Spine Surgery: Orthopaedic Surgeon or Neurosurgeon?

In the event that you require spinal surgery to cure your injured back, the first and most important decision you have to make is to choose between an orthopaedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon. The choice of the right surgeon is extremely important and you have to consider factors such as the experience and success rate of the surgeon. So how different are these 2 doctors?

You will first need to understand that both are able to carry out spine surgery. In the past, neurosurgeons were the only ones that could qualify to perform spine surgery. With the evolution in medical techniques, orthopaedic surgeons are well equipped with the knowledge and skills to carry out spine surgeries for patients as well.

Neurosurgeons are medically trained doctors who have completed at least a 4 to 7 years worth of gruelling neurosurgery residency. Neurosurgeons specialise in disorders affecting the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and nerves. There is however one distinct part that sets them apart from orthopaedic surgeons. Neurosurgeons are the only people who are able to perform surgery that is inside the dura mater of the spine. If the patient has a tumour in the spinal cord, cysts or spinal cord malfunction, only a neurosurgeon is able to perform the surgery for him.

Orthopaedic surgeons on the other hand are medically trained doctors who have completed a 5 years surgical residency focusing on musculoskeletal disorders such as the bones and joints. Most orthopaedic doctors focus on sports injuries and bone disorders. Some orthopaedic surgeons will choose to focus on spinal injuries and they will have to spend additional few years of their time to complete fellowship training on the spine. Other than the few specialised surgeries that only a neurosurgeon can carry out, orthopaedic doctors are able to carry out other spinal surgeries.

When choosing a surgeon to perform spinal surgery for you, the main question is not to decide on whether an orthopaedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon since both are equally adept to perform the surgery. Instead, you should be asking what is his specialisation. Some are specialised in cervical spine surgeries while some are inclined to lumbar disorders. The important questions you would want to ask is how many similar surgeries have they performed to date and what are the success rates. Spinal surgery being a major surgery, you would want a very experienced surgeon to perform it on you.