Maxwell B. Merkow

Dr. Maxwell Merkow is a neurosurgeon with East Bay Brain & Spine Medical Group, a division of BASS Medical Group. He specializes in minimally invasive/endoscopic approaches for common and complex spinal disorders as well as brain and pituitary tumors. Dr. Merkow treats Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor with deep brain stimulation devices, and he alleviates facial pain via microvascular decompression and stereotactic radiosurgery. His practice also includes the management of cerebral aneurysms.

Dr. Merkow believes in educating his patients in order to help them make well-informed decisions. He aims to maximize function, avoid surgery when possible, and to minimize recovery time so that his patients get back to their activities as quickly as possible. Using clear explanations and conversation, Dr. Merkow takes great pride in guiding patients through stressful times in their lives. After receiving his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Merkow, completed a seven-year residency in neurological surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a postdoctoral research fellow he studied the brain rhythms that underpin human memory and the effect of direct brain stimulation on memory. His research, also completed at the University of Pennsylvania, appeared in the journals Science and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among others. Dr. Merkow also completed a clinical fellowship at Wellington Public Hospital in New Zealand. Dr. Merkow practices in Walnut Creek and is affiliated with BASS Medical Group. He has privileges at John Muir Medical Center’s Walnut Creek Campus.