What is a neurosurgeon?

A neurosurgeon is a specially trained medical doctor who diagnoses and treats conditions that affect your nervous system — your brain, spinal cord and nerves. Neurosurgeons perform surgery on your nervous system, but they can also provide nonsurgical treatments. They typically try all nonoperative treatment methods — like medications, steroid injections and physical therapies — before recommending surgery.

Neurosurgeons can also diagnose and treat conditions that affect the structures that support your nervous system, including:

What does a neurosurgeon

do?

A neurosurgeon assesses, diagnoses and treats conditions that affect your body’s nervous system, which includes your brain, spinal cord and spinal column, and all of your nerves that extend from your spinal cord.

While neurosurgeons can perform complex surgery in your spine and brain, they often suggest nonsurgical or conservative care first. For example, if you have chronic back pain, your neurosurgeon may first recommend anti-inflammatory drugs and/or physical therapy. If your pain doesn’t respond to these treatments, your neurosurgeon may recommend surgery, if possible.

A neurosurgeon is skilled in several surgical and procedure techniques, including:

• Open surgery.
• Minimally invasive surgery.
• Endoscopic surgery.
• Microsurgery.
• Radiosurgery.
• Endovascular surgery.
• Chronic pain interventional procedures.

Neurosurgeons also have thorough training in the tests needed to diagnose and treat neurological conditions. They’re skilled at operating and analyzing the following testing machines:

What kind of surgeries do neurosurgeons perform?

Neurosurgeons perform several kinds of surgeries and procedures depending on the part of your nervous system — or supporting tissues and structures — that’s affected.

Types of brain surgery include:

• Blood clot removal.
• Aneurysm repair.
• Tumor removal.
• Brain bleed (hemorrhage) stoppage.
• Trauma repair.
• Shunt insertion.