Neurosurgery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central and peripheral nervous system diseases amenable to mechanical intervention.

Contents 1 Definition and scope 2 Conditions 3 Education 4 Job Field 5 External links

[edit] Definition and scope

According to the U.S. Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) [1],

“

Neurological Surgery is a discipline of medicine and that specialty of surgery which provides the operative and nonoperative management (ie, prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care, and rehabilitation) of disorders of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their supporting structures and vascular supply; the evaluation and treatment of pathological processes that modify the function or activity of the nervous system, including the hypophysis: and the operative and nonoperative management of pain. As such, neurological surgery encompasses the surgical, nonsurgical and stereotactic radiosurgical treatment of adult and pediatric patients with disorders of the nervous system: disorders of the brain, meninges, skull base, and their blood supply, including the surgical and endovascular treatment of disorders of the intracranial and extracranial vasculature supplying the brain and spinal cord; disorders of the pituitary gland; disorders of the spinal cord, meninges, and vertebral column, including those that may require treatment by fusion, instrumentation,or endovascular techniques; and disorders of the cranial and spinal nerves throughout their distribution.

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[edit] Conditions

Neurosurgical conditions include primarily brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve disorders.

Conditions treated by neurosurgeons include:

• Spinal disc herniation
• Spinal stenosis
• Hydrocephalus
• Head trauma (brain hemorrhages, skull fractures, etc.)
• Spinal cord trauma
• Traumatic injuries of peripheral nerves
• Brain tumors
• Tumors of the spine, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
• Cerebral aneurysms
• Some forms of hemorrhagic stroke, such as subarachnoid hemorrhages, as well as intraparenchymal and intraventricular hemorrhages
• Some forms of pharmacologically resistant epilepsy
• Some forms of movement disorders (advanced Parkinson's disease, chorea, hemiballism) - this involves the use of specially developed minimally invasive stereotactic techniques (functional, stereotactic neurosurgery)
• Intractable pain of cancer or trauma patients and cranial/peripheral nerve pain
• Some forms of intractable psychiatric disorders
• Malformations of the nervous system
• Carotid artery stenosis
• Arteriovenous malformations of the brain and spinal cord
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Moyamoya disease

[edit] Education

A person pursuing a neurosurgical career will go through high school and into college. If the college or university of the individual's choice does not have an undergraduate medical programme (i.e. of direct entry) then the person will take courses fitting a pre-medical outline and all prerequisits required such as the United States' MCAT and Australia and New Zealand's UMAT entry tests. After graduating from medical school and meeting requirements set by their local authorities the person will apply for residencies in neurosurgery that can last up to eight years. Some neurosurgeons will pursue a fellowship after residency to obtain further specialization in the field.

See also Medical education in the United Kingdom and Medical education in the United States for more information

[edit] Job Field

Neurosurgeons work in a variety of practice settings. Some neurosurgeons practice general neurosurgery, while others choose to limit their practice to specific subspecialties. Practices range from solo practices to large group practices with multidisciplinary components. Increasingly, neurosurgeons are working together with physiatrists, neurologists and therapists to provide comprehensive care for patients with neurologic disorders such as back pain. About 20 percent of neurosurgeons practice under the auspices of a university practice plan, while the majority of neurosurgeons maintain private practices often with academic affiliations. Typical work schedules for a neurosurgeon include call coverage for one or more emergency rooms requiring sometimes frequent emergency surgeries. According to the bureau of Labor Statistics the median net earnings for a neurosurgeon in the United States is just over $412,000.00 annually. Many neurosurgeons, particularly those with high volume and/or subspeciality focused practices, make considerably more than this.

[edit] External links

• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American Association of Neurologic Surgeons
• American Board of Neurological Surgery
• Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
• Brain Surgery-Neurosurgery Patient Help Site
• European Association of Neurosurgical Societies
• Neurology Society of India
• Stanford University Department of Neurosurgery
• University of Florida Department of Neurosurgery
• Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurosurgery
• Nature Clinical Practice Neurology