So you finally decided to go under spinal surgery to improve your quality of life and drastically reduce the pain levels. This is a brave decision but now it comes another hard choice: who will be the doctor performing the surgery? Maybe you have already made the choice of who you will trust this important surgery but if you still haven’t decided yet you should read this article to know how to find the perfect spine doctor Beverly Hills.
What Type of Surgeon is the Right One for a Spinal Surgery?
This depends on the problem you have, for a tumor surgery the best option is to go with a neurosurgeon while to correct a deformity an orthopedic surgeon is a better choice.
Is the Surgeon board-eligible or board-certified?
Your surgeon has to be board-certified and be a member or a spine organization like the American Board of spine surgeons.
Have a Good Relationship with the Surgeon
You should always feel comfortable with your surgeon and have a good relationship with him. Your surgeon must have the best interests in mind and be transparent with you about the risk of the surgery, the benefits and how is the recovery process going to be. The surgeon has to explain the procedure to you and how it works in terms that you can understand. Since most spine issues don’t require surgery so always your surgeon why you need the surgery.
The Surgeon’s Experience
Spinal surgery is a complicated procedure that not every surgeon is capable of performing. Practice makes perfect so when you talk with the surgeon and he recommends you a specific type of surgery you should always ask if the specialist has any type of experience with that surgery and how many times he has performed that surgery before. On the Medicare data, you can check the number of procedures the doctor has performed and the complication rates.
Fellowship Trained in Spine Surgery
Many surgeons make a fellowship in spinal surgery. These programs are focused on specific areas of spinal surgery like a spinal deformity or degenerative spinal surgery. This is important when you are getting extensive surgery like an artificial disc replacement.
Talk to Nurses and Colleagues
Talk to other doctors, nurses, and hospital employees and ask them opinions about the doctor, if they would trust him to perform spinal surgery for them or a relative. Nurses of the emergency room have a better knowledge of which doctors have the most complications.