====== Spine surgeon ======

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When patients are considering having [[spine surgery]], one of the most common questions they have is, "Which is better, a [[neurosurgeon]] or an orthopedic spine [[surgeon]]?" The quick answer is that for most types of [[spine surgery]], both specially trained orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons may be considered. This article profiles the similarities and differences between the two specialties and provides additional advice on how to select a spine surgeon.

Both Can Specialize in Spine Surgery


Many years ago, neurosurgeons were primarily responsible for spine surgery, but in the past 20-25 years or so spine surgery has evolved so that both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons specialize in spine surgery, and for most of the typical spine operations both types of surgeons are equally well qualified.

In both specialties, the surgeons may subspecialize, such as in the case of surgeons who specialize in pediatrics, cervical spine, lumbar spine, hand and wrist surgery, plastic surgery, or in other areas or procedures.

Neurosurgeons

Neurosurgeons may be Medical Doctors or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, and complete a five to six year residency focused on the surgical treatment of neurological conditions.


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Spine surgeons must correlate clinical presentation with radiographic findings in a patient-tailored approach.
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A total of 206 (148 orthopedic, 58 neurosurgery trained) [[spine surgeon]]s were included. Spine surgeon ratings and demographics data from 3 physician rating websites (Healthgrades.com [HG], Vitals.com, Google.com [G]) were collected in November 2019. Using the first 10 search results from G we then identified if the surgeons had publicly accessible Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (IG) accounts.

Results: The mean age of the cohort was 54.3 years (±9.40 years), and 28.2% had one form of publicly accessible SM. Having any SM was significantly correlated with higher scores on HG and G. An IG account was associated with significantly higher scores on all 3 platforms, and having a Facebook account correlated with significantly higher scores on HG in multivariate analysis. An office wait time between 16 and 30 minutes and >30 minutes was associated with worse scores on all 3 platforms (all P < 0.05). An academic practice was associated with higher scores on all 3 platforms (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: A shorter office wait time and an academic setting practice are associated with higher patient satisfaction scores on all 3 physician review websites. Accessible SM accounts are also associated with higher ratings on physician review websites, particularly IG
((Donnally CJ 3rd, McCormick JR, Pastore MA, Sama AJ, Schiller NC, Li DJ, Bondar KJ, Shenoy K, Spielman AF, Kepler CK, Vaccaro AR. Social Media Presence Correlated with Improved Online Review Scores for Spine Surgeons. World Neurosurg. 2020 Sep;141:e18-e25. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2020.04.045. Epub 2020 Apr 18. PMID: 32311565.)).

===== The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic =====

[[Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Management of Spinal Disorders]]