The most common question
The most common question I am asked when I see a patient who is a surgical candidate is, “You’re an orthopedic surgeon, right?”. “Yes”. “Well….should I have you do my surgery or a neurosurgeon?”. I often try to help my patient by restating the question for them. They are nervous and are trying to ask this question without upsetting their doctor. The question might be, Should I have a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon do my surgery? My answer “Neither!”. You don’t want an orthopedic surgeon that does sports medicine, joint replacement and/or hand surgery. You also don’t want a neurosurgeon that does brain tumors, peripheral nerve releases and carotid surgery. You want an orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon who has completed their residency in their respective primary field of training and then gone on to complete a minimum twelve month fellowship in spine surgery and limits their practice to surgery of the spine.
This is important for a number or reasons. The single highest risk factor for surgical complications is the training level of the operating surgeon. Those surgeons performing spine surgery without having a fellowship in spine surgery will have the highest complication rates. Of course any surgeon can have a complication of surgery such as infection, neurologic deficit, failure of fusion etc…. The issue is one of risk for the patient and our opinion is that the risk is the lowest when the surgery is performed by a fellowship trained surgeon.
So if you are contemplating having a spine surgery to correct a problem not amenable to nonsurgical care, make sure your surgeon has a fellowship in spine surgery and limits their practice to surgery of the spine.
Hi all,
At the age of 26, in 1996, I suffered a rupture of my L-5 S-1 disk, diganosed by my primary physician. He sent me to a back specialist who recommended bed rest and pain meds for 3 months in hopes the swelling and pain would be reduced enough to avoid surgery. It took 4 months but it worked. Between 1996 and 2006 I suffered many bouts with the ruptured disk but nothing that took more than a few weeks of rest to heal. Then in 2006 I had the big bang. The disk ruptured so badly it almost completely compressed the sciatic nerve in my left leg. After months of local physicians trying to help I was sent to Dr. Blumberg. After a lengthly talk and examination he felt my MRI did not match up with my verbal account of recent intensification in pain and the results he got from the tests he was performing. He immediately got me into a clinic down the road for another MRI and had me bring back the results. His intuition and skill proved right as the disk had further ruptured completely shutting off the nerve to my leg. Within a week he had me on the table and performed a discectomy, saving my leg and leaving me completely pain free for over 3 years. Unfortunately my L-4 has now ruptured just as badly but again I turned to Dr. Blumberg for the solution. Though I am scared to have another surgery I would feel the same fears if it were surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. But I have complete faith in Dr. Blumberg and know I will once again leave his care with a better quality of life. In truth I expect to eventually be pain free, though the odds are against it. However, the odds were against me the first time, too, and Dr. Blumberg helped me defy them. I have no less faith that he will once again succeed and perform a double PLIF that will give this forty-year old a new and pain-free lease on life. Thanks Dr. Blumberg for providing such excellent care and spectacular results.
Kal, you are a very eloquent writer. Clear and concise, which I would expect from a surgeon, but the flow of your prose is quite enjoyable to read… nicely done.