Bioprofile

Rocco Anthony Armonda, MD

Col, US Army, Medical Corps

A graduate of West Point in 1986, and earned a medical degree at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, in 1990 followed by an Internship in general surgery and a Residency in neurosurgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Armonda then completed an additional 2 year fellowship from 97-99 in Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery and Interventional Neuroradiology under the direction of Robert H. Rosenwasser, MD, becoming the first dual certified Neurovascular Surgeon in the Military. Dr. Armonda served as a Commander of the 207 th Neurosurgery Team, aka “207 th Skullcrackers” whose motto has been “Neuro-rescue on the Battlefield” . The team initially stationed at the Kuwait Armed Forces Hospital (865 th CSH) in March moved north into Bagdad in April of 2003, then became the only forward deployed neuro team in Iraq from April 2003 to February 2004 attached to the 28 th Combat Support Hospital then later the 31 st Combat Support Hospital . S erving at LSA Dogwood, Iraq ( 10 miles outside of Bagdad) then at Ibn Sina Hospital in the Green Zone Baghdad, Iraq. In these Combat Support Hospitals, for the first time in Iraq, he performed neuroangiograms, cervical spinal instrumentation, humanitarian pediatric neurosurgery care, combined carotid-cranial reconstruction and microsurgical resection of tumors and spinal cord vascular malformation in a forward deployed CSH. Additionally, his team was involved in multiple mass casualty resuscitations including the Aug 2003 UN bombing in Bagdad and attacks in Iraq throughout Ramadan in fall 2003. Since his return from Iraq he has continued as the Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery, Interventional Neuroradiology and Neurocritical Care for both the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, where he is Staff Neurosurgeon and Interventional Neuroradiologist, as well as at Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. His focus has been to treat traumatic brain injury using a paradigm similar to stroke therapy with a combination of surgical, endovascular and neurocritical care techniques.