What kind of surgeon is best to do neck surgery? I keep seeing neurosurgeons mentioned. What about a spinal surgeon? Is that an orthopedic spine surgeon? My Dr.s office is right next door to a spinal center. He said 2 surgeons there are very very good. I havent gotten to the point where I pursued the conversation with my Dr. about the surgery because I need a discogram first. Then the whole surgery referral will happen. So i thought I should know this ahead of time.
THANKS
i am not sure but what what i have read when nerves are involved a neuro is the way to go. i am seeing a spine specialist who is an ortho right now who mentioned surgery twice but then drops it so i have no idea what kind of surgery he's talking about. my husband had two lumbar disks removed about 3 years ago and a neuro did it.
It doesn't matter if the doc is a Neuro or Ortho as long as they have been through a spine fellowship and regulary do the surgery they want to perform on you. Docs at a Spine Center have been through, or are in the process of getting a spine fellowship. Good luck!
I disagree with there being no difference between an OSS and a NS. The OSS looks after the mechanical stability of the house, but the NS pays attention to that as well as the house's wiring. You really don't want to live in a house with no electricity. Trust me on this.
My Neuro did an ACDF on three levels that failed. He did Thorasic surgery and severed my TransThorasic Nerve. My Ortho fixed my neck (posterior approach and added another level). The nerve pain in my chest and ribs is permanent.
I cant say this for a fact but, wouldnt anyone have to go through a spine fellowship to do this surgery anyway? I dont know the criteria. Both of my surgeons said they had done hundreds of these.
I didnt check the credentials of my neuro prior to surgery, but talked to hospital employees that told me he was the main guy for this afterwords. My problem with him is he didnt want to address my problems post surgery. A 12 yr old could see the failed fusion but he wanted to wait. Consequently, my hardware came loose and since I had screws heading for my airway it became critical. 2 orthos said it had to be fixed immediately if not sooner. And the neuro STILL said wait six months, then do an mri. Wouldnt a ct scan make more sense? How would I know, I'm not a Dr.
I'm NOT takin a shot at anyone who says go neuro, nor dor I have a preference, only sharing my experience. I would like to hear what, precisely, would make one more qualified that the other, which was the purpose of this thread.
Before surgery, I would try anything else, like a chiropractor. At least he wont' cut you and damage you. If it doesn't work you have only lost a little bit of money. BUt if the surgery doesn't work, your hurt for life. I started seeing a chiropractor a year ago, I thought he was nuts. But he really helped my neck and back. No more pain. Try it, what do you have to lose? he won't cut you or knock you out.
I tell you one thing, I am definitely leaning towards an ortho spine person. It just seems to make sense to me if someone is going to work with bone and hardware, that an ortho person do it.
What kind of surgeon is best to do neck surgery? I keep seeing neurosurgeons mentioned. What about a spinal surgeon? Is that an orthopedic spine surgeon? My Dr.s office is right next door to a spinal center. He said 2 surgeons there are very very good. I havent gotten to the point where I pursued the conversation with my Dr. about the surgery because I need a discogram first. Then the whole surgery referral will happen. So i thought I should know this ahead of time.
THANKS
you could go with an ENT.....mine did head and neck surgery
My physiatrist, who is really good....(that's saying ALOT since I have been dropping Drs. like flies since this all started in early 2002), said 2 names of surgeons that work at this big spinal "campus" across the street from his office. I suppose since I think alot of my physiatrist, I will have to trust that he knows the best people to do the job. Its a scary dilemma and alot of trust involved. Now if I could get the darn discogram scheduled with the pain Dr. , life would be better. They are driving me crazy with stalling it out and not faxing things to my physiatrist that he needs before he can order the discogram with this pain guy. I need to have the surgery done before Jan 1 because insurance will pay 100% if I do. Its unbelievably stressful,..all of this! oyyyyyyy
I had an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon who specializes in neck care. He was fantastic and came highly recommended. I usually tell people who are wondering which kind of surgeon to see to try to set up a consultation with both an NS and an OSS and get referrals from other doctor's you respect.
I see a NS and an OSS who has done many cervical spinal operations. Personally, I my 'gut' tells me to go with an NS, but my OSS is just so much better in his approach, his treatment and he actually listens to me. The NS thinks I'm a complaining idiot and says - "well, you don't have the symptoms that I'd look for to do surgery right now. blah blah" and the OSS takes the time to show me what's wrong, feel around, try different medications, try PT, try different therpaies and actually EXPLAIN stuff. That is a gift in itself these days.
If I had to have surgery tomorrow, I'd see them both before I had it done and maybe even another NS and OSS -- I think if the OSS has extensive experience in cervical spine, then you're okay, especially if they are working at a Spine institute or have done a Spine Fellowship/Study. I'd go with whomever I felt more comfortable with and I'd definitely ask them both how many of xxxx surgeries they have done and what they think my prognosis would be. That may not be the smartest move, but this medical stuff is really 'something' to wade through - it's a job in itself - it takes a lot of research, asking questions and even sometimes personal intuition and gut feel.
Pup
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Hernations with Stenosis
C 3/4, 5/6, 7
T1
Some Cord Compression
You have gotten some great advice which is coming from actual experience(even better) but what it really all comes down to is the overall experience of the surgeon for your particular surgery. i personally wouldn't let anyone but a NS even touch my c spine as it is such a flippin mess.but on the other hand,as you have been told here,there are other types of surgeons who could be just as good or better than some neuros.like i stated before,experience is really the key here.find out how much experience any surgeon has had with working within the c spine area.you do have a right to ask this and any other questions of any surgeon.you just need one with the most experience.
i have a wonderful ortho who has been working on my knee and he has tons of experience that i know of with extremity and lower to mid back type surgerys but i don't know what type of experience he has with the c spine and would definitely question the hell outta him if i would ever even consider surgery again there which it looks like i am going to have to do yet again.you need to feel comfortable with your surgeon and be comforted in the overall knowledge he or she has had with c spine surgerys.i was lucky enough to have the head of neurosurgery at the U of M here in minn do my cavernoma removal surgery but he retired on me this past august so now,i am looking for a new one to go into this mess of a c sine i have and it WILL be only a neuro that i will let in there only because it would require that level of experience and care.things are just that messed up in my c spie.
sorry to ramble.like i said,look for the surgeon who has that experience with doing the most successful c spine surgeries and you usually can't go wrong there.word of mouth is usually a great way to also find a good surgeon.ask around to freinds and co workers,i can almost guarentee you that you probably know people who have had surgerys like yours since everyones c spines all seem to be a mess once you hit a certain age.it is just really really common now since people can get alot of different surgerys done on an out patient basis.they just opt for the quickest way to get it done and move on.that was my plan too til things just went horribly wrong with my 'plan',and its been downhill ever since.
and PLEASE stay the heck away from any chiros for any adjustments on your c spine area.there are just soo many possible things that could go horribly wrong if the chiro doesn't have alot of experience or something just goes the wrong way.anywhere below the c spine,i wouldn't hesitate to go to a chiro since those areas are no where near as heavily innervated with all the nerves that run tru just the c spine itself.the c spine is like one huge junction box of very important nerves that the rest of your spine does not have.its just more dangerous to mess with.good luck and remember,experience and knowledge of your particular problem is the big thing to remember when looking for any type of surgeron.it may take more time to actually find one,but this is your c spine and any major comlications could cost you way more than you want.good luck and please keep us posted.marcia
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
The first thing I would say is, do a search on the doctor.
I always do this, and you will find a wealth of info just by putting the Doctor's name into a search engine. I found that my doc (an ortho) was not only teaching new techniques for ACDF, but was doing reasearch and tests on new techniques, technology and drugs for improving these surgeries. He has numerous papers written and published on the subject(s) as well.
You can also try word of mouth, find someone you know who had a successful surgery and get a name.
I think that the discussion on which type of surgeon is better is a moot point, in that it really matter's more that they know what their doing, are skilled at it, and have high success ratios.
My surgery was very successful, C5-6 and C6-7. I am still pain free after 2 years and 5 months and do most everything I want to.
I think its just important to go with what you feel most comfortable with. I've heard things go really well and really bad in both cases, so its important on who YOU trust and your gut feeling, but don't just relay on what you hear from here or what ppl tell you. Do your own investigating, ask questions, If it will give you peace of mind- visit ortho and neuro floors and ask nurses who they think is good if you have too. Esp. the ICU's because they will know what docs are good and bad, for example what docs have best rate and how their patients do and who are the ones that have patients come out with problems and infections- Do this if you truely are fretting but you can easily obsess too much by deciding to investigate this as well, but if you start asking nurses, ask a few, because they will have their bias as well - I started doing this but I ended up going with the first choice I had in mind anyway, I was just getting nervous.
You can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out, at some point you just have to bite the bullet, stop fretting about it and just go forward and not look back. Good Luck to you, I'll pray for you to find a good doc.
My only concern for you in this regard is to keep in mind that there is major nerve stuff going on in that C5-6 area. If you go ortho ask if they are going to be monitoring your nerves durring surgery, because they did for me and I went with neuro and if not, I would suggest requesting it. I was also sent for an EMG (nerve study) before surgery so they could get an idea if there was any nerve damage or not before hand.
Last edited by PearlDoves; 11-18-2006 at 08:20 PM.
I wouldn't go with a doc that I knew had patients came out with infections even if he was nice and my best friend, lol. Performance was something I was concerned about and asked about in regard to my surgeon as well, and found him to have been regarded as a top doc, and in tune with standards and so on. I learned he was very careful and protective to over-protective of his patients. I have a luxury that many people may not because I work around docs, so my emotional aspect of it all may have been playing into my writings, but at one point I was investigating someone who I didn't know at all. I believe investigating and logic in these decisions are very important. Sorry for any distress I might have caused.
Last edited by PearlDoves; 12-01-2006 at 11:00 AM.
