What do Neurosurgeons do?
What do Neurosurgeons do?
Ask most people what neurosurgeons do and they'll tell you they operate on the brain. But these medical specialists are also trained to help patients suffering from back and neck pain as well as a host of other illnesses ranging from carpal tunnel syndrome to epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
People are most surprised to learn that neurosurgeons are back specialists. In fact, most of the nation's 100 neurosurgeons also specialize in treating back and neck problems. In addition, neurosurgeons are highly skilled in treating cerebrovascular disorders such as aneurysms of the brain and clogged arteries in the neck that can lead to stroke; head and spinal cord injuries; brain and spinal cord tumors; as well as pain and abnormalities relating to the peripheral nerves (face, arms, legs, hands and feet).
A neurological surgeon may provide either surgical or non-surgical care, depending on the nature of the injury or illness.
What kinds of illnesses do neurological surgeons treat?
Neurosurgery is the surgical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spine, brain, nervous system and peripheral nerves. It encompasses adult and pediatric patients with disorders of the brain and skull, and their blood supply, including the vertebral and extracranial and carotid arteries; disorders of the pituitary gland; disorders of the spinal cord and vertebral column; and disorders of the cranial and spinal nerves. Some of the specific disorders neurosurgeons treat include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Carotid artery disease
- Cervical spine disorders
- Chiari malformation
- Chronic pain
- Epilepsy
- Herniated disc
- Hydrocephalus
- Injuries to the brain and spinal cord
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Pediatric neurosurgery
- Pituitary tumors
- Sciatica
- Stroke (Brain Attack)
- Thoracic spine disorders
- Tumors of the brain and spinal cord
What is the role of the neurosurgeon?
Neurosurgeons provide the operative and non-operative management (ie., prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care and rehabilitation) of neurological disorders. Because neurosurgeons have extensive training in the diagnosis of all neurological disease, emergency room doctors, neurologists, internists, family practitioners, and osteopaths often call upon them for consultations.
How are neurosurgeons trained?
Neurosurgery has one of the longest training periods of any medical specialties due to the extreme complexity of the nervous system and the advanced techniques used in neurosurgical operations. After six years of medical school, followed by a one-year internship program and 2-3 years as a resident doctor (devoted to acquiring knowledge in fundamental clinical skills), the doctor enters a neurosurgical training program of five to seven years. 'While in the program, neurosurgical trainees are trained in all aspects of neurosurgery, including the spine and spinal canal, trauma, tumors, pain management and pediatric surgery. Each resident must complete a minimum of 60 months of training in the neurological sciences!
Certification
Following training in a training program approved by the college of surgeons, the neurological surgeon may seek certification in the practice of neurosurgery. This credential signals a special level of commitment to, and expertise in, the neurosurgical specialty. Certification by the Board is based upon approval of an applicant's educational and training qualifications, a review of the physician's professional practice - including opinions of his or her colleagues, and the passage of written and oral examinations.
Tools and Techniques
Over the past two decades, neurosurgery has been transformed into a very "high tech" specialty. Most significant, however, have been innovations in medical equipment that have given neurosurgeons the ability to provide patients with safer, more effective treatments.
Beginning in the early 1960s, neurosurgeons began working with one operative tool that literally revolutionized the practice of neurosurgery. That tool is the operating microscope. For the first time, surgeons were able to see the finest detail with tremendous clarity and focus - they were able to see aneurysms in the brain that needed to be clipped, ruptured disks in the spine to be removed, or brain and spinal tumors that had to be removed without trauma to the surrounding tissue. |
