Dr. Igor Zakharov

Dr. Igor Zakharov is a leading neurosurgeon at the N.N. Burdenko National Medical Research Centre for Neurosurgery in Moscow, one of the world's largest dedicated neurosurgical centers. With 24 years of surgical experience and over 5,000 procedures performed, he is among Russia's most distinguished neurosurgeons.

The Burdenko Centre is a unique institution — a specialized neurosurgical hospital with over 500 beds dedicated entirely to neurosurgery, treating the most complex brain and spinal cases from across Russia and the CIS. Dr. Zakharov has been a key member of its brain tumor and cerebrovascular surgery teams.

He completed an advanced fellowship in skull base and cerebrovascular surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Japan, gaining exposure to Japanese microsurgical techniques renowned for their precision. He returned to Moscow where he established intraoperative MRI-guided surgery as a standard approach for complex brain tumors at the Burdenko Centre.

Dr. Zakharov is a Doctor of Medical Sciences and a professor, having trained numerous neurosurgeons and contributed extensively to Russian neurosurgery through publications, textbook contributions, and international collaborations.

Dr. Zakharov graduated from I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University in 1997. He completed his neurosurgery residency (ordinatura and clinical residency) at the Burdenko Centre and undertook a skull base surgery fellowship at the University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan (2003–2004). His PhD from Sechenov University in 2002 focused on cerebral arteriovenous malformation surgery and his Doctor of Medical Sciences, awarded in 2012, focused on intraoperative MRI-guided brain tumor resection outcomes. He is a member of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS).

Dr. Zakharov's surgical expertise is broad across cranial and spinal neurosurgery. In brain tumor surgery, he performs craniotomies with intraoperative MRI guidance, fluorescence-guided resection, and awake brain surgery for eloquent area tumors. In cerebrovascular surgery, he performs microsurgical aneurysm clipping, AVM resection, and cavernoma surgery. He specializes in endoscopic skull base surgery for pituitary adenomas and cranial base tumors. In spinal surgery, he performs complex spinal tumor resection, cord decompression, and vertebral stabilization procedures.

Dr. Zakharov has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and multiple textbook chapters on neurosurgical topics. His research focuses on intraoperative MRI outcomes, cerebrovascular surgery results, and endoscopic skull base techniques. He has published in Acta Neurochirurgica and Zhurnal Voprosy Neyrokhirurgii (Questions of Neurosurgery). He collaborates with neurosurgical groups in Japan and Europe and presents at WFNS and European congresses.

Dr. Zakharov speaks Russian and English and sees international patients at the Burdenko Centre, which has an established international patient department. Video consultations are available for MRI review and second opinions. The Burdenko Centre's extraordinary case volume and specialized expertise make it a globally significant center for complex neurosurgical second opinions, particularly for brain tumors and cerebrovascular conditions.

Dr. Zakharov received the Association of Russian Neurosurgeons Award for Surgical Excellence in 2015 and 2020. He was recognized by the Burdenko Centre with the Distinguished Neurosurgeon Award for his contributions to intraoperative MRI-guided surgery. He received the Russian Ministry of Health's Excellence in Medical Science award in 2018 and has been a visiting lecturer at neurosurgery programs in Japan and Western Europe.