There are many different areas of neurosurgery.
In the brain ("brain surgery") some of the conditions commonly seen include:
- Brain aneurysms - weaknesses on blood vessels that can burst, leading to death or stroke
- Carotid stenosis - narrowing of the arteries supplying the brain, possible leading to stroke or a warning 'TIA'
- Vascular malformations - which can bleed - some are congenital (meaning we are born with them), and some develop later in life
- Brain tumours - both benign (often curable with surgery) and malignant ( often incurable, but sometimes controllable with surgery)
- Acoustic neuromas - a kind of tumour at the base of the brain, related to the hearing nerves
- Trigeminal neuralgia - terrible 'spasms' of facial pain that are curable with surgery
- Hemifacial spasm - involuntary twitching on one side of the face - often curable with surgery
- Hydrocephalus - a build up of fluid in the brain - treatable with an endoscope (a surgical camera) or with a shunt (to divert the fluid)
- Head injury - blood clots ('haematomas') can develop after a head injury and some need to be removed with surgery
Some of the spinal conditions treated (in both the lower back and neck) include:
- Herniated or 'slipped' disc - which presses on a nerve in the spine causing 'sciatica' (or pain in the leg)
- Narrowing of the spinal canal - causing leg or arm weakness or pain
- Compression of the spinal cord - causing arm and leg weakness or difficulty with fine movements
- Tumours in the spine
- Blood vessel abnormalities in the spine
- Back pain - sometimes requiring treatment with 'spinal fusion'
Peripheral Nerve problems treated by a neurosurgeon include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome - burning and weakness in the hands, often worse at night
- Ulnar nerve compression - similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, but caused by compression of a nerve at the elbow
- Leg weakness caused by compression of nerves in the leg
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Nerve tumours in various places in the body and extremities
A Neurosurgeon has unique training to be able to treat many of these potentially life altering, or life threatening problems
