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Dr Carla Cordivari is a Neurologist and Consultant Clinical Neurophysiologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
She is a neurologist with an interest in clinical neurophysiology.
Neurophysiology of the peripheral and central nervous system
Dr Cordivari is experienced in performing and interpreting:
- nerve conduction studies (NCS) and EMG on nerves and muscles – for the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, focal nerve entrapments (e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome), radiculopathies, myopathy and neuromuscular transmission disorder
- evoked potentials (EP) on the central nervous system – to support the diagnosis of disorders of the somatosensory, motor, visual and acoustic pathways
- EEG on the brain cortex – to support the diagnosis of epilepsy, brain lesions and dementia
She investigates the nerve damage and loss of limb function of people who have suffered traumatic injuries, including soldiers, Olympic athletes, Premiership footballers and international rugby players.
She runs parallel joint clinics with neurologists, neurosurgeons and orthopaedic specialists for pre-surgery assessment and post-surgery evaluation of patients’ nerves.
Neurophysiology of movement disorders
Dr Cordivari runs one of the few specialist centres in UK for the neurophysiological diagnosis of movement disorders, including dystonia, myoclonus (jerks), tremors and spasticity.
She investigates movement disorders using:
- multichannel EMG recording
- simultaneous EEG-EMG recording with back-averaging.
Botulinum toxin treatment under EMG guidance
Dr Cordivari treats complex cases of severe dystonia, spasticity and tremors with botulinum toxin under EMG guidance.
She is able to select the affected muscles by using EMG guidance. This optimises the benefits and avoids the side effects of the treatments.
Botulinum toxin relaxes the overactive muscles by blocking the connection between nerves and muscles. This reduces patients’ symptoms and provides relief for months. The effect is not permanent but patients can have repeat treatments.
She enjoys working with professional musicians suffering from complex dystonia (i.e. musicians’ cramp) whom she treats with botulinum toxin.
NHS and private clinics
Dr Cordivari runs NHS and private clinics at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
She also has private clinics at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital, The Wellington Hospital and King Edward VII.
Dr Cordivari does not provide “botox” treatments for anti-aging purposes at any of her clinics.