Surgical Specialties

Neurosurgery

Everybody knows someone who has back problems. Many of these problems respond to non-surgical therapies, but surgery is often the recommended treatment. Upwards of 70 percent of a neurosurgeon's practice may involve discs and other parts of the spine.

Neurosurgeons also perform brain surgery, often to remove blood clots or tumors, which may lie within the brain or surrounding tissues. While not all brain tumors are malignant, anything growing within the tight confines of the skull is dangerous because it increases pressure on the brain.

CMMC's Surgical Services Department is equipped with an advanced neurosurgical microscopes that enhances the ability of the hospital's neurosurgeons to perform their work with greater precision, whether the relatively common repair of a lumbar disc or the delicate mending of an aneurysm.

Everybody knows someone who has back problems. The back supports the entire body structure and absorbs the stresses that result when we twist, turn, bend or even walk. The discs – the shock-absorbing cushions of tissue that lie between the vertebrae of the spine –become drier and more brittle as people age, in a natural degenerative process often called a “bad back.”

Injury and other factors can contribute to disc problems that often occur as part of the normal aging process. Discs can rupture or herniate, causing disc tissue to protrude backward into the spinal canal and press on nerves. Many of these problems respond to non-surgical therapies, but surgery is often the recommended treatment. Upwards of 70 percent of a neurosurgeon's practice may involve discs and other parts of the spine.

Disc operations often involve an initial laminectomy, in which part of one or more of the vertebral arches that protect the back are removed to give access to the spinal column. The degenerated disc material is then removed. In cases where stabilization of the spine is necessary, the neurosurgeon will perform a spinal fusion to join the vertebrae with bone grafts or metal.

Brain surgery is usually done to remove blood clots or tumors, which may lie within the brain or its surrounding membrane, blood vessels, nerves, or the pituitary gland. While not all brain tumors are malignant, anything growing within the tight confines of the skull is dangerous because it increases pressure on the brain.

CMMC's Surgical Services Department is equipped with an advanced neurosurgical microscopes that enhances the ability of the hospital's neurosurgeons to perform their work with greater precision, whether the relatively common repair of a lumbar disc or the delicate mending of an aneurysm.