Neurosurgery

Overview of Neurosurgery

Modern surgery has developed to such an extent that the body of knowledge and technical skills required have led to surgeons specializing in particular areas, usually an anatomical area of the body or occasionally in a particular technique or type of patient.

What do Neurosurgeons do?

Neurosurgery encompasses the diagnosis, assessment, and surgical management of disorders of the nervous system. The specialty developed in the first half of the twentieth century through the treatment of head and brain injuries. Subsequent advances in technology, intensive care and sophisticated non-invasive procedures have widened the scope of neurosurgical practice to include oncology services and neurovascular as well as trauma.

The principle sub-specialties of neurosurgery

• Paediatric neurosurgery – treatment of children accounts for 10-15 percent of neurosurgery and includes facial anomalies and congenital spinal defects as well as tumors and other rarer conditions.
• Neuro-oncology – the management of brain and spinal tumors.
• Functional neurosurgery – the management of a wide range of problems including epilepsy, spasticity and movement disorders. 
• Neurovascular surgery – surgeons work closely with interventional colleagues dealing with complex aneurysms and abnormal or narrowed blood vessels.
• Traumatology – head injury remains a major cause of death and disability in children and young adults. Research shows that prompt neurosurgical intervention and neuro-intensive care leads to substantially better outcomes. 
• Skull-base surgery – advances in microsurgery, surgical approaches, and reconstructions have been incorporated into the routine practice of surgeons dealing with disorders of the skull-base and skull-base tumours.
• Spinal surgery – due in part to an increased elderly population the subspecialty accounts for more than 50 percent of department workloads.

Main operations

Neurosurgeons undertake operations for a wide range of conditions affecting the central nervous system spine and peripheral nerves including:

• The removal of brain, spinal, and skull based tumors 
• Managing trauma to the head and spine
• Prolapsed discs and other degenerative spinal conditions