Neurointerventional Surgery is a multi-disciplinary subspecialty of medicine. Neurointerventional Surgeons are trained and board certified in Neuroradiology, Neurology or Neurological Surgery before entering additional training in Neurointerventional Surgery. Typically, a Neurointerventional Surgeon has trained for 7 to 9 years following medical school.
Neurointerventional Surgical training typically takes place at large and acclaimed medical universities. Neurointerventional Surgeons specialize in minimally invasive procedures of the brain and spine. This is accomplished by small skin incisions and the use of image guidance. Image guidance allows the surgeon to navigate a small instrument to the area of interest by using pictures. Small skin incisions and image guidance allow brain and spine procedures to be performed without disrupting or manipulating the normal structures of the skull, brain and spine.
Neurointerventional Surgeons, and their precursors who specialized in brain and spine imaging, have had a significant impact on the development of minimally invasive spinal techniques. Early Neurointerventional physicians developed procedures to precisely guide needles in the spine, to target and treat areas of pain. New procedures to treat fractures of the vertebral column without open surgery were first adopted by Neurointerventional Surgeons in the United States.
Today, Neurointerventional Surgeons have been at the forefront of evolving minimally invasive spine procedures, participating in randomized trials of spinal instrumentation for spinal stenosis and adopting endoscopic techniques for the treatment of back and neck pain.
