Peggy Vollstad is a pediatric neurosurgery physician assistant. She joined Inova in 2016 and has been practicing since 2004.

Prior to joining Inova, Peggy practiced both adult and pediatric neurosurgery in Texas. She then moved to Norway for several years, where she coordinated neurosurgical research initiatives at Oslo University Hospital and Vilhelm Magnus Laboratory for Neurosurgical Research. She also traveled throughout Scandinavia and Europe assisting in minimally invasive surgical techniques and helped begin a neurosurgery program in Malawi, Africa. Peggy attended the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, for her training and has been involved in neurosurgery since 2004.

Having a family with special medical needs, Peggy’s passion is to care for neurosurgical families as a whole unit, with continuity of care from diagnosis to surgical recovery. Peggy is on the faculty at the Medical School Inova Campus of University of Virginia and served as Interim Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Inova during the pandemic. Her current goal is to work with maternal-fetal medicine providers, NICU specialists and the many other specialists required for the complex care of patients and families with spina bifida.

Peggy's neurosurgical interests and experiences include clinic, operating room first assist, pre and post op management of: brain tumors, myelomeningocele (spina bifida), decompressive craniectomies, brain cysts, brain abscesses, ventriculoperitoneal shunts, lumboperitoneal shunts, ventriculopleural shunts, shunt revisions, head shape, craniosynostosis, skull fractures, cephalohematomas, arteriovenous malformations, skull masses, tethered spinal cord syndrome, lipomyelomeningoceles, instrumented spinal fusions and scoliosis.

Peggy is fluent in English and Norwegian, and possesses skills in Flemish, Dutch, German, Swedish and Danish.

Awards/Associations

• Faculty, University of Virginia
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American Academy of Physician Assistants
• Presenter, Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants
• National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants