Dr. Peter Sun

Most experience with minimally invasive correction in the region. Dr. Sun is an expert pediatric neurosurgeon with over 20 years experience. He is the Neurosurgical Director of the Ucsf Craniofacial Center and has been a pioneer of minimally invasive treatment of craniosynostosis. Dr. Sun has developed an original technique that leads to superior outcomes in metopic craniosynostosis as compared to open surgery. Along with the Dr Pomerantz, Dr. Sun also specializes in open reconstruction with computer surgical planning, use of springs and distraction for all craniosynostosis and has created a custom in house orthotics program at Oakland that optimizes outcome with minimally or endoscopic treatment of craniosynostosis”

 • Helmet Program in our office 

 • Craniosynostosis patients are supported by an entire craniofacial panel 

In 2002, Children’s Medical Director of Neurosurgery Peter Sun, MD, became one of the first pediatric neurosurgeons in the country to perform endoscopic craniosynostosis surgery. He studied under neurosurgeon David Jimenez, MD, who, with his wife, plastic surgeon Constance Barone, MD, developed the procedure. Children’s Oakland is the only facility in northern California with extensive and long-standing experience in endoscopic craniosynostosis and skull surgery, and this procedure has not been performed on a regular basis elsewhere in the region.

“A baby’s skull is made up of several large bones connected by flexible structures called sutures,” Dr. Sun explains. “These flexible sutures allow the brain to grow. Craniosynostosis occurs when a suture is missing or closes up too soon. That causes a deformed head shape and may prevent the brain from having enough room to grow.”

Traditional surgery to correct craniosynostosis requires a long incision across the skull from ear to ear, behind the baby’s hairline. The surgeons remove major portions of the skull and rearrange the bones to achieve a normal skull shape and size. This type of surgery typically is performed when the child is 6 to 12 months old.

Endoscopic surgery for craniosynostosis involves making two small incisions and inserting tiny instruments to remove the fused suture and strips of bone. This type of surgery must be performed during the first few months of life before too much brain growth occurs, generally when the baby is about 3 months old.

“Endoscopic surgery is the optimal approach for correcting sagittal synostosis, but it must be performed at an early age when the bones are much thinner and easier to cut through,” says Children’s plastic and reconstructive surgeon Bryant Toth, MD, a care team partner in this specialized surgical procedure.

According to Dr. Sun, invasive traditional surgery may sometimes require additional revision surgeries. “Minimally invasive surgery produces better cosmetic results, has a shorter hospital stay, offers the possibility of not needing a blood transfusion and there is less chance of having to perform revision surgeries,” he says. “In the 12 years that we have been doing endoscopic craniosynostosis surgeries, we have not had to perform a single revision surgery for sagittal synostosis. It is definitely the procedure of choice in my mind. Early diagnosis is critical and makes this possible"

Dr. Sun is the Director of Neurosurgery at Benioff UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland. Dr. Sun graduated from Columbia University Medical School, completed his neurosurgical residency at Yale University and did his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After 3 years as an attending physician at Children’s hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Sun has been at Oakland since 2001. He is listed in  "Best Doctors in America", Top Doctors in U. S. News and World Report and Top Surgeons by Consumer Research Council of America. Dr. Sun learned the endoscopic technique directly from Dr. Jimenez directly in 2002 and has the most experienced in California treating craniosynostosis and skull lesions with minimally endoscopic assisted invasive surgery

Peter P. Sun MD, is a devoted and extraordinarily skilled pediatric neurosurgeon. He is committed to providing the highest quality care to his patients. He grew up in Taiwan and Los Angeles, speaks English and Mandarin Chinese, and values his bicultural heritage. Dr. Sun believes that “having another cultural background always adds more perspective.” His father and other family members came from the business world, but Dr. Sun was determined to chart his own course. “I wanted to do something where there was value beyond money.” As a child he was fascinated with the brain and nervous system. Later, as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he studied psychobiology, received a bachelor’s degree and went on to medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. There, Dr. Sun discovered that the nervous system was “the most elegant in the body,” and realized that the surgical approach to “fix things” was the best fit for his skills and personality.  He decided to pursue neurosurgery, one of medicine’s most demanding subspecialties. Dr. Sun did a surgical internship at the University of California, Davis and completed his neurosurgical residency at Yale University.  Dr. Sun then received special training at New York University, where he focused on spine surgery. Next, he did a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Pediatric neurosurgery held a special attraction: “Neurosurgical conditions in kids tend to be curable…surgery on children has a lifetime impact.” Before moving to the East Bay, Dr. Sun stayed on at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and was Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, for four years. In 2000, Dr. Sun returned to California to become Chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland. Dr. Sun is listed in  "Best Doctors in America", Top Doctors in U. S. News and World Report and Top Surgeons by Consumer Research Council of America. Dr. Jonathan Finley, MD, the pre-eminent neuro-oncologist in the world, said of Dr. Sun: "He is perhaps the most skilled pediatric brain tumor surgeon with whom I have worked."  Besides being the Director of the Brain Tumor Program at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Dr. Finley is a consultant at Children's Hospital Oakland. Despite being the busiest surgeon at Children's Hospital, and spending over 1500 hours a year in the operating room, Dr. Sun has found time to author or co-author numerous  peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and lecture across the country. He’s also a Clinical Professor in Neurosurgery at the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, and a Pre-med Mentor at the University of California, Berkeley.  Dr. Sun is double board certified in neurosurgery and pediatric neurosurgery Through the years he has developed special strengths that help him excel.

Expertise Brain tumor surgery Intra-cranial cysts Cervical instabilities Craniofacial anomaly Hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus An excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain, often causing intracranial pressure inside the skull, progressive enlargement of the head, seizures and mental retardation. Hydrocephalus is most often treated with the surgical placement of a shunt system. This system diverts the flow of CSF from a site within the central nervous system to another area of the body where it can be absorbed as part of the circulatory process. Professional Achievements Oakland Magazine Best East Bay Doctors 2007-2008 (nat'l survey) NIH National Research Fellowship Award, 1990 Professional Organizations Member, Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Member, American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Children’s Oncology Group Neurosurgery Committee - Study Coordinator, COG-9934: Systemic chemotherapy, Second look Surgery and Conformal Radiation for Infants with Medulloblastoma Member, Joint Pediatric Section CNS and AANS, member Member, International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons Western Neurosurgery Society