What kind of surgeon?

ICC

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.

Monty44

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!

whackedback

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.

wb

mb100

My neuro did an acdf that failed on 2 out of 3 levels.

My ortho fixed it.

Go figger.

I gotta go with Monty on this one.

Good Luck...Mike

ICC

not sure but what i have read tells me that when it comes to fusions an ortho spince specialist is the way to go.

Monty44

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.

mb100

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.

oldman21

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.

SKZ

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.

rosequartz

you could go with an ENT.....mine did head and neck surgery

mb100

I would be going for the best one. I got my referral from a friend and looked him up on the hospital website.

SKZ

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

SpineAZ

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.

Karin
C5-C7 ACDF 5/06 @ age 39

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Rt thumb fusion '13. R&L thumb arthroplasty '12 ; RT TKR & Bilat CTS' 11. Fusions: L5-S1('87), L4-S1('93), C5-C7('06), L3-S1('10), C4-C5('13). C5-C7 foraminotomy '08

puparoo

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