thanks Bruce that is alot of useful info.

I say Neurosurgeon! My dad used an Orthapedica and it did not go well, where I had a Neurosurgeon and had a totally different recovery!

TaraW

First you need to do your own research on the potential surgeons. Years ago neurosurgeons were the only ones to work on the cervical portion of the spine but now-a-days ortho surgeons do the disc surgeries too. Either surgeon will be fine as long as you do your research on them and you feel comfortable with him/her. For any reason you fell iffy or you get a gut feeling about the doctor, keep looking. My first surgeon was a neuro but the one doing my future surgery is an ortho. Good Luck.

HI,

Mines an Ortho has a good repuation but is a man of few words which is really annoying. He often skims over my questionsand when I left relaise he hasn't answered them!

The nurses say that he works by, if you don't ask you don't want to know but sometimes the lack of straight talking is quite frustrating. And yes, I told him this too.

So, I know what a mushroom feels like, In the dark!

I have a spinal sergeon that is both He is the head of a great hospital here in Colorado. So If anyone is looking for a great Dr. or even a 2nd opinion I think my Dr. is one of the best. I have had the great joy of being rejected by Dr.s cause how complex my case is. And had a few that just didn't know how to treat what was going on. I have fusions in neck and back

Hi,
I am new to the site.I had spinal fusion from T9 to L1 with rods,cage,etc.I had an anterior and posterior approach.I think I am doing well,but would like to hear from others.It's hard to know if you are on track when you don't have a first post op visit with doc until 9 weeks after surgery.Any feedback will be appreciated.
Thanks Kay

I wasn't sure if I needed an Orthopedic Surgeon or Neurosurgeon for my C7 fracture. After talking to both, the neurosurgeon convinced me. My C7 was loose and was affecting my spinal cord. So since the surgery would involve the surgeon working so close to my spinal cord, it was easy to decide on the Neurosurgeon.

ToYoung, I was really excited to see someone in Colorado in a post talking about surgeons. I've put a link below to the doc that I'm consulting with about surgery on Monday - he was referred to me by a friend's co-worker who said he's fantastic. Who did you use?

Three years ago I was in bad shape because, I had two ruptrued disc plus three bulging. Also My sciactic nerve was pinched down my left leg with a dropped foot. The neurosurgeon i was refered to said he could fix my but, did not know how much nerve damage was done. So he offered two options L4S/L5S1 microdiscectomy or an fusion we went with the microdiscectomy. The unexpected hapened during surgery the discs that ruptured calicfied around my nerve and, he scraped all of around the nerve.

Right after sugery I did not have a dropped foot and, everyone was amazed how well things worked out for me. The only never damage have is a little numbess in my big toe so, I'm very happy how I turned out. For the neurosurgons get my vote. Still for my situation I have to stay active tru to walk 1-2 miles per plus daily stretching. If I ever need anything spine related I'm back to my neurosugeon because, he made me a believer. On a light note I'm a avid bowler and, I was able to get back to bowling and did not miss a beat. I'm sure there plenty ortho surgeons that could have this same surgery with no problem. It is amazing what surgeons can these days. Best of luck to everyone

and I feel I coudn't have made a better choice. Now I also has developed a severe scoliosis from the disc being lost on one side for several levels so an N/S was out of the question.
The O/s both fused my lumbar and corrected the scoliosis and I have to say he is wonderful. He patiently answers all my questions and even draws diagrams where necessary (I am a visual person) and I have never been out of his office in under 30 mins.
He is polite and diplomatic and I feel I really picked a winner on all counts.

I do know a lot of both O/S and N/S who wouldn't give you the time of day if you begged for it so I do think it is up to the individual Dr and the condition you are having treated.

Blessings Sara

Do you have any sites for Canadian trials? Thanks Charry

Afraid none that I know of.

When I had my back fused 2 years ago, I first went to a OS,a NS assisted him, which I was told they always do with any back surgery. Had I known better, I would have gone to the NS first, his care and knowledge helped more than the OS. I am dealing with scar tissue as a result of the surgery and the NS has been more helpful. Hope this helps.

I went with the neurosurgeon as I had the fear of
a surgeon damaging my nerves and arachnoid spaces.

I was assigned a post operative physical therapy program and went to a week in a step down rehab unit after a week in the hospital for three level fusion with cages and instrumentation.

I am now going to have a revision surgery because an auto accident caused a disc fragment and non union which we have
following for three years.

I did so great after my spinal fusion and three months had
an auto wreck that damaged my SI joint and back again.

I am so scared, although the radiologist said it won't be as bad as the first surgery as this is a type of touch up.

I will get second and third opionions again. Anyone have to have a revision of their fusion for non union? How did you do ?

BJ

I am sorry about all your troubles and that you need a revision. Several people posted on this site who needed or had revision surgeries. Hopefully some people will respond who would be able to share a similar experiences with you.

Best wishes,

Kin

Has anybody had nucleoplasty done? If so, did it work or help? Also, if you have any knowledge about nucleoplasty's success that would help. I have an L5-S1 contained herniation that causes mild sciata down my right leg. I have done some research and talked to an ortho about it. He seems to say its kind of new and they dont know how well it works quite yet, but he didnt seeme opposed to me finding a dr in town who does this procedure. The ortho said that it wouldnt inhibit his ability to do a microdiscectomy if i so chose to go that route eventually. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I have worked with both Ortho and Neuro guys in my career. I am a highly trained health professional who decided to go into research & development instead of medicinal practice.
Furthermore I have been in hundreds of spine surgeries with both Ortho and Nuero surgeons.

I ll make this short and sweet...
Nuero docs are more maticulous and skilled generally when dealing with spinal procedures. And when your in situ(in the wound) and working around the dura with instrumentation...thats a good thing.
Whereas Orthopedic guys (or ladies) tend to run into in situ itrogenic (surgeon caused) complications that require longer procedure time and potentially less efficacious post surgical results.

Go Nuero - going ortho is like taking a import car to a garage that specializes in domestic... even though they know what they re doing, take it to the import guy, its they re specialty

Well, I am in the US, in California to be precise, and I believe that when it comes to the lumbar area below the point where the spinal cord ends, a skilled OS can be every bit as good as some NS, of course, he or she has to have special training in spinal surgery. My OS had his spinal fellowship at Harvard, and has a very good reputation (in addition to being just a real nice guy). I had a textbook perfect three-level spinal fusion and both at the hospital and at the rehab the OT and nurses kept telling me that they can spot his patients because they are doing so much better than others, with significantly less complication. I know that not all OSs are created equal, as neither are all the NSs, but before somebody makes this judgment just based on the speciality, this person should do extensive research about the surgeon in question, in order not to dismiss perhaps the best choice.

Kin

I have decided to have a neurosurgeon perform my L4-L5 level PLIF next month. I had seen a couple of orthos last year...all saying that a fusion would be my only choice. Then, I started having nerve problems in my right leg, so I went to see a couple of neurosurgeons. Both of them said that a fusion was the only alternative. So, since I am currently having nerve problems along with disk issues, I chose to go with a neurosurgeon for my operation. I'll let you know if I should have chosen otherwise after the fact (like it'll make a difference then).

Well I am feeling pretty lucky, I get to have both, my surgery was originally scheduled for Dec. 10th but was canceled due to a big misunderstanding, I just had it rescheduled and my ortho surgeon got a better look at the area he would enter in and he noticed I have a short neck with a high collar bone which is going to be difficult with a C5 to 7 fusion, so he is calling on a neuro to assist in the surgery and I am glad now it was cancelled, cause having two surgeons on the job makes me feel a little safer.

Great information everyone. Thanks

I have had both lumbar and cervical fusions. I had the same surgeon do both, an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. I actually did not find a neuro I felt I could trust my spine to. When I had L3-S1 fused 360, my surgeon had a Vascular surgeon open anteriorly for him. Good thing he did, I had a softball-sized lipoma lying on my anterior spinal column, wrapped around some arteries...

I believe that both ortho or neuro are trained to help spiney patients. The important thing is building that trust - relationship and he is listening to your problem. Also, don't just take one opinion, always gather a few opinions from several doctors, and learn what options he gives you.

I first went to a neurosurgeon who wanted to perform a 360 on me, just for a fusion. I know with my diabetes, i will not heal well if that much of me is 'cut'. I looked for options, then realized that my current doc, a friend, is skilled at Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. This is a fairly new technology. More and more conventional neuro and ortho spine doctors are learning this skill. Of course, there are some who still prefers the conventional way of 'open' surgery, like the first doc that I went to.

You want to ask, too, if your doc is a neckie doc or a lumbar doc. Different parts of the spine requires different skills and procedures. Make sure you know that he is doing those kind of things daily and therefore skillful at what he does.

Building trust is important. Because who knows, a few years down the line, and if my leg hurts again (touch-wood), and I go back to my doc and inform him of it, he must believe me, order a CT or MRI to determine what is the next step that both of us agree of. If he tells me that it is not nerve irritation, just a muscle pull, I won't argue with him.

zach

Hi,

I think this decision is really also about personal "matches" of doctor and patient.

I went to one of the top spinal orthopedic surgeons in the area - highly recommended though no one seems to give high marks for "bedside manner." After 3 visits, I can safely say I spent longer IN the MRI machine than with the doctor. I didn't feel I knew anything about what was going on and what options were. I felt I had to "sneak a peek" at my own MRIs when no one was in the room.

I went to a neurosurgeon and it was just great. First met with his PA, they pulled out the MRI, drew on them, explained everything. Asked questions beyond "how much pain are you in?" I felt really good, even though the only option was surgery. But I could see on the MRI why that made sense. They run really late on appts but you know that you will get their attention when they get to you.

I would say that it is good practice to maybe get two opinions - one from an orthopedist and another from the neurosurgeon. I felt the orthopedist was more worried with actual pain...the neurosurgeon with other symptoms (weakness, numbness, leg issues).

But it all comes down to who you trust in the end. Even if the orthopedist came to the same decision (surgery) I wouldn't have felt comfortable under that knife...

I went to both an orthopedic surgeon and a neurosurgeon for opinions. Both had the same conclusion and both would have been great choices for my microscopic discectomy. Both had stellar reputations. Went with the orthopedic surgeon (and an AP of Neurosurgery) because he was in my PPO's plan and I'm very happy with the outcome. He has a background in both plus bio-mechanics.

My surgeon's short list resume:
Professor of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery and Biomechanical Engineering with expertise in the surgical treatment of all neck and back disordersand Executive Co-Director of UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center

Overall - Seek an opinion with both types of surgeons. Get lots of referrals and you will definitely feel that "connection" with the right one. Make sure they've done your surgery many times and again - get lots of referrals.

My friend who is a Physical Therapist gave me references and who better to get an opinion from besides friends and family. PT's see all these patients post op and can recognize good work from bad work.

Second opinions are important and if you're not happy go for the 3rd and 4th! It's your health!

Being as how I had a degenerative disc and spinal cysts my primary doc thought it best to go that route.

Removing my comment as many found it offensive.

Jes -- Obviously you must believe this to be true, too, or you wouldn't say you "would personally never let anyone but a neurosurgeon work on my spine."

Perhaps you are referring to an orthopedic surgeon and not a fellowship-trained orthopedic spinal surgeon. There is obviously a difference in their training.

The AMA is considering designating a new specialty of "spinal surgeon" because in recent years the training of a neurosurgeon who specializes in the back and spine (as opposed to brain surgery) and an orthopedic spinal surgeon are almost identical.

I think this is an unfair statement. My ortho has performed 5 surgeries on me and if he moved across the country I would fly to his location for my next surgery.

He did not do my spine surgery because that is not his specialty but if he opted to I would allow him to in a second.

I think when you make gross statements like this you put orthos in a bad light. And to preface your statement that this is not how you feel with 'personally never let anyone but a neurosurgeon work on my spine' does not make sense. And you obviously don't understand the training involved to become a surgeon to come out with the comments you did!

My surgeon is an orthopedic surgeon specialising in spinal surgery. He did a brilliant job on me and I have heard nothing but rave reviews about him.

I had both surgeons for both my surgeries, thank God!! They were both great!

Evelyn

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