What is a Neurosurgeon?
A neurosurgeon is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system including congenital anomalies, trauma, tumors, vascular disorders, infections of the brain or spine, stroke, or degenerative diseases of the spine.
What does a Neurosurgeon do?
Neurosurgeons treat people with a range of neurological issues, such as:
- Lower back pain
- Peripheral nervous system disorders (issues with nerves that carry messages to and from the brain)
- Brain tumors
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
Neurosurgeons use state-of-the-art imaging technologies to find the source of the problem. These include:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG scan), used to find the source of seizures
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), used to create detailed pictures of the inside of the body
- Positron emission tomography (PET scan), often used to search for cancer
- Computed tomography (CT scan), a test that shows more detail than a standard X-ray
Once they know the source of the problem, your neurosurgeon can find a method to treat it effectively.
Reasons to See a Neurosurgeon
There are many reasons why you might see a neurosurgeon. They include:
- Meningitis
- Spinal disk herniation
- Parkinson’s disease
- Epilepsy
What kind of surgeries do neurosurgeons perform?
Neurosurgeons perform several kinds of surgeries and procedures depending on the part of your nervous system — or supporting tissues and structures — that’s affected.
Types of brain surgery include:
- Blood clot removal.
- Aneurysm repair.
- Tumor removal.
- Brain bleed (hemorrhage) stoppage.
- Trauma repair.
- Shunt insertion.
Types of peripheral nerve surgery include:
- Carpal tunnel release.
- Ulnar nerve release.
- Vagus nerve stimulation.
Types of spine surgery include:
- Stereotactic spine radiosurgery.
- Diskectomy.
- Laminectomy.
- Spinal fusion
- Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty.
- Spine stabilization and reconstruction.
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