaum LA, Patterson M, Wampler D, Stringfellow M, Miramontes D. Shortcomings Of The VAN Screening Tool For Identifying Large Vessel Occlusions In The Pre-Hospital Setting, i.e. Stroke Mimics 2019 May. (European Stroke Organization Conference: Milano, Italy). Birnbaum LA, Matthew Straight, Sheetal Hedge, John Lacci, Mateja de Leonni, Justin Mascitelli, Cameron McDougall, Jean-Louis Caron. Microsurgery Treatment for Unruptured Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation is Increased postARUBA World Neurosurgery 2020 Feb Arash Shadman MD, Aaisha Mozumder MD, Mateja de Leonni Stanonik MD PhD, Michele Patterson MSN RN, David Wampler PhD LP, Michael Stringfellow EMT-P, Emily Kidd MD, David Miramontes MD, Steven Cope NREMT-P, Cheryl Baker BSN RN, Adam Blanchette MD, Lee Birnbaum MD MS. . Pre-hospital VAN Large Vessel Occlusion Screening Tool Predicts Larger Intracerebral Hemorrhage 2020 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Los Angeles). Michele Patterson MSN RN APRN-CCNS SCRN, Tracy Moore RHIA, Paula Beth Cline MSN RN MHA, Lee Birnbaum MD MS. Outcomes of the Extended Ischemic Stroke Treatment Window 2020 Feb. (International Stroke Conference: Los Angeles). Birnbaum L; Wampler DA; Shadman A; Stanonik MLS; Patterson M; Kidd E; Tovar J; Garza A; Blanchard B; Slesnick L; Blanchette A; Miramontes D. Paramedic utilization of Vision, Aphasia, Neglect (VAN) stroke severity scale in the prehospital setting predicts emergent large vessel occlusion stroke J NeuroIntervent Surg 2020 Jul Jared Alexander Stowers, MS,* Tiffany Brown, MD,* Lee Albert Birnbaum, MD,† and Ali Seifi, MD, FACP‡. Transient Ischemic Attack: The Trend and Readmissions in the United States Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases 2020 Aug;29(00) Tzu-Ching Wu, Christy Ankrom, Michele Joseph, Alyssa Trevino, Liang Zhu, Steven Warach, Roberta R Novakovic, Mark P Goldberg, Lee A. Birnbaum, Osman Mir, Gustavo J. Rodriguez, Yazan J Alderazi, Ameer E. Hassan, Sean I. Savitz. IAT-TiMeS: Intra-Arterial Thrombectomy Transfer Metric Study in Texas Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases 2021