Hybrid procedures guides with Serge Obukhoff right now? How many years does it take to be a neurosurgeon? It takes approximately 14 to 16 years to become a neurosurgeon, including pre-med (undergrad) education, medical school, internship and residency. Neurosurgeons undergo one of the longest training periods of any medical specialty due to the complexity of the field of medicine. What are some neurosurgery subspecialty fields? Some neurosurgery subspecialty fields include: Cerebrovascular surgery, Endovascular surgical neuroradiology, Epilepsy surgery, Functional neurosurgery. See additional information on Dr. Serge Obukhoff.
Some of the traditional spine surgery procedures we provide include laminectomy, microdiscectomy and traditional lumbar fusion. Laminectomy is a procedure that is used to treat spinal stenosis or pressure on the nerves of the low back. The surgery involves an incision on the back of the spine that allows the surgeon to remove bone spurs and thickened ligaments that are pressing on the nerves of the low back. Microdiscectomy is used to treat nerve pain (sciatica) due to a herniated disc impinging a nerve in the spine. This surgery involves making a small incision in the low back. The surgeon can then identify and remove the herniated disc that is pressing on the nerve.
Foraminotomy. In this procedure, the surgeon enlarges the bony hole where a nerve root exits the spinal canal to prevent bulging disks or joints thickened with age from pressing on the nerve. Nucleoplasty, also called plasma disk decompression. This laser surgery uses radiofrequency energy to treat people with low back pain associated with a mildly herniated disk. The surgeon inserts a needle into the disk. A plasma laser device is then inserted into the needle and the tip is heated, creating a field that vaporizes the tissue in the disk, reducing its size and relieving pressure on the nerves.
Many patients with spine problems can be treated non-surgically. Physical therapy, home exercises, medication and often times spinal injections are recommended prior to considering surgery. If the problem still isn’t resolved, then surgery becomes a good option. For instance, if a patient has significant neurogenic pain in the extremities and non-surgical management has not provided relief, surgical intervention is the best decision. For those with symptoms related to spinal cord or nerve root compression, such as significant weakness in an arm or leg or limb, we may recommend surgical intervention if non-surgical management was unsuccessful.
Spinal fusion. The surgeon removes the spinal disk between two or more vertebrae, then fuses the adjacent vertebrae using bone grafts or metal devices secured by screws. Spinal fusion may result in some loss of flexibility in the spine and requires a long recovery period to allow the bone grafts to grow and fuse the vertebrae together. Artificial disk replacement. This is considered an alternative to spinal fusion for the treatment of people with severely damaged disks. The procedure involves removal of the disk and its replacement by a synthetic disk that helps restore height and movement between the vertebrae.