Spine surgeon

• Laminectomy with fusion for cervical spondylotic myelopathy is associated with higher early morbidity and risk of perioperative complications compared with laminectomy alone: a retrospective study in the United States
• Clinical outcomes of posterior cervical fusion in the setting of increasing age and medical complexity: an American national database analysis from 2012 to 2022
• A Second Look at the Use of VersaWrap Nerve Protector in Spine Surgery: A Case Report
• Neural network-based multi-task learning to assist planning of posterior spinal fusion surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
• Geographic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Robotic Spine Surgery Access in the Continental United States: A Cross-Sectional Ecological Analysis
• New options and techniques in reconstructing the sacrum
• Reoperation Rates After Lumbar Discectomy in Pediatric Patients
• When can lumbar fusion be considered appropriate in the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation? A systematic review and meta-analysis

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.

Spine surgeons must correlate clinical presentation with radiographic findings in a patient-tailored approach.

A total of 206 (148 orthopedic, 58 neurosurgery trained) spine surgeons 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 ¹⁾.

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