Dr. Darius Vaičiūnas

Dr. Darius Vaičiūnas is a senior neurosurgeon at Santara Clinics in Vilnius, Lithuania's largest academic hospital and the primary neurosurgical referral center for the country. With 20 years of surgical experience, he has performed over 3,000 cranial and spinal procedures and is among Lithuania's most experienced neurosurgeons.

He completed a neurosurgical fellowship at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, gaining training in microsurgical brain tumor surgery, fluorescence-guided resection, and deep brain stimulation for movement disorders. Berlin's Charité is one of Europe's most prestigious and largest university hospitals.

Dr. Vaičiūnas leads the deep brain stimulation (DBS) program at Santara Clinics, which is one of the few DBS centers in the Baltic region. He works closely with neurologists to select appropriate Parkinson's disease and movement disorder patients for DBS and performs the implantation procedures. He is an EANS member and holds certification from the European Board of Neurological Surgery.

He is a professor at Vilnius University and has trained the majority of Lithuania's practicing neurosurgeons throughout his career.

Dr. Vaičiūnas received his MD from Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine in 2001. He completed his neurosurgery residency at Santara Clinics and undertook a neurosurgical fellowship at Charité University Hospital, Berlin, Germany (2006–2007). His PhD from Vilnius University in 2010 focused on fluorescence-guided glioma resection outcomes. He holds certification from the European Board of Neurological Surgery and is a member of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).

Dr. Vaičiūnas's surgical expertise encompasses brain tumor surgery including fluorescence-guided craniotomy for gliomas, meningioma resection, pituitary adenoma surgery, and metastatic tumor resection using neuronavigation. In spinal surgery, he performs microdiscectomy, spinal decompression, and instrumented spinal fusion. He leads the DBS program, performing electrode implantation for Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia in collaboration with movement disorder neurologists. He also manages hydrocephalus and performs complex spine tumor resections.

Dr. Vaičiūnas has published over 28 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Acta Neurochirurgica, World Neurosurgery, and the Lithuanian Journal of Medicine. His research focuses on 5-ALA fluorescence-guided glioma surgery outcomes, DBS programming outcomes in Lithuanian Parkinson's disease patients, minimally invasive spine surgery results, and neuronavigation accuracy in skull base surgery. He collaborates with neurosurgeons at the University Medical Center Freiburg in Germany and participates in EANS educational and research programs, contributing Baltic neurosurgery data to European registry studies.

Dr. Vaičiūnas speaks Lithuanian, Russian, and English and sees international patients for neurosurgical consultations and second opinions. Santara Clinics has an international patient service with English and Russian-language reports. Video consultations are available for MRI review and treatment planning. Lithuania's EU membership, Vilnius's well-connected airport, and competitive pricing make it an accessible destination for Baltic and Eastern European patients seeking high-quality neurosurgical care.

Dr. Vaičiūnas received the Lithuanian Neurosurgical Society Award for Surgical Excellence in 2016, recognizing his contributions to advanced neurosurgical techniques including DBS and fluorescence-guided tumor surgery. He was formally recognized by Santara Clinics for establishing the Deep Brain Stimulation program as the leading movement disorder surgery center in the Baltic states — the only institution in Lithuania performing high-volume DBS procedures.

He holds certification from the European Board of Neurological Surgery (EANS) and has received EANS recognition for his educational contributions to neurosurgery resident training. He serves on the Lithuanian Neurosurgical Society's education committee and is faculty at Baltic neurosurgery skills workshops.