Which is better, a neurosurgeon or an orthopaedic spine surgeon? is one of the most frequent queries patients have when thinking about having spine surgery. The short answer is that both specially trained orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons may be taken into consideration for the majority of spine surgeries.
In the future, “spine specialists” may be a clearly defined medical speciality with its own board certification. This is not the situation right now. Patients must take great care to confirm that their physician has earned the necessary board certification. This guarantees that the doctor has passed both written and oral exams and has attained the highest standards set by his or her peers. In this case, going to a neurosurgeon in Ludhiana is a great option for you.
Neurosurgeon and Orthopaedic surgeon: Attributes:
- Orthopaedic surgeon: Medical doctors (MD) or doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) who have finished a five-year surgical residency programme with a focus on the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions can become orthopaedic surgeons. Orthopedists are experts in identifying and treating almost all conditions involving the bones and joints, including:
- spinal conditions
- Arthritis
- athletic injuries
- Trauma
- Bone cancer
- Hand sprains and malformations
Some orthopaedic surgeons concentrate solely on spine surgery, while others divide their time between two or more specialities, such as hip, knee, and shoulder surgery.
- Doctors of medicine or doctors of osteopathic medicine who specialise in the surgical treatment of neurological disorders can become neurosurgeons after completing a five- to six-year residency. Neurosurgeons have received training in the identification and management of conditions involving:
- spine and spinal cord,
- The brain
- Nerves
- internal and external spinal veins
Neurosurgeons can specialise in either brain surgery or spine surgery, or they can combine the two in their practise.
- After completing their residency, orthopaedic and neurosurgery can further their education by completing a spine fellowship. For orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons who have successfully completed their residency training and obtained their board certification or eligibility in their specialty, these fellowships offer additional, specialised training.
This wasn’t always the situation. It was uncommon and frequently not an option for orthopaedic surgeons or neurosurgeons to complete a spine fellowship programme prior to spine surgery becoming a recognised subspecialty, which was 15 to 20 years ago. If a surgeon has focused their practice on spine surgery for as long as they have, then they have likely earned their additional training in their practice and may not have completed a fellowship.Â
- Differences:Â
There are a few areas where the differences still exist. Only neurosurgeons receive the six to seven years of residency training necessary to perform procedures inside the dura, the lining of the spinal canal. Thus, a few other diagnoses such as tumours at the junction of the base of the skull and upper cervical spine, nerve root tumours, syringomyelia, arachnoid cysts, Chiari malformation, spinal cord arteriovenous malformation, diplomyelia or diastematomyelia, tethered spinal cord, spina bifida or myelomeningocele, lipomyelomeningocele etc. Scoliosis and other spinal deformities are similarly still primarily treated surgically by orthopaedic spine specialists in both children and adults.
Final word:
It is not a surprise that in this era of everything being online that spines are being injured due to a more sitting based lifestyle. To overcome this visiting a Neurologist in Ludhiana would be the best option for you.
