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The future of private practice neurosurgery and the pitfalls of private equity

Neurosurgery today is much different. Surgical procedures are migrating toward minimally invasive approaches or catheter-based treatment options. Neurosurgeons have seen rising malpractice costs, lower reimbursements, and a movement toward consolidation among hospital or large-group multispecialty practices. The number of ASCs is on the rise, and there is pressure to make many spine procedures outpatient rather than inpatient, putting financial pressure on surgeons to join ASCs. Private equity, although more common in orthopedics, is now commonplace in neurosurgery, but most neurosurgeons have no understanding of how such deals could transform their practice, good or bad.

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 Neurosurgery Evolution: Origins to Modern Innovations (Part I)

Neurosurgery, the medical specialty that treats and repairs disorders and injuries of the nervous system, has a rich and fascinating history. From its origins in ancient civilizations to the modern innovations of the 21st century, the field has undergone a significant evolution that has revolutionized the care and outcomes of patients.

 What’s Next For Neurosurgery?

The past and present of neurological surgery in the midst of technological advancements and innovation through research.

Articles of Interest

The Future of Neurosurgery: A Resident's Perspective

Challenges include the intersection of technology and health care, understanding and modulating the “business” of medicine, and getting control of the medical-legal system. To start, it is important to recognize that patients are better versed about their health care and diseases these days, thanks to public advocacy and the internet. Vanishing are the days when the “doctor knows best.” Today, patients shop for their physician, looking for the most cutting edge surgeons, performing “minimally invasive” procedures while remembering their names. These highly sophisticated patients are raising the bar for physicians, encouraging them to stay ahead of the times in their field. In the same vein, technology has become increasingly intertwined with patient care. Be it the medical records system, vital sign telemetry, functional non-invasive imaging or computer guided surgery, the marriage of medicine and machines is evident.

A Brain Surgery Revolution: Using Sound Instead of Scalpels

Doctors can now operate deep within the brain using focused ultrasound, ushering in a new era of faster, safer incision-free procedures.

Advancing neurosurgery inside and outside the operating room

Experiencing an exponential rate of expansion within neurosurgery is what makes the specialty both challenging and fulfilling.

Art, Passion, and Neurosurgery: The Role of the Society of Neurological Surgeons in Academic Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery is at a crossroads in a time of economic uncertainty. It is also a time of remarkable potential for innovation resulting in dramatic improvement in the way neurosurgeons care for patients and the quality of outcomes.

Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery, State of Art and Future Projections. A Systematic Review

Augmented reality is still mostly used for education, surgical planning, and neuronavigation. This technology has also been implemented in clinical practice; in the last 10 years, we have observed an exponential increase in the application of augmented reality, especially in spinal surgery.

Brain Surgery in 3-D: Coming Soon to the Operating Theater

New “videomicroscopes” offer astounding images, helping surgeons perform and collaborate on delicate brain and spine operations.

Confessions of a Brain Surgeon review – life-changingly exquisite television

Medically astounding and emotionally piercing, this look at the man who had the hardest job on Earth is exceptional viewing. Then he has a stunningly frank encounter with a woman who has hated him for three decades.

Diversity in Neurosurgery

Over the past century, the field of neurosurgery has evolved and expanded in various directions. Neurosurgeons have continuously pushed the boundaries of the specialty with scientific discovery and innovation. A diverse array of neurosurgical techniques, treatments, and new areas of study have emerged within the field. Meanwhile, the neurosurgical workforce has stayed demographically homogeneous throughout time. Certain groups remain underrepresented owing to systemic barriers based on social identities and categorizations, including gender, race, ability status, and others.

Dying in the Neurosurgical I.C.U.

In cases of brain death or neurologically devastating injury, poor communication can make painful situations even harder.

Ethical Challenges for the Future of Neurosurgery

This work informs about major changes in health care systems at present and to come, and the ethical consequences. Rapid technological developments, especially in the fields of communication and virtual communication, artificial intelligence, implanted brain chips, augmented reality, in situ real-time pathological diagnosis of lesions during surgery, and others are challenging aspects of neurosciences in particular and medicine in general.

Factors Affecting the Choice of Neurosurgery as a Future Career: A Cross-Sectional Study

Neurosurgery, a challenging and ever-emerging specialty, represents one of the most recognized specialties among medical students. Approximately half of the participants in our study expressed their interest in pursuing a career in neurosurgery and found it appealing due to its challenging nature. However, deterring factors like stress, long training duration, and concerns related to lifestyle and work-life balance were also observed in around half of the participants.

Inside the Science of an Amazing New Surgery Called Deep Brain Stimulation

The most futuristic medical treatment ever imagined is now a reality.

Meet Sturgeon, the AI tool that helps doctors identify brain tumors faster than ever

In the medical field, being fast, efficient, and correct can be the difference between life and death. This game-changing tool is helping cancer researchers and doctors save lives.

Moral Distress in Neurosurgery

Is it in the patient’s best interest to go through surgery if the chance of meaningful recovery is vanishingly small?

Neurosurgery in the Past and Future. An Appraisal

The 21st century brings with it multiple challenges and opportunities in view of the explosion in information technology, as well as major advances in molecular biology and genetics. Computers in medicine have revolutionised the investigative modalities, as well as diagnosis and treatment paradigms.

Neurosurgery side effects

Neurosurgery, or brain surgery, is a major operation. So, it’s understandable that there can be some side effects. While these can differ from person to person, it’s good to prepare for some of the common brain surgery side effects if you have an operation scheduled.

Neurosurgery: Electrodes in the Brain

For the most dramatic form of epilepsy, the grand mal that throws its victims to the ground in fits, drugs often offer dramatic relief. Strangely, it is a less violent form of the disorder, the so-called psychomotor type, for which drugs do least. For some 50% of psychomotor epileptics, or at least 160,000 Americans, surgery is the only recourse. But in many cases surgeons hesitate to cut out those parts of the brain in which electrical impulses are misfiring and causing all the trouble. For if they cut out too much tissue or cut in the wrong place, they may leave their patient deprived of memory.

Revitalizing neurosurgical frontiers: The EANS frontiers in neurosurgery committee's strategic framework

Neurosurgery is a field that has traditionally played a central role in the diagnosis and management of a wide range of disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system. However, in recent years, there has been a trend towards other specialties, such as neuroradiology and interventional radiology, otolaryngology, orthopedic and plastic surgery, and radiotherapy breaking into areas in which neurosurgeons have historically been leaders, such as such as pain and spasticity management, peripheral nerve surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation, spinal surgery, orbital surgery, and endovascular and carotid surgery

Should We Operate?

How a brain surgeon assesses the risk of a procedure, and informs her patient about it, can be as tricky as the surgery itself

The art of neurosurgery: precision beyond machines

Robotic surgery is in vogue now. Someone asked me why Robotic surgery is not yet adopted in Neurosurgery. Here is the answer: In the world of medicine, few specialties require as much precision, skill, and decisiveness as neurosurgery. Neurosurgery is one of the most demanding surgical specialties in terms of precision requirements and surgical field limitations.

The Next Step in Robotic Neurosurgery

Millions of dollars of EU research money have yielded a robot that will one day be able to perform procedures that have never been done before.

The Terrible Beauty of Brain Surgery

A witness in an operating room where the patients are conscious.

This new brain-mapping device could make neurosurgery safer

A flexible film bristling with tiny sensors could make surgery safer for patients with a brain tumor or severe epilepsy. The experimental film, which looks like Saran wrap, rests on the brain's surface and detects the electrical activity of nerve cells below. It's designed to help surgeons remove diseased tissue while preserving important functions like language and memory.

What is awake craniotomy?

The technique, which has been around for years as an epilepsy treatment, is rare and only used when a certain type of tumour lies close to specialised areas of the brain that control movement or speech. Although brain tissue does not register pain, the scalp does, meaning patients are given a general anaesthetic and only brought round when a hole has been cut in the skull. The patients are then asked to talk, count and recognise pictures. As the surgeon reaches the fringes of the tumour, the performance of the patients becomes notably affected.

Resources

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

The AANS is dedicated to propelling the specialty of neurological surgery forward. Through rigorous education, groundbreaking research, robust advocacy, and the advancement of outcomes science, we strive to ensure the highest standards of patient care are met and exceeded. Our commitment is to the future of neurosurgery, where patient outcomes are improved through the collective efforts of our members’ expertise and dedication.

Neurosurgery Clinics

Neurosurgery Clinics updates you on the latest surgical techniques for patients with spine, brain, and central nervous system conditions; keeps you up to date on the newest advances; and provides a sound basis for choosing treatment options.