What is neurosurgery?

Neurosurgery is a type of medical care that deals with problems in the central and peripheral nervous systems. This includes the brain, spine, and nerves.

A doctor who focuses their work in this is called a neurosurgeon or neurological surgeon. Neurosurgeons can help treat many kinds of issues, including pain. They can treat issues through surgery and in other ways. They can treat things like:

• Problems with blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord

• Issues with the pituitary gland, such as prolactinomas

• Tumors in the brain, like gliomas, meningiomas, and others

• Problems with or infection in the spinal cord and spine

• Issues with nerves, like carpal tunnel or trapped ulnar nerve

• Problems with the autonomic nervous system, which controls things like sweating

• Movement disorders, like Parkinson's disease

• Pain disorders, like trigeminal neuralgia

• Injuries to the brain or spine, both recent and older ones

• Some types of epilepsy

• Problems with the fluid around the brain and spine

• Conditions after an injury, like postconcussion syndrome

• Disorders that affect how you function, like Tourette syndrome and depression

• Inherited diseases that affect the nervous system

• Problems in children and teens, like issues with the skull, spine, or blood vessels

• Serious issues in the ICU, like brain swelling and coma