A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Riley completed her MD degree at the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 1998, where she was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. She completed a neurosurgery residency at UAB, under the training of Dr. Richard Morawetz. Dr.Riley also completed a 6-month fellowship in epilepsy surgery at The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, England. She joined the faculty at UAB in 2004, and was board certified by the ABNS in 2007.
Dr. Riley directs the Neurosurgical Pituitary Disorders Clinic. This clinic was founded in 1988 to provide multidisciplinary treatment of pituitary tumors. Patients in this clinic are seen by a Neurosurgeon, Dr. Riley, and an endocrinologist. Dr. Elizabeth Ennis and Dr. Brooks Vaughn provide specialized endocrine management for patients with Pituitary tumors. Patients are able to have the neurosurgical and endocrine issues related to their diagnosis addressed in a single clinic visit. For patients requiring surgery for pituitary tumors, Dr. Riley performs Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Resection of the tumor. The majority of patients are discharged after a single night in the hospital.
In addition to the Pituitary Tumor Service, Dr. Riley serves as the director of the Adult Epilepsy Surgery Program. A combined program with the UAB Epilepy Center, patients are evaluated for potential surgical treatments of epilepsy. Surgical procedures for epilepsy include anterior temporal lobectomy, focused cortical resections, invasive monitoring procedures followed by cortical resections, corpus callosotomy and vagal nerve stimulators.
Dr. Riley also specializes in surgical treatment of primary brain tumors, metastatic tumors to the brain and skull base and other intracranial neoplasms. These diseases are addressed using the most advanced imaging and a comprehensive treatment plan is derived which may include stereotactic biopsy, surgical resection, with or without awake intraoperative mapping. Patients are evaluated for minimally invasive endoscopic approaches and for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery when appropriate.
She is also active in the training and guidance of medical students interested in neurosurgery.
Dr. Riley sees patients at the Kirklin Clinic each week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Pituitary Disorders clinic meets on the first three Tuesdays of the month. Appointments can be made by calling (205) 996-2461. Referrals are accepted from physicians or patients. MRI imaging is typically required before an appointment.
Patients interested in Epilepsy Surgery are evaluated thru the UAB Epilepsy Center, contact Nancy Cohen @ 934-7244.
Pubmed
Selected Publications
1. Pearson BE, Markert JM, Fisher WS, Guthrie BL, Fiveash JB, Palmer CA, Riley K., Hitting a moving target: evolution of a treatment paradigm for atypical meningiomas amid changing diagnostic criteria. Neurosurg Focus. 2008;24(5):E3.
2. Knowlton RC, Elgavish RA, Limdi N, Bartolucci A, Ojha B, Blount J, Burneo JG, Ver Hoef L, Paige L, Faught E, Kankirawatana P, Riley K, Kuzniecky R. Functional imaging: I. Relative predictive value of intracranial electroencephalography. Ann Neurol. 2008 Apr 15.